Either incumbent Donald Trump or challenger Joe Biden will be inaugurated as president on January 20, 2021 – and the impact on workplace law will be significant. Each candidate has provided us with clues (some subtle, some...more
10/9/2020
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Gig Economy ,
Health Insurance ,
Independent Contractors ,
Joe Biden ,
Joint Employers ,
Labor Regulations ,
Medical Leave ,
Misclassification ,
Paid Leave ,
Political Campaigns ,
Political Candidates ,
Presidential Elections ,
Trump Administration ,
Wage and Hour
Gig economy companies across the country had a whirlwind September, as legal developments impacting their business models continued to unfold. Here are the five most significant workplace law developments in the gig economy...more
10/7/2020
/ ABC Test ,
Ballot Measures ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Economic Realities Test ,
Exceptions ,
Gig Economy ,
Independent Contractors ,
Minimum Wage ,
Misclassification ,
New Rules ,
Presidential Nominations ,
Proposed Rules ,
Ridesharing ,
Wage and Hour
It’s hard to keep up with all the recent changes to labor and employment law. While the law always seems to evolve at a rapid pace, there have been an unprecedented number of changes for the past few years—and this past month...more
9/10/2020
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Independent Contractors ,
Medical Leave ,
Misclassification ,
NLRB ,
Paid Leave ,
Payroll Taxes ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Remote Working ,
Telecommuting ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wrongful Death
In a move sure to frustrate employers and usher in a wave of confusion, a New York federal court judge just struck down critical portions of the Labor Department’s new joint employer rule that went into effect a few months...more
A report by Ben Penn in Thursday’s Bloomberg Law casts serious doubt about whether the Department of Labor will proceed with a misclassification rule before the end of this presidential term. We reported last month that the...more
8/14/2020
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Final Rules ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Joe Biden ,
Labor Regulations ,
Misclassification ,
Presidential Elections ,
Trump Administration ,
Wage and Hour
The Department of Labor issued several sets of new guidance materials to employers as return-to-work, remote work, and wage and hour issues remain hot – and sometimes confusing – topics. The agency recognizes that the...more
7/24/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Furloughs ,
Hiring & Firing ,
New Guidance ,
Paid Leave ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Remote Working ,
Return-to-Work Agreements ,
Sick Leave ,
Wage and Hour
Nearly half of all COVID-19-related workplace lawsuits that have been initiated between employees and employers were filed in the past month, according to data collected by the Fisher Phillips COVID-19 Employment Litigation...more
7/6/2020
/ Class Action ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Paid Leave ,
Remote Working ,
Retaliation ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
I was able to virtually attend a session of Albany Law School’s 2020 Warren M. Anderson Legislative Seminar Series last week on “The Gig Economy,” bringing together some of the nation’s foremost thought leaders on the subject...more
6/8/2020
/ ABC Test ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Freelance Workers ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Regulations ,
Misclassification ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
Employers across the country got a bit of good news today as the federal government announced that the EEO-1 reporting process would be delayed by a year, with the next reporting deadline pushed to March 2021. You are now...more
The U.S. Department of Labor issued a new rule yesterday to regulate the Families First Coronavirus Relief Act (FFCRA) and the paid leave programs that just became law on April 1, 2020. We’ve digested the 124-page document...more
4/3/2020
/ Business Closures ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
EPSLA ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Healthcare Workers ,
New Rules ,
Paid Leave ,
Rate of Pay ,
Required Documentation ,
Shelter-In-Place ,
Sick Leave ,
Small Business ,
Wage and Hour
Last week we gave you a seven-step action plan for how gig economy companies can respond to the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak. A lot has changed in a week, so now it’s time to take a look around the industry to see how gig...more
3/16/2020
/ Compensation & Benefits ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Crisis Management ,
Delivery Drivers ,
Gig Economy ,
Health and Safety ,
Independent Contractors ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Paid Leave ,
Public Health ,
Quarantine ,
Sick Leave ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
Fisher Phillips has assembled a cross-disciplinary taskforce of attorneys across the country to address the many employment-related issues facing employers in the wake of the COVID-19 coronavirus – especially now that the...more
3/3/2020
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Best Practices ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Policies ,
Foreign Workers ,
Global Workforce ,
Health and Safety ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Labor Relations ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Public Health ,
Risk Management ,
Sick Leave ,
Traveling Employee ,
Wage and Hour ,
WARN Act ,
Workplace Safety
Employers paid out a record $68.2 million to those alleging sexual harassment violations through the EEOC in 2019, shattering the all-time record by over $10 million and reminding us all that the #MeToo movement continues to...more
1/29/2020
/ #MeToo ,
ADEA ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Strategic Enforcement Plan ,
Title VII ,
Wage and Hour
Now that we know that the Kansas City Chiefs will be playing the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LIV in a few weeks, it’s time to assess whether this annual American tradition will create any workplace issues for your...more
The U.S. Department of Labor just finalized its rule that attempts to limit the scope of joint employment liability for wage and hour matters. Although much remains to be seen, this rule may usher in a new era, and could lead...more
1/14/2020
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Final Rules ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Joint Employers ,
Labor Regulations ,
Minimum Wage ,
New Rules ,
Wage and Hour ,
Work Schedules
Seattle just joined New York City as one of the few locations in the country to pass minimum wage legislation for ride-share drivers, the city’s latest attempt to regulate the gig economy. Under the “Fair Share” program...more
Tastes may differ, but there can be no dispute that the music video for “November Rain,” the ultimate power ballad by the ultimate Hair Nation band of the 1980s, Guns N’ Roses, is the best video ever created. It’s like a...more
11/4/2019
/ Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Non-Exempt Employees ,
Paid Leave ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Severe Weather ,
Unpaid Leave ,
Vacation Leave ,
Wage and Hour ,
Weather Policy
When California’s AB 5 was signed into law last month, a chorus of voices decried the fact that it could radically change the gig economy as we know it. Many contended that the average app-based driver enjoyed being an...more
10/31/2019
/ ABC Test ,
Delivery Drivers ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Definition ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
State Labor Laws ,
Transportation Industry ,
Wage and Hour
Lawmakers have begun to hold a series of hearings to discuss the “future of work,” and it may be no surprise that the two political parties have differing ideas about how that should impact the gig economy. The House...more
10/30/2019
/ ABC Test ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Freelance Workers ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Regulations ,
OSHA ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
When the news broke Friday afternoon that Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta would be resigning from his post, employers across the country began wondering what this transition would mean for them. You may have even heard...more
7/15/2019
/ Affirmative Action ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
EEO-1 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Foreign Workers ,
Immigration Enforcement ,
Joint Employers ,
OFCCP ,
OLMS ,
OSHA ,
Pay Data ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Resignation ,
Secretary of Labor ,
USCIS ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
A few months ago, Kamala Harris unveiled an ambitious plan to introduce stricter legal measures to force employers to comply with pay equity standards. Fellow senator and Democratic presidential hopeful Elizabeth Warren has...more
7/8/2019
/ Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Pay ,
Federal Contractors ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Low-Wage Workers ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Political Campaigns ,
Political Candidates ,
Race Discrimination ,
Wage and Hour
In a development many wouldn’t find surprising, a collation of forces announced this week that they would like to see ride-sharing drivers for Uber and Lyft receive a guaranteed base wage, flexible benefits, and a new...more
There’s a great story in today’s Bloomberg Law by Genevieve Douglas highlighting the recent trend of states permitting self-employed workers – such as gig economy contractors – to enjoy the fruits of a paid family leave...more
If a prominent candidate for the 2020 Democratic nomination for president has her way, federal pay equity law would be strengthened to add some real teeth—and the spoils of the increased financial penalties would fund a...more
According to Bloomberg Law’s weekly “Punching In” column (an absolute must-read each week) that published today, some congressional leaders are not too pleased with the Labor Department after it published an opinion letter a...more
5/20/2019
/ Administrative Interpretation ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Gig Economy ,
Independent Contractors ,
Joint Employers ,
Misclassification ,
Opinion Letter ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Wage and Hour