A Houston-based vendor that provides detailer, car wash, and valet services to area dealerships recently agreed to pay $166K to resolve an employee misclassification complaint filed with the United States Department of Labor...more
A single word may be enough to land your dealership at the receiving end of a lawsuit – maybe even a jury trial. Especially, as an Illinois dealership recently learned, if that word is the most egregious racial epithet in the...more
Until now, having a reduction-in-force in the sales department of a retail automotive dealership was about as rare as selling vehicles at MSRP. Thanks to a combination of factors, including the pandemic and the chip shortage,...more
The implementation of the Virginia Overtime Wage Act (VOWA) on July 1 serves as a reminder to all dealerships across the country to consider federal, state, and local law when classifying employees for wage and hour purposes....more
You just learned that one of your employees expressed their opinion about the election on social media. Their unfiltered post includes slurs, and it is inflammatory at best. Had they made these same comments while at work,...more
11/2/2020
/ Car Dealerships ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Rights ,
Employment Policies ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
NLRA ,
Political Speech ,
Social Media ,
Social Media Policy
The “Families First Coronavirus Response Act” will take effect on April 1, 2020, ushering in an emergency expansion of the federal Family and Medical Leave Act and federal paid sick, among other things. The Fisher Phillips...more
As you no doubt have heard, the United States Department of Labor recently announced changes to federal wage and hour regulations that have been labeled the “new overtime rule.” These changes are scheduled to take effect on...more
For all employers, dealerships included, complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) can seemingly be one of the most challenging tasks for management and human resources. Not only does it seem like there is a...more
5/13/2019
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Best Management Practices ,
Car Dealerships ,
Documentation ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Interactive Process ,
Reasonable Accommodation
As discussed previously, sexual misconduct and harassment is at the forefront of national conversation as never before. And, as this companion article cautions, given this heightened sense of awareness, you should be more...more
WARNING: If you are a regular recipient of the Dealership Update or a Fisher Phillips client, chances are that you will not necessarily learn anything new by reading this article. When you hear that a dealership settled a...more
8/8/2018
/ Car Dealerships ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Minimum Wage ,
Over-Time ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Salespersons ,
Service Advisors ,
Voluntary Self-Audit ,
Wage and Hour
I bet you’ve heard of the famous equation E=mc2. You may know that Albert Einstein is credited as its developer. You may even know that it’s often called the Theory of Relativity. But, like most people, you might not know...more
Hardly a day passes anymore without some famous (or infamous) person being accused of or admitting to engaging in inappropriate sexual conduct. In many of these situations, the conduct is so egregious that one could...more
2/6/2018
/ Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Best Management Practices ,
Corporate Culture ,
Dealerships ,
Discipline ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Harassment ,
Retaliation ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Workplace Communication
Factory recalls have become a fact of life for those who sell and drive vehicles. The scenarios have a common theme: a vehicle part does not operate as designed or is determined to present a possible risk of failure. Once...more
5/1/2017
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Background Checks ,
Ban the Box ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Drug Testing ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Job Ads ,
Paid Leave ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Reimbursements ,
Unpaid Leave
As our society has evolved and changed, standards for acceptable dress and appearance have also been transformed. For example, tattoos, once seen mostly on bikers and those who had served in the military, are now mainstream....more
You finally decided to take the long overdue disciplinary action. Jack has got to be disciplined. But just before you do, Jack, possibly sensing what’s about to happen, makes a complaint of harassment. This is the first...more
The previous month’s sales numbers are final and Jane’s sales are abysmal…again. You’ve had enough and decide to fire her. You call HR to get the paperwork started. Your HR manager tells you that Jane has just left her office...more
When it comes to a dealership’s legal liability for employment-related problems, the basis of the liability generally falls into two categories – actions the dealership took and those it failed to take. When it comes to big...more