On August 28, 2020, the U.S. Department of the Treasury issued guidance for employers with respect to the deferral of the employee portion of certain payroll taxes. This guidance stems from a presidential memorandum issued...more
On July 20, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor issued additional guidance on return-to-work issues under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). Enacted at the end of March, the FFCRA provides emergency paid...more
As the United States continues to struggle with the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on health, safety, and the economy, it is likely that many employers will have yet another issue to face as they attempt to...more
In a series of guidance issued since May 5, 2020 (some of which was withdrawn, revised, and reissued), the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) addressed protections under the Americans with Disabilities Act...more
The wave of COVID-19 litigation is not coming; it has arrived. Even before most states open back up for business, plaintiff’s lawyers are suing employers for a variety of alleged violations related to the virus, including...more
On March 31, 2020, the IRS published new guidance clarifying how employers can claim tax credits for giving employees paid leave and maintaining their payrolls during the COVID-19 crisis. The agency explained that employers...more
On March 26, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released additional FAQs that further explain employer and employee rights and responsibilities under the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA)....more
3/30/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
EFMLA ,
EPSLA ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
New Legislation ,
Relief Measures ,
Sick Leave ,
Sick Pay ,
Tax Credits ,
Trump Administration
Since its enactment last fall, California’s AB 5—legislation adopting the so-called “ABC test” for purposes of determining whether a worker is an independent contractor or statutory employee—has dominated not only the legal...more
3/10/2020
/ ABC Test ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Freelance Workers ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Regulations ,
Misclassification ,
Popular ,
Rulemaking Process ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
On February 10, 2020, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia approved the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)’s request to deem its retrospective collection of compensation data (the so-called...more
2/12/2020
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Data Collection ,
Deregulation ,
EEO-1 ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Equal Pay ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
Pay Data ,
Pay Discrimination ,
Pay Gap ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Wage and Hour
On Wednesday, January 15, 2020, the California Supreme Court agreed to review a second case raising questions as to the scope and retroactivity of its landmark 2018 Dynamex decision....more
1/22/2020
/ ABC Test ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Dynamex ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Freelance Workers ,
Gig Economy ,
Governor Newsom ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Regulations ,
Misclassification ,
New Legislation ,
Petition for Review ,
Retroactive Application ,
Rulemaking Process ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, National Labor Relations Board, and the Department of Labor will all issue regulations governing joint employment, according to the federal government’s Unified Agenda of Federal...more
11/21/2019
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
EEO-1 ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
GINA ,
Joint Employers ,
Labor Regulations ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Private Property ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Union Organizers ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wellness Programs
The fight over the scope of the “ABC test” for determining the status of workers under California state law continues unabated. A series of court filings last week suggests that state and local officials may be gearing up to...more
11/19/2019
/ ABC Test ,
Appeals ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Dynamex ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Regulations ,
Misclassification ,
Retroactive Application ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Strategic Enforcement Plan ,
Wage and Hour
As the year draws to a close, employers are assessing the next wave of labor and employment laws and regulations they will face in 2020 and beyond. Most new laws taking effect at the end of 2019 and throughout 2020 are at the...more
11/14/2019
/ Ban the Box ,
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
EEO-1 ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Form I-9 ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Health Insurance ,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ,
Immigration Reform ,
Independent Contractors ,
Joint Employers ,
Labor Regulations ,
Local Ordinance ,
Marijuana ,
Minimum Wage ,
New Legislation ,
NLRB ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Pay Gap ,
Popular ,
Raids ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Salary/Wage History ,
Smoking Bans ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
In the wake of California’s enactment of Assembly Bill (AB) 5—legislation that threatens to reclassify 2 million California independent contractors as “employees” under California labor and employment laws—legal questions...more
10/31/2019
/ ABC Test ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Dominos ,
Dynamex ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Freelance Workers ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Joint Employers ,
Labor Regulations ,
McDonalds ,
Misclassification ,
New Legislation ,
Retroactive Application ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
On September 24, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit certified to the Supreme Court of California the question of whether that court’s landmark 2018 decision in Dynamex v. Superior Court should be applied...more
9/26/2019
/ ABC Test ,
Appeals ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Due Process ,
Dynamex ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Franchises ,
Independent Contractors ,
Joint Employers ,
Misclassification ,
New Legislation ,
Question of Law ,
Retroactive Application ,
State Labor Laws
On September 18, 2019, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 5 (AB 5), a bill that will dramatically alter whether, and under what circumstances, businesses may classify workers as independent contractors...more
9/24/2019
/ ABC Test ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Dynamex ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Freelance Workers ,
Gig Economy ,
Governor Newsom ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Joint Employers ,
Labor Regulations ,
Misclassification ,
New Legislation ,
Popular ,
Retroactive Application ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
On September 11, 2019, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced that it would not seek approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to collect detailed employee compensation data on its Form...more
9/11/2019
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Data Collection ,
Deregulation ,
EEO-1 ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Equal Pay ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
OMB ,
Pay Data ,
Pay Discrimination ,
Pay Gap ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Wage and Hour
On June 24, 2019, the Department of Labor made public its long-awaited proposed rule establishing a process for DOL to advance the development of Industry-Recognized Apprenticeship Programs (IRAPs). On the same day, DOL...more
The U.S. Supreme Court announced on April 22, 2019 that it will decide whether gay, lesbian, and transgender workers are expressly protected under federal civil rights law on the basis of their sexual orientation. The Court...more
4/22/2019
/ Altitude Express Inc v Zarda ,
Bostock v Clayton County Georgia ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Corporate Counsel ,
EEOC v RG & GR Harris Funeral Homes ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Gender Identity ,
LGBTQ ,
SCOTUS ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title VII
In an April 3, 2019 filing in the federal district court that had ordered reinstatement of EEO-1 pay data reporting requirements, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) explained its inability to comply with the...more
4/4/2019
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Data Collection ,
EEO-1 ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Equal Pay ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Pay Data ,
Pay Discrimination ,
Pay Gap ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Wage and Hour
As 2018 draws to a close, employers are looking to the next wave of labor and employment laws and regulations that will take effect in 2019 and beyond. On January 1, and throughout the coming year, employers across the nation...more
While some races remain undecided, it is clear at this point that Democrats will control the U.S. House of Representatives in the next Congress. ...more
11/7/2018
/ Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employee Rights ,
Joint Employers ,
Labor Regulations ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Minimum Wage ,
Over-Time ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Sick Leave ,
U.S. House ,
Unions ,
Wages ,
White-Collar Exemptions
Employers will face fewer significant regulations in the coming year, according to the Trump administration's Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions ("regulatory agenda")....more
10/18/2018
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Deregulation ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employee Training ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Contractors ,
GINA ,
H-1B ,
Joint Employers ,
NLRB ,
OSHA ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
TRICARE ,
USCIS ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Injury