NLRB Acting General Cowen Issues Guidance on Union Salts -
In a memorandum dated July 24, 2025, National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Acting General Counsel William Cowen issued guidance to all regional directors,...more
Senate Republicans Introduce Legislation to Empower Independent Workers -
Earlier this week, Senators Bill Cassidy, (R-LA), chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and Senators Rand Paul...more
Supreme Court Allows Trump Firing of NLRB Member Wilcox -
Late Thursday, the Supreme Court issued an order that essentially extends a previous order issued by Chief Justice John Roberts in April that barred National Labor...more
5/23/2025
/ Budget Reconciliation ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Employment Litigation ,
Executive Orders ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
New Legislation ,
NLRB ,
SCOTUS ,
Tax Deductions ,
Tax Reform ,
Tipped Employees ,
Trump Administration
U.S. DOL Pauses Enforcement of Biden-era Independent Contractor Rule -
On April 29, the U.S. Department of Labor issued a press release announcing new guidance on how to determine employee or independent contractor...more
5/5/2025
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employment Litigation ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Independent Contractors ,
NLRB ,
Over-Time ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Trump Administration ,
Wage and Hour
Chair Cassidy (R-LA) Releases White Paper on Providing Benefits to Independent Workers -
On Wednesday, U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee Chair Bill Cassidy (R-LA) released a white paper...more
Supreme Court Temporarily Blocks Decision Allowing Reinstatement of NLRB Member Wilcox -
On April 7, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled that National Labor Relations Board Member Gwynne Wilcox could...more
The U.S. Department of Labor published a final rule on January 9, 2024, defining “independent contractor” under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The final regulation rescinds a 2021 rule defining the same term. In place...more
1/9/2024
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Economic Realities Test ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Final Rules ,
Freelance Workers ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Reform ,
Misclassification ,
Wage and Hour
On June 13, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “the Board”) issued its long-awaited decision in The Atlanta Opera, in which it overturned prior law (SuperShuttle DFW, Inc.) and reinstated a narrower test for...more
On October 11, 2022, the U.S. Department of Labor released a proposed rule to update the test for determining whether a worker is an employee under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) or an independent contractor. FLSA...more
10/12/2022
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Economic Realities Test ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Gig Economy ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Reform ,
Misclassification ,
Proposed Rules ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Wage and Hour
On March 24, 2022, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) handed down a key ruling that could have a significant impact on franchising across the state. In Patel v. 7-Eleven, Inc., the SJC was asked whether the...more
On March 14, 2022, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas delivered a victory for businesses that utilize independent contractors, and for independent contractors themselves, when it held that the...more
3/16/2022
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Gig Economy ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
Minimum Wage ,
Over-Time ,
Statutory Violations ,
Wage and Hour
On May 6, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor formally withdrew final regulations promulgated earlier this year under the prior administration which set forth, for the first time by way of an Administrative Procedure Act...more
5/14/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Freelance Workers ,
Gig Economy ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
Wage and Hour
On March 11, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL” or “the Department”) announced proposals to roll back two Trump administration regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA” or “the Act”)....more
3/12/2021
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Economic Realities Test ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Joint Employers ,
Labor Reform ,
Misclassification ,
Wage and Hour
On March 9, 2021, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2021 (PRO Act) by a largely party-line vote of 225-206. One Democratic Representative voted against the bill; five...more
3/11/2021
/ Arbitration Agreements ,
Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Gig Economy ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
Legislative Agendas ,
NLRA ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour
On January 6, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) finalized its highly anticipated independent contractor rule. The rule delivers on the DOL’s promise to simplify, clarify and harmonize the factors for determining when...more
Although the 2020 presidential election is technically behind us, razor-thin and contested elections for the presidency and Congress remain, potentially drawing out the uncertainty through the new year. As of the date of...more
11/9/2020
/ Equal Pay ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Independent Contractors ,
Joe Biden ,
Joint Employers ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
LGBTQ ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Trump Administration ,
Wage and Hour
Of the over 100 different ballot initiatives under consideration across the United States in the recent election, California’s Proposition 22 stands alone. The measure was perhaps the most significant initiative voters...more
As business owners and members of the labor and employment law community know all too well, California’s AB 5 went into effect on January 1 of this year. The law imposed the “ABC test” for determining whether a worker should...more
10/1/2020
/ ABC Test ,
Borello Test ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Exemptions ,
Gig Economy ,
Governor Newsom ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
New Legislation ,
Newspapers ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
While no one knows what the outcome of the presidential election will be, if Vice President Biden is elected, hospitality employers should expect to see the following labor and employment issues front and center:
A call to...more
9/3/2020
/ Federal Labor Laws ,
Gig Economy ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Independent Contractors ,
Joe Biden ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
Minimum Wage ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Political Candidates ,
Presidential Elections ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour
AB 5, California’s sweeping and landmark independent contractor law, became effective on January 1, 2020. By January 6, bills were already being introduced to amend the law. At one time, more than 30 such bills were...more
The federal government recently released its unified federal regulatory agenda–the document that outlines regulatory and deregulatory actions agencies expect to take in coming months....more
7/8/2020
/ Affirmative Action ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Equal Pay Act ,
Federal Contractors ,
Independent Contractors ,
Joint Employers ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Wage and Hour
The Department of Labor has clarified that gig workers qualify as “unemployed” under the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) Program when they lose a significant amount of business because of COVID-19. ...more
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
The year 2020 is already shaping up to be quite active on the employment law front, and a quarter of U.S. states have yet to convene their 2020 legislative sessions. In January, over 800 labor and employment-related bills,...more
2/5/2020
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Ban the Box ,
Cash Transactions ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Dress Codes ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Gig Economy ,
Hairstyle Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Labor Regulations ,
Layoff Notices ,
Layoffs ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Misclassification ,
New Legislation ,
Notice Requirements ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Severance Agreements ,
Severance Pay ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Tipped Employees ,
Tips ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage Statements ,
WARN Act
The battle over the scope and applicability of the so-called “ABC test” in determining California employers’ potential liability under wage and hour and other state labor laws continues unabated....more
1/24/2020
/ ABC Test ,
Dynamex ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Franchises ,
Freelance Workers ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Joint Employers ,
Labor Regulations ,
Misclassification ,
New Legislation ,
Rulemaking Process ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour