The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released a final rule that will raise the salary threshold for overtime exemptions. Most workers will need to earn at least $35,586 annually, or $684 per week, for exemption from FLSA...more
A new California law, stemming from Assembly Bill 5 (AB 5), expands and codifies the California Supreme Court’s 2018 decision in Dynamex Operations West Inc. v. The Superior Court of Los Angeles, which we reported on...more
9/24/2019
/ ABC Test ,
Dynamex ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Freelance Workers ,
Gig Economy ,
Governor Newsom ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Regulations ,
Misclassification ,
New Legislation ,
Retroactive Application ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
Last week, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) released a proposed rule that would remove graduate and undergraduate students who perform work for pay in conjunction with their academic studies from the definition of an...more
On July 25, 2019, New Jersey passed a salary history ban, following in the footsteps of more than a dozen other states and cities that have already passed legislation intended to combat gender-based pay inequity. ...more
7/31/2019
/ Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Pay ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
New Legislation ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Pay Gap ,
Salary/Wage History ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
Philadelphia’s journey toward a $15-an-hour minimum wage began last week, part of an increasingly common trend in major U.S. cities. Minimum wage in the City of Philadelphia is $13.25 an hour as of July 1. Additionally,...more
The Minnesota Legislature recently passed a law that creates significant new notice and recordkeeping requirements, recognizes “wage theft,” and imposes heightened civil and criminal penalties for violations....more
7/2/2019
/ Employer Liability Issues ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Labor Regulations ,
New Legislation ,
Penalties ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage Statements ,
Wage Theft
In yet another example of the strong federal policy favoring arbitration embodied in the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), U.S. District Court Judge Joel Slomsky of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania granted employer FC...more
In an important ruling that further narrows the circumstances in which class arbitration will be permitted, the Supreme Court today held that under the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA)...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has kept employers on their toes this spring. During March and the early part of April, the DOL has engaged in a flurry of activity using its rulemaking authority and non-binding opinion...more
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced on April 3, 2019, that employers have until September 30, 2019, to submit employee pay data as part of their annual 2018 EEO-1 report....more
4/8/2019
/ Data Collection ,
EEO-1 ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Equal Pay ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
OMB ,
Pay Data ,
Pay Discrimination ,
Pay Gap ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Wage and Hour
The Department of Labor (DOL) on March 7, 2019, released a long-awaited proposal to increase the minimum annual salary threshold to $35,308 for employees to be exempt as executives, administrative, or professional employees. ...more
3/11/2019
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Final Rules ,
Minimum Salary ,
Non-Exempt Employees ,
Over-Time ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Standard Duties Test ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
Want to hire a skilled foreign worker? Don't delay, act now!
The H-1B visa allows companies in the United States to temporarily hire foreign workers in occupations requiring the theoretical and practical application of a...more
As we begin 2019, employers nationwide must address a host of new obligations under state and local laws that will go into effect this year. With the decline in federal regulations under the Trump administration, states and...more
States and municipalities have tackled pay equity and minimum wage issues. Over the next few months, 19 states will see an increase in their minimum wage.
...more
States and municipalities have tackled pay equity and minimum wage issues. Regarding pay equity, there is a growing trend of laws and ordinances that place restrictions on employers when it comes to asking applicants about...more
2/7/2019
/ Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Pay ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
New Legislation ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Pay Gap ,
Salary/Wage History ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
Beginning this year, employers in some states will be required to provide sexual harassment training for employees, including supervisors and management staff. Depending on the jurisdiction, the statute may dictate the...more
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) overturned yet another Obama-era precedent—the 2014 FedEx Home Delivery decision, which had severely limited the definition of an independent contractor under the National Labor...more
In a unanimous decision, the U.S. Supreme Court on January 15 dealt a blow to employers in transportation industries, ruling that those workers—including those classified as independent contractors—are exempt from the Federal...more
1/18/2019
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Commercial Truck Drivers ,
Employment Contract ,
Exceptions ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Independent Contractors ,
Motion to Compel ,
New Prime v Oliveira ,
Question of Arbitrability ,
Reaffirmation ,
SCOTUS
On August 29, 2018, Delaware Governor John Carney, signed into law House Bill 360, expanding sexual harassment protections for workers. The new law will take effect January 1, 2019. ...more
9/4/2018
/ #MeToo ,
Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Corporate Culture ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Employment Policies ,
Harassment ,
Hostile Environment ,
New Legislation ,
Risk Management ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) on July 13, 2018, issued a Field Assistance Bulletin to its enforcement administrators, explaining how to determine if and when caregiver and nurse registries should be deemed employers...more
Mayor Bill de Blasio signed the "Stop Sexual Harassment in NYC Act" into law last week. The Act brings sweeping changes that affect all New York City employers. ...more
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has announced that it will terminate the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation for Nepal, giving protected Nepalese until June 24, 2019, either to acquire permission to...more
Starting March 18, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will require individuals who are submitting an application, petition, request, or other documents to provide a "valid" signature on forms filed with the...more
3/15/2018
/ Fraud and Abuse ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
Manufacturers ,
Policy Memorandums ,
Power of Attorney ,
Retail Workers ,
Signatures ,
USCIS ,
Visas
In a unanimous ruling on February 21, the U.S. Supreme Court narrowed the definition of a whistleblower under the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the Dodd-Frank Act)....more
3/1/2018
/ Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Digital Realty Trust Inc v Somers ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Internal Reporting ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Retaliation ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
In a significant decision on the status of so-called "gig economy" workers, a California federal judge recently ruled that a former GrubHub Inc. delivery driver was an independent contractor, not an employee....more
2/16/2018
/ Economic Realities Test ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Gig Economy ,
GrubHub ,
Independent Contractors ,
Mileage Reimbursement ,
Minimum Wage ,
Misclassification ,
Over-Time ,
Uber ,
Wage and Hour