Last week, we reported a federal appellate decision finding that an employee who insisted on working remotely failed to demonstrate a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act because he would not consider alternative...more
We frequently encounter situations where employers classify their salesforce that primarily sells through telephone and internet means as salaried exempt employees, primarily for purposes of overtime and minimum wage payment...more
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), employers are required to provide reasonable accommodations to disabled workers, but not necessarily the accommodation favored by the employee. ...more
Many federal agencies appear caught in a tennis match whereby interpretations of their statutory authority depend on the party in power at any given time. This has resulted in a number of situations where federal regulations...more
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, employers attempting to enforce safety policies faced resistance from employees opposed to vaccination mandates. In many cases, employees claimed that taking the vaccine violated...more
Employers may dread a knock on the door from an Occupational Safety and Health investigator, but in many circumstances, the first contact with OSHA is through a letter rather than an in-person inspection. ...more
Last week, the National Labor Relations Board withdrew its appeal of a federal court decision that blocked its 2023 rule that significantly expanded the definition of joint employment under federal labor law....more
Earlier this month, we reported on a preliminary injunction granted to the plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed in federal district court in Texas, seeking to block the Federal Trade Commission’s regulations voiding most employment...more
Over the past year, we have encountered a growing number of claims raised by applicants and employees who allege that positive drug test results for marijuana were actually the result of their use of legal hemp products...more
Employers are facing an increasing number of Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charges and lawsuits from white employees who claim that exposure to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) training at work...more
In its Alston decision in 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court ended the legal assumption that NCAA athletes were pure amateurs, exempt from a range of legal protections extended to workers. Since that decision, courts have faced a...more
The first round of increases to minimum salaries required to claim the Fair Labor Standards Act’s white-collar overtime exemptions took effect July 1. Unless blocked by federal courts, the second, larger increase in the...more
Last week, we received the first indication of a Texas federal court’s position on a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce challenging the validity of the Federal Trade Commission’s new regulations banning most...more
After years of development, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued proposed regulations last week intended to address employee exposure to dangerous heat and humidity while at work. Affected...more
When a disabled employee requests a workplace accommodation, the Americans with Disabilities Act instructs the employer to determine whether the requested accommodation (or an alternative) allows the employee to perform the...more
The Family and Medical Leave Act provides parents with up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave following the birth of a child. What if the non-birthing parent needs to travel to be there for the delivery?...more
The intricacies of federal administrative law can feel far removed from business’s day-to-day operations, but the Supreme Court’s decision last week in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo could have profound impacts on the...more
On Monday, a federal district court in Texas denied a request for a temporary injunction that would have prevented the Department of Labor’s increase in the minimum salary from taking effect for certain employees. The DOL’s...more
7/5/2024
/ Compliance ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Final Rules ,
Highly Compensated Employees ,
Minimum Salary ,
Over-Time ,
Salaried Employees ,
Threshold Requirements ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
Forty years ago, the Supreme Court adopted a doctrine that has allowed federal agencies to make the final call on interpreting ambiguous laws. Today, the court overruled that doctrine and held that courts, not agencies, are...more
7/1/2024
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Chevron Deference ,
Chevron v NRDC ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Government Agencies ,
Judicial Authority ,
Loper Bright Enterprises v Raimondo ,
National Marine Fisheries Service ,
Regulatory Authority ,
Relentless Inc v US Department of Commerce ,
SCOTUS ,
Stare Decisis ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Unconstitutional Condition
The construction industry has long been the subject of scrutiny by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission with regard to sexual and other harassment issues. Several unique features of constructions sites make prevention...more
In unusual circumstances arising during unionization campaigns, the National Labor Relations Board can seek a so-called Section 10(j) injunction to immediately order the employer or union to cease illegal acts associated with...more
Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, employers bear the burden of proving the applicability of an exemption from overtime and/or minimum wage requirements. Earlier this year in E.M.D. Sales Inc. v. Carrera, the Fourth Circuit...more
Following the issuance of the Federal Trade Commission’s regulations essentially banning use of noncompetition agreements for most U.S. employers, many companies expected quick judicial relief from legal challenges filed...more
In two high-profile union elections this year, the United Auto Workers went one for two. In April, workers at a Tennessee Volkswagen plant voted to unionize, while Mercedes-Benz employees in Alabama rejected the union’s...more
In the days before cellphones, employees required to remain on-call for work were generally entitled to compensation for time spent at home waiting for the landline to ring. Given the ubiquity of mobile communication...more