Welcome back! In this first new episode of 2019, we talk about ghosting, the most hated and irritating workplace e-mails, our Top 5 noteworthy cases you missed at the end of the year, and our Top 10 employer trends and...more
This special episode discusses the new sexual harassment training and policy requirements imposed by New York State and New York City (following a brief discussion of a significant development on joint employer liability)....more
9/26/2018
/ #MeToo ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Confidentiality Agreements ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Joint Liability ,
New Rules ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Non-Disclosure Agreement ,
Popular ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State Labor Laws ,
Title VII
We're back! This brand new episode addresses the 10 developments you may have missed from this past summer of 2018, including employees secretly recording the workplace, new non-compete legislation, the unstoppable #MeToo...more
9/11/2018
/ #MeToo ,
Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employee Rights ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Policies ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
New Legislation ,
NLRB ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Opinion Letter ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Protected Concerted Activity ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Social Media Policy ,
State Labor Laws ,
Video Recordings ,
Wage and Hour
This episode begins a two-part bonus series looking at the impact of recent marijuana regulation on employers. Today’s part one episode features a roundtable discussion on the policies and politics of cannabis....more
This episode flashes back to 1980's 9 to 5 workplace, and then goes back to the future to compare today's workplace of emoji harassment, a new game-changing overtime exemption rule, the 1st ever employer antitrust complaint...more
4/17/2018
/ Attorney General ,
Burden of Proof ,
Car Dealerships ,
Competition ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Emoji ,
Emotional Distress Damages ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Memorandum of Guidance ,
Navarro v Encino Motorcars ,
No-Poaching ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Over-Time ,
Payroll Audit Independent Determination program (PAID) ,
SCOTUS ,
Service Advisors ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State Data Breach Notification Statutes ,
State Labor Laws ,
Statutory Construction Test ,
Voluntary Self-Audit ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Communication ,
Workplace Harassment Guidance
Wage and hour issues continue to keep employers up at night, with new lawsuits and potential exposure not diminishing any time soon. Today’s episode tackles three important questions in this area: the meaning and potential...more
4/6/2018
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Fluctuating Workweek ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Liquidated Damages ,
Minimum Wage ,
New Rules ,
Non-Exempt Employees ,
Over-Time ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Tip Credit ,
Tip-Pooling ,
Trump Administration ,
Voluntary Self-Audit ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
This episode welcomes the start of Spring by addressing hot labor and employment developments on e-mail curfews, the DOL’s new voluntary self-audit program, social media discovery in lawsuits, employees losing their...more
Is your company thinking about your summer (and other) internship program? This episode presents an interview that Mike just gave on the Sirius XM Wharton Business Channel to discuss the United States Department of Labor’s...more
From federal agency changes to anticipated developments in sexual harassment, paid leave, overtime, and marijuana use, this episode of Employment Law Now provides ten issues that employers should resolve to understand in the...more
1/8/2018
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Arbitration ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Confidentiality Agreements ,
Cybersecurity ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Drug Testing ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Equal Pay ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
FMLA Abuse ,
Freedom of Religion ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Internal Audit Functions ,
IRS ,
Marijuana ,
Maternity Leave ,
NLRB ,
Over-Time ,
Paid Leave ,
Paternity Leave ,
Primary Beneficiary Test ,
Protected Class ,
Salary/Wage History ,
SCOTUS ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Sexual Orientation ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Tax Reform ,
Transgender
Thought 2017 would end quietly? The month of December has seen several stunning decisions by the NLRB which impact Obama-era precedent, and which will impact employers and employees going forward in 2018. Joining this episode...more
12/22/2017
/ Boeing ,
Browning-Ferris Industries of California Inc. ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Joint Employers ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
NLRB General Counsel ,
Obama Administration ,
Policy Memorandums ,
Unions ,
Workplace Harassment Guidance
From tax and health care reform to employee wellness programs to even handheld electronic devices, why should your company be interested in today's hot benefits issues? In today's episode of Employment Law Now, a roundtable...more
12/12/2017
/ 401k ,
Cybersecurity ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Elder Care ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employee Tracking ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fees ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Health Savings Accounts ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Pensions ,
Retirement Plan ,
Wellness Programs
Good faith and timing means everything in employment law. This episode of Employment Law Now provides an update from DC, discusses questions employers should be asking in today’s climate of troubling sexual harassment news,...more
12/4/2017
/ Complaint Procedures ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Good Faith ,
Hiring & Firing ,
NLRB ,
Obscenity ,
Protected Class ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Social Media ,
Social Media Policy ,
Termination ,
Title VII ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
Workplace Harassment Guidance ,
Zero Tolerance Policies
Michael Schmidt's latest episode of Employment Law Now features a Top 10 list of tips to consider in order to avoid some holiday party mistakes for your company....more
Michael Schmidt's latest episode provides the second of his two-part interview with David Cohen on conducting internal pay equity audits....more
This episode of Employment Law Now provides an update on current DC initiatives to change joint employer and overtime exemption standards, as well as Part 1 of a two-part interview with a leading expert on conducting an...more
11/8/2017
/ Compliance ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Pay ,
Equity Compensation ,
Exemptions ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Fair Pay Act ,
Federal Contractors ,
Gender Equity ,
Internal Audit Functions ,
Joint Employers ,
NLRA ,
Over-Time ,
Pay Discrimination ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Pay Gap ,
Paycheck Fairness Act ,
Salary/Wage History ,
Silicon Valley ,
Standard Duties Test ,
Threshold Requirements ,
Trump Administration
Michael Schmidt, vice chair of Cozen O'Connor’s Labor & Employment Department, discusses how to engage your employees in today’s unique workplace and navigate a multi-jurisdictional set of employment laws. This episode...more
10/23/2017
/ Code of Conduct ,
Discipline ,
Diversity ,
Employee Engagement ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Political Expression ,
Productivity ,
Recruitment Policies ,
Reputation Management ,
Social Media Policy ,
Surveys ,
Technology ,
Termination ,
Workplace Communication
This episode discusses kneeling in the NFL/workplace, indefinite leave entitlement, and sufficient consideration for non-competes, provides an update from DC on OT exemptions and class action waivers, and questions whether...more
10/9/2017
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Athletes ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Football ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Joint Employers ,
Judicial Deference ,
Lawful Activities Act ,
Leave of Absence ,
Medical Leave ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
NFL ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Over-Time ,
Political Expression ,
Protected Class ,
Public Comment ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Request For Information ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
Sexual Orientation ,
Termination ,
Time Restrictions ,
Tip Credit ,
Title VII ,
Trump Administration ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Romances
This episode replays an interview of the podcast host, Mike Schmidt, that was originally aired on SiriusXM Channel 111, The Business Channel. Mike discusses the nature of adverse actions taken by employers due to employee...more
Michael Schmidt, Vice Chair of Cozen O’Connor’s Labor & Employment Department, provides an update on required EEO-1 and I-9 Forms, and addresses Employer Obligations to Employees After a Hurricane or Other Natural Disaster....more
9/5/2017
/ Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Compliance ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
EEO-1 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Fluctuating Workweek ,
Form I-9 ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Hurricane Harvey ,
Leave of Absence ,
Natural Disasters ,
Non-Exempt Employees ,
OMB ,
On-Call Employees ,
On-Duty Meal Period Waivers ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Unions ,
USCIS ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage Orders
Michael Schmidt of Cozen O'Connor addresses recent trends and noteworthy developments on certain employment policies related to political activity, confidential customer information, FMLA retaliation, and maximum leave...more
8/21/2017
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
But For Causation ,
Confidential Information ,
Covered Employer ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employee Privacy Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Macy's ,
Mixed Motive Cases ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Paid Leave ,
Popular ,
Protected Concerted Activity ,
Retaliation ,
Social Media Policy ,
Standard of Proof ,
Termination ,
Unpaid Leave ,
UPS ,
Voluntary Participation
I hope you had a very happy holiday season and New Year. Both seem to be distant memories at this point. Many of the upcoming posts in 2017 will undoubtedly address, and be impacted by, the nature of the new Trump...more
It is this time every year, as I am wrapping things up over at “social media and employment law blog” central, – and particularly in this latest political election year – that I am reminded of that election campaign more than...more
In the holiday spirit? Find yourself singing alone in the car to Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You” on Lite FM (of course, I don’t, I’m just asking you)? Thought the most interesting thing on your Twitter feed...more
The Irony in Regulating Employee Social Media Speech: the NLRB vs. the FTC -
BREAKING NEWS: Employees use social media. A lot. And, in a related story, Bush beat Gore, according to the Supreme Court. All breaking news,...more
WTF already?! As in, “where’s the fairness?” Time for an acronym update from our favorite government acronym, the NLRB. You will certainly remember that we have recommended asking yourself three questions before determining...more