On November 15, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas vacated the Department of Labor's (DOL) April 26, 2024, final rule increasing the minimum salary threshold for exemptions to the Fair Labor...more
On April 23, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a final rule which included a two-step raise of the federal minimum salary requirement for exempt employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Beginning...more
7/5/2024
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Final Rules ,
Highly Compensated Employees ,
Minimum Salary ,
Over-Time ,
Regulatory Authority ,
Salaried Employees ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
On September 9, 2021, President Biden announced major actions intended to combat the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic called the Path Out of the Pandemic that will have a significant impact on employers across the country. ...more
9/10/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Federal Contractors ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
New Guidance ,
OSHA ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
As discussed in "New Coronavirus Relief Legislation Impacts Employers in Two Key Areas" the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) paid leave mandates expired January 1, 2021 and there is presently no requirement...more
3/15/2021
/ American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ,
Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Labor Reform ,
New Legislation ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Popular ,
Relief Measures ,
Sick Leave ,
Sick Pay ,
Tax Credits
Late in the day on December 27, 2020, President Trump signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2020, which contains the latest in coronavirus relief measures. The massive 5,593-page legislation covers a wide variety of...more
On December 16, 2020, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) provided guidance to employers considering mandating or encouraging their employees to be vaccinated for COVID-19. The EEOC promulgated the...more
12/18/2020
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
GINA ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Title VII ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
As the curve of COVID-19 infections begin to level off, employees recover from infections, and as government shelter-in-place and similar orders begin to expire, businesses are confronted with the complexities of returning...more
5/4/2020
/ Best Practices ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Labor Relations ,
OSHA ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Popular ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Return-to-Work Agreements ,
Social Distancing ,
Workplace Safety
On April 1, 2020 the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a temporary rule promulgating regulations on the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), which created two new emergency paid leave requirements in response...more
4/7/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
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
The Department of Labor (DOL) announced yesterday, in a proposed rule anticipated to take effect in January 2020, that it intends to increase the salary threshold for "white collar" exemptions under the Fair Labor Standards...more
3/12/2019
/ Comment Period ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Minimum Salary ,
Non-Exempt Employees ,
NPRM ,
Over-Time ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
On January 15, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling in New Prime Inc. v. Dominic Oliveira (No. 17-340) clarifying whether the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) applied to arbitration provisions within independent...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
This week, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision that class action waivers in arbitration agreements are enforceable. The Court's long-awaited decision makes clear that employers can require employees to resolve any...more
5/23/2018
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Epic Systems Corp v Lewis ,
Ernst & Young v Morris ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Murphy Oil v NLRB ,
Remand ,
Reversal ,
Savings Clause ,
SCOTUS
Returning to its long-standing practice of issuing opinion letters (which had ceased in 2010), and after reissuing 17 previously withdrawn opinion letters on January 5, 2018, the Department of Labor (DOL) yesterday issued...more
4/16/2018
/ Consumer Credit Protection ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Lump Sum Payments ,
Opinion Letter ,
Payment Terms ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Travel Time ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage Garnishment
On October 24, 2017, the Court of Appeals for the Western District of Missouri issued an opinion affirming that sex stereotyping is a form of gender discrimination that is actionable under the Missouri Human Rights Act...more
11/1/2017
/ Appeals ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Gender Identity ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Rights Act ,
LGBTQ ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Sexual Stereotyping