After Lengthy Confirmation Fight, Brace For Intrusive EEOC Action. On July 13, the Senate finally confirmed attorney Kaplana Kotagal — whom we have had numerous occasion to discuss in this space — to join the Equal Employment...more
7/27/2023
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Arbitration ,
Biden Administration ,
Cannabis Products ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employees ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Independent Contractors ,
International Shoe Co v Washington ,
LGBTQ ,
Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) ,
NLRB ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
OSHA ,
Personal Jurisdiction ,
SCOTUS ,
Title VII ,
Transparency ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Injury
Seyfarth Hosts Government Relations Policy Summit. Aaand we are back to our regular scheduled programming. On September 30 2022, Seyfarth hosted an in-person policy summit that included four panels and a keynote...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Today the U.S. Department of Labor issued its draft new interpretive regulation (or NPRM) attempting to define employee versus independent contractor status under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The NPRM...more
If Current Polling Holds, Expect Additional Executive Action In 2023 And 2024. This newsletter has often had occasion to discuss the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) in the context of addressing rules...more
Annnnd We're Back: Legislative Update. We appreciate this audience bearing with us as this newsletter has been on a short hiatus in light of some scheduling issues. During that brief respite numerous different pieces of...more
7/19/2022
/ Arbitration ,
Competition ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
DFEH ,
EEO-1 ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Heat Exposure ,
Independent Contractors ,
Innovation ,
NLRB ,
OSHA ,
Paid Leave ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Pre-Dispute Arbitration ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
SCOTUS ,
Stop Woke Act ,
Vaccinations ,
Viking River Cruises Inc v Moriana ,
Wage and Hour ,
Ways and Means Committee ,
West Virginia v EPA ,
Whistleblowers ,
Workplace Safety
House Passes Bill To Extend Recent Prohibition On Arbitration Of Sexual Harassment. While the 50-50 partisan split in the Senate has caused an uneven legislative road since the onset of the Biden Administration, legislation...more
A New Year Brings New Hope, And A Little Vaccine Clarity. Below is a brief discussion of where the various vaccine mandates stand in the courts. But this space is intended to provide a broader update on all of the various...more
The Senate, Finally, Takes A Baby Vote On The Bipartisan Infrastructure Proposal. On Wednesday, the Senate voted 67-32 to advance the proposal, with 17 Republicans joining all Democrats to begin legislative action. The vote...more
The Great Loosening: Easing of Coronavirus Restrictions Across The Union. Since Joe Biden’s election, this space has discussed the great expansion of the Paycheck Protection Program, as well as the great undoing of a number...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Headlining the number of employment-related bills California legislators introduced by the February 19th deadline are those that would extend COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave and provide other leaves...more
3/8/2021
/ ABC Test ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Independent Contractors ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Paid Leave ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Sick Leave ,
Telecommuting ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage Theft
The Fight For $1.9: Administration Remains Committed To Passing COVID-19 Legislation, Even Without Republican Backing. Unlike previous updates on the “will they won’t they” back-and-forth of COVID-19 / Stimulus Legislation...more
Oh Happy Day! Stimulus Is Finally (Almost) Live. The House and Senate are scheduled to vote on a $900 billion pandemic relief package along with a $1.4 trillion measure to fund the government through September 30, 2021. ...more
12/22/2020
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Financial Stimulus ,
FRCP 30(b)(6) ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Independent Contractors ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Relief Measures ,
Vaccinations
The NLRB Will Look, And Act, Much Differently Under A Biden Administration. Joe Biden has reiterated, again and again, that supporting organized labor will sit atop his agenda. The board is currently operating with a vacant...more
12/8/2020
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Independent Contractors ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Joint Employers ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
NLRB ,
OSHA ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions ,
Workplace Safety
Stimulus, Vaccines, and Corona. OH MY!
First, The Stimulus. The status of additional stimulus remains where it has been as we have been tracking it for months, ever since the House passed the HEROES Act: nowhere. While the...more
11/23/2020
/ ABC Test ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Executive Orders ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Gig Economy ,
H-1B ,
Immigration Reform ,
Independent Contractors ,
Infections ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Labor Reform ,
Lyft ,
Moderna Inc. ,
Pfizer ,
Public Charge ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Secretary of Labor ,
Title III ,
Trump Administration ,
Uber ,
Vaccinations
A Tribute To The Late, Incomparably Great, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Exactly two weeks to the day, the Country began collective mourning over the loss of one of the greatest jurisprudential minds in a century. Justice...more
10/5/2020
/ Civil Rights Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Dukes v Wal-Mart ,
Epic Systems Corp v Lewis ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Gig Economy ,
Government Shutdown ,
Governor Newsom ,
H-1B ,
H-2B ,
Independent Contractors ,
Infectious Diseases ,
J-1 Visas ,
L-1 Visas ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Paid Leave ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Ruth Bader Ginsberg ,
SCOTUS ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Title VII ,
Trump Administration ,
Vance v. Ball State University ,
Visas ,
Women in the Law
Seyfarth Synopsis: Businesses operating in California have had all of eight months to adapt since Assembly Bill 5, a landmark piece of legislation governing their relationships with independent contractors, took effect on...more
9/9/2020
/ ABC Test ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Dynamex ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Freelance Workers ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Regulations ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Misclassification ,
Music Industry ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Writers
Seyfarth Synopsis: Businesses operating in California have had all of eight months to adapt since Assembly Bill 5 (“AB 5”), a landmark piece of legislation governing their relationships with independent contractors, took...more
9/9/2020
/ ABC Test ,
Dynamex ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Freelance Workers ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Regulations ,
Misclassification ,
Music Industry ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Writers
Seyfarth Synopsis: The California Legislature has passed a series of employment-related bills for Governor Newsom to consider. He has until September 30 to approve or veto these bills, most of which relate to leaves of...more
9/4/2020
/ ABC Test ,
Cal Code of Civil Procedure ,
California Family Rights Act (CFRA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
DFEH ,
Domestic Violence ,
EEO-1 ,
Entertainment Industry ,
FEHA ,
Gender Neutral ,
Governor Newsom ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Code ,
Leave of Absence ,
Medical Marijuana ,
Military Service Members ,
OSHA ,
Paid Family Leave Law ,
Paid Sick Leave ,
Pay Data ,
Penal Code ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
Veterans ,
Workers' Compensation Claim
Seyfarth Synopsis: The controversy surrounding AB 5 unveiled a clear need for a new avenue of classifying so-called gig workers to combine the certainty of employee designations with the flexibility of gig jobs. ...more