Many state wage-and-hour laws require that employers adhere to strict time requirements regarding payment of compensation owed upon termination, but the Massachusetts high court recently took that to another level....more
Beginning March 24, 2022 through March 23, 2024, the new payroll reporting obligations under the Illinois Equal Pay Act (IEPA) require private employers in Illinois with 100 or more employees to register and report extensive...more
4/7/2022
/ Audits ,
Compliance ,
Covered Employer ,
EEO-1 ,
Equal Pay ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Illinois ,
Payroll Records ,
Reporting Requirements ,
State and Local Government ,
Wages
While the term “caregiver” is not identified as a protected class under federal equal employment opportunity (EEO) laws, workplace decisions that adversely impact job applicants and employees who are also caregivers can still...more
MSHA finally has a new leader. On March 29, 2022, the U.S. Senate confirmed by voice vote Christopher Williamson (Williamson) as Assistant Secretary for the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) at the Department of...more
On March 23, 2022, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published a notice in the federal register announcing a limited re-opening of the comment period regarding OSHA’s final standard to protect...more
On March 10, 2022, in the case Cree Inc. v. Labor and Industry Review Commission (Cree), the Wisconsin Supreme Court issued a 4-3 opinion holding that the employer’s recission of a job offer based on a domestic violence...more
Throughout the COVID pandemic, healthcare employers have navigated the challenge of balancing safety concerns with employee requests for religious exemption from the vaccine. Since lifting the stay of the CMS rule requiring...more
3/14/2022
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Guidance Update ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Religious Exemption ,
Title VII ,
Vaccinations
The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) requires supply and service contractors and subcontractors (collectively referred to as “contractors”) that meet certain jurisdictional thresholds to develop and...more
On February 10, 2022, the U.S. Senate passed by voice vote H.R. 4445, entitled Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault (HR 4445), a bipartisan bill that invalidates pre-dispute arbitration agreements and pre-dispute...more
On February 9, 2022, California reinstated COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave, which took effect on February 19, 2022, but will apply retroactively from January 1, 2022 through September 30, 2022. SB 114, the 2022 COVID-19...more
On February 23, 2022, Judge Jeremy Kernodle of the Eastern District of Texas ruled that certain parts of the Interim Final Rule Part II (the Rule) implementing the No Surprises Act (the Act) are invalid. Specifically, the...more
For many healthcare employers, phase one and phase two COVID-19 vaccine deadlines are either here or quickly approaching. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS), in an exercise of enforcement discretion, has begun...more
On February 3, 2022, in a unanimous decision in Marquita McDonald v. Symphony Bronzeville Park, LLC, et al., the Illinois Supreme Court (Court) held that a claim for statutory damages for statutory violations of the Illinois...more
On January 27, 2022, in the unanimous decision Wallen Lawson v. PPG Architectural Finishes, Inc., the California Supreme Court (Court) clarified the applicable evidentiary standard for the presentation and evaluation of...more
In early January 2022, the EEOC issued announcements regarding 1) opening and closing dates for filing the 2021 EEO-1 Component 1 Reports, and 2) changes in the types of reports required for certain multi-establishment EEO-1...more
When Congress enacted the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 in December 2019, Congress included the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act of 2019 (the Act). The Act, in relevant part, restricts federal...more
On January 13, 2022, in per curiam opinion National Federation of Independent Business et al., v. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, et al., the Supreme Court stayed OSHA’s COVID-19...more
1/14/2022
/ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Mandates ,
General Duty Clause ,
Lack of Authority ,
OSHA ,
SCOTUS ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
On Friday, January 07, 2022, the United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments on a rule promulgated by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) requiring healthcare workers at specific facilities participating...more
1/11/2022
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Mandates ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Injunctions ,
OSHA ,
Popular ,
SCOTUS ,
Secretary of HHS ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing
On January 7, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments on a slew of emergency applications for a stay of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS). OSHA’s ETS requires...more
On December 15, 2021, in State of Louisiana et al. v. Xavier Becerra, et al., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (Fifth Circuit) effectively revived the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Interim Final...more
On July 15, 2021, the California Supreme Court (Court) unanimously held that employers must pay out meal and rest period premiums using the same “regular rate” that is used to calculate overtime compensation and not the...more
On July 9, 2021, President Biden issued an executive order entitled Promoting Competition in the American Economy (EO) to combat high prices due to “lack of competition” and low wages resulting from “barriers to competition.”...more
On June 9, 2021, the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) issued a new COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) with the scope of the ETS limited to certain workplace settings that are defined as healthcare...more
6/29/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Manufacturers ,
New Guidance ,
OSHA ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Social Distancing ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
On March 22, 2021, former two-term Boston Mayor Marty Walsh was confirmed as U.S. Secretary of Labor in a 68-29 Senate vote. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce (Chamber) supported Walsh’s nomination as Secretary of Labor due in...more
5/13/2021
/ ABC Test ,
Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Independent Contractors ,
Joint Employers ,
Minimum Wage ,
OSHA ,
Paid Leave ,
Popular ,
Secretary of Labor ,
Tipped Employees ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
Wage and Hour