On November 20, 2019, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that the fluctuating workweek (“FWW”) method of calculating overtime pay owed to salaried workers is prohibited by state law. Chevalier v. General Nutrition Centers...more
As we previously reported, Nevada has enacted a personal leave law, which, effective January 1, 2020, will require private employers with 50 or more employees in Nevada to provide certain employees working in the state with...more
11/19/2019
/ Accrual Method ,
Advisory Opinions ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Exemptions ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Full-Time Employees ,
Labor Commissioners ,
New Legislation ,
Notice Requirements ,
Paid Leave ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Part-Time Employees ,
Seasonal Workers ,
State Labor Laws ,
Temporary Employees
As we previously reported, effective October 30, 2019, Westchester County, NY employers are required to provide paid leave to employees who are victims of domestic violence or human trafficking (“safe time”). Leave under the...more
On January 1, 2020, the new federal overtime rule takes effect. Other than in states with already-higher minimum salaries for exemption (which include California and, for certain types of employees, New York), employers will...more
9/26/2019
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Highly Compensated Employees ,
Minimum Salary ,
Misclassification ,
Non-Exempt Employees ,
Over-Time ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
The U.S. Department of Labor issued its final rule amending the overtime regulations today, without any significant changes from the proposed rule the agency issued in March 2019. Here’s the bottom line....more
9/25/2019
/ Bonuses ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Final Rules ,
Highly Compensated Employees ,
Incentive Compensation ,
Minimum Salary ,
Minimum Wage ,
Misclassification ,
New Rules ,
Non-Exempt Employees ,
Obama Administration ,
Over-Time ,
Salaried Employees ,
Sales Commissions ,
Trump Administration ,
Unpaid Overtime ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
2019 has been a busy year for developments in workplace law. With the current administration in Washington taking a very passive stance on regulation of employers, States and Cities have led the charge to expand workers'...more
9/11/2019
/ #MeToo ,
Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Pay ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Lactation Accommodation ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Non-Disclosure Agreement ,
Salary/Wage History ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
Toledo, Ohio is the latest jurisdiction (and the second city in Ohio) to enact a law that will prohibit employers from asking job applicants about salary history....more
7/16/2019
/ Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Pay ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Job Applicants ,
Local Ordinance ,
Private Right of Action ,
Remedies ,
Salary/Wage History ,
State Labor Laws
The Colorado legislature has been quite active in recent weeks, passing several new employment laws, many of which reflect nationwide trends. Among other things, the new laws address discriminatory pay disparities, salary...more
7/8/2019
/ Criminal Background Checks ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Pay ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Job Applicants ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Pay Gap ,
Salary/Wage History ,
State Labor Laws
Continuing the trend of states passing increasingly progressive employment regulations, Nevada recently enacted three new laws addressing paid leave, workplace drug testing, and minimum wage. ...more
The New York state legislature has passed a bill that would allow employees making certain claims for unpaid wages to obtain a lien against their employers’ property for the value of the claim, inclusive of liquidated...more
7/1/2019
/ Books & Records ,
Call-In Pay ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Governor Cuomo ,
Liens ,
Liquidated Damages ,
Minimum Wage ,
Payroll Deductions ,
Personal Liability ,
Privately Held Corporations ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Shareholders ,
State Labor Laws ,
Unpaid Overtime ,
Unpaid Wages
The “Restoring Overtime Pay Act of 2019” (H.R. 3197, introduced by Rep. Mark Takano of California) would legislate, for the first time in U.S. history, the minimum salary for exemption under the EAP exemptions—a matter that...more
Kansas City, Missouri is the latest jurisdiction (and the second Midwestern city in recent weeks) to enact a law that will prohibit employers from asking job applicants about salary history....more
As we have previously reported, in late 2018, a Texas appellate court ruled that a similar paid sick leave ordinance enacted in Austin violated the Texas Minimum Wage Act and the Texas Constitution and was therefore...more
Covered Employees and Use of Leave Effective October 30, 2019, Westchester County, NY employers will be required to provide paid leave to employees who are victims of domestic violence or human trafficking. Leave under the...more
5/18/2019
/ Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Confidentiality Policies ,
Covered Employees ,
Domestic Violence ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Harassment ,
Human Trafficking ,
Local Ordinance ,
Notice Requirements ,
Paid Leave ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Remedies ,
Required Documentation ,
Sexual Abuse ,
Sick Leave ,
Stalking
New Jersey will soon become the first state to require certain employers to offer employees tax-favored transportation benefits.
S.B. 1567, also known as An Act Concerning Pre-Tax Transportation Fringe Benefits (the...more
Washington is poised to become the ninth state to pass a law that would prohibit employers from asking job applicants about their salary history....more
In an opinion letter issued April 29, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division concluded that a “virtual marketplace company” (“VMC”) that connects service providers with consumers is not the employer of...more
4/30/2019
/ Act or Omission ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Economic Realities Test ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Gig Economy ,
Good Faith ,
Independent Contractors ,
Liquidated Damages ,
Minimum Wage ,
On-Demand Services ,
Third-Party Service Provider ,
Unpaid Overtime ,
Virtual Marketplace Companies (VMCs) ,
Wage and Hour
Even at a gathering of employment lawyers, HR professionals, and compensation veterans, one of the easiest ways to clear the room is to begin a discussion on the regular rate of pay. Few other topics, even within the general...more
4/11/2019
/ Bonuses ,
Call-Back Pay ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Minimum Wage ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Public Comment ,
Rate of Pay ,
Wage and Hour
On March 26, 2019, New York’s highest court delivered a victory for employers in the home care industry, clarifying that employers need only compensate home health aides for 13 hours of a 24-hour shift, provided the employees...more
4/1/2019
/ Agency Deference ,
Appeals ,
Class Certification ,
Home Health Care ,
Home Healthcare Workers ,
Legislative History ,
New York Court of Appeals ,
NYDOL ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Remand ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Reversal ,
State Labor Departments ,
Wage and Hour
As we previously reported, pursuant to a recent amendment to the New York City Human Rights Law, covered employers must now develop and implement a written policy regarding the provision of a lactation room, to be distributed...more
On March 14, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued an opinion letter, FMLA 2019-1-A, addressing compliance issues under the Family and Medical leave Act (FMLA). The FMLA provides eligible employees with up to 12...more
The U.S. Department of Labor’s proposed new overtime rule was published in the Federal Register on March 22nd. As described in our earlier post, the proposed new rule would...more
3/25/2019
/ Bonuses ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Final Rules ,
Highly Compensated Employees ,
Incentive Compensation ,
Minimum Salary ,
Misclassification ,
Over-Time ,
Sales Commissions ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
It’s here. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division unveiled its proposed new overtime rule today. We skipped the 200-plus pages of preamble and jumped right to the proposed regulatory amendments themselves...more
In yet another legal development calling into question a traditional independent contractor relationship in the U.S., the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit determined that off-duty police officers were employees of a...more
2/14/2019
/ Appeals ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Economic Realities Test ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
Over-Time ,
Payroll Records ,
Police ,
Risk Assessment ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Security Guards ,
Wage Statements
Our friends at Bloomberg Law are reporting that the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has sent a proposed new federal overtime rule to the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA). OIRA is part of the...more