On March 31, 2021, President Biden unveiled his $2 trillion infrastructure plan, the American Jobs Plan (AJP), which comes on the heels of the enactment of last month’s $1.9 trillion COVID-recovery legislation, the American...more
When President Biden took the unprecedented step of firing National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) General Counsel Peter Robb shortly after taking the oath of office on January 20, observers noted that it was a significant...more
On March 11, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL” or “the Department”) announced proposals to roll back two Trump administration regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA” or “the Act”)....more
3/12/2021
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Economic Realities Test ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Joint Employers ,
Labor Reform ,
Misclassification ,
Wage and Hour
On March 9, 2021, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2021 (PRO Act) by a largely party-line vote of 225-206. One Democratic Representative voted against the bill; five...more
3/11/2021
/ Arbitration Agreements ,
Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Gig Economy ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
Legislative Agendas ,
NLRA ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour
On February 4, 2021, House and Senate Democrats introduced the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act. Introduction was expected, as President Biden pledged to be “the strongest labor president you have ever had” during...more
2/10/2021
/ ABC Test ,
Biden Administration ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Gig Economy ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
Labor Relations ,
Legislative Agendas ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Right to Work ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Union Organizers ,
Unions
Although the 2020 presidential election is technically behind us, razor-thin and contested elections for the presidency and Congress remain, potentially drawing out the uncertainty through the new year. As of the date of...more
11/9/2020
/ Equal Pay ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Independent Contractors ,
Joe Biden ,
Joint Employers ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
LGBTQ ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Trump Administration ,
Wage and Hour
On February 25, 2020, the National Labor Relations Board released its long-awaited final rule regarding joint-employer status under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The final rule is scheduled to be published in the...more
2/27/2020
/ Browning-Ferris Industries of California Inc. ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Final Rules ,
Franchises ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Joint Employers ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
Labor Relations ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Staffing Agencies ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour
A California federal court has granted a preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of Assembly Bill 51, an expansive anti-arbitration law enacted in October and set to take effect on January 1, 2020....more
2/4/2020
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
FEHA ,
Labor Code ,
Labor Regulations ,
Motion To Enjoin ,
New Legislation ,
Preemption ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Restraining Orders ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
TRO
On January 13, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released its long-awaited final rule regarding joint-employer status under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The final rule is scheduled to be published in the...more
1/14/2020
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Final Rules ,
Franchises ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Joint Employers ,
Labor Regulations ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Wage and Hour
A federal court in California has prevented, at least for now, an expansive anti-arbitration law from taking effect on January 1, 2020. Under Assembly Bill (AB) 51, enacted on October 10, 2019, employers cannot require...more
12/31/2019
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Contract Terms ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Labor Disputes ,
Labor Regulations ,
New Legislation ,
Preemption ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Restraining Orders ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
TRO
On Friday, December 6, 2019, a coalition of national and state trade associations filed suit in California federal court seeking to strike down the state’s recently enacted “anti-arbitration” law, A.B. 51.1 A.B. 5...more
Labor Day became an official federal holiday in 1894. Although the world of employment has obviously changed significantly over the last 125 years, the pace of workplace transformation seems to have accelerated in the past...more
9/3/2019
/ #MeToo ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Ban the Box ,
Employer Mandates ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Health Insurance ,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Independent Contractors ,
Joint Employers ,
Labor Regulations ,
Labor Shortage ,
LGBTQ ,
Marijuana ,
Misclassification ,
OFCCP ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Rate of Pay ,
Right to Work ,
Salary/Wage History ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Silica ,
Transgender ,
Unemployment ,
USCIS ,
Visas ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
On April 1, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on joint employment under the Fair Labor Standards Act—the third proposed rule published by the agency in the last two weeks....more
On March 7, 2019, the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor, through its Acting Administrator Keith Sonderling, published the long-awaited Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to revise the “white collar”...more
3/11/2019
/ Comment Period ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Minimum Salary ,
Non-Exempt Employees ,
Over-Time ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Standard Duties Test ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
On December 28, 2018, a divided Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld portions of an Obama-era standard for determining “joint employer” status under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), ultimately...more
1/2/2019
/ Appeals ,
Browning-Ferris Industries of California Inc. ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Franchises ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Joint Employers ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Staffing Agencies ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour
Almost two years into the new presidential administration, and with highly consequential and hotly debated mid-term elections around the corner, Littler’s Workforce Policy Institute’s Labor Day Report examines the state of...more
9/4/2018
/ ADEA ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Age Discrimination ,
Association Health Plans ,
Ban the Box ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
DACA ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Drug Testing ,
Employer Mandates ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Foreign Workers ,
Gig Economy ,
H-1B ,
Health Insurance ,
Immigrants ,
Independent Contractors ,
Joint Employers ,
NLRB ,
NLRB General Counsel ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Persuader Rules ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Sharing Economy ,
Unemployment ,
Wage and Hour
The National Labor Relations Board's new General Counsel, Peter Robb, has wasted no time in taking steps to chart a new direction for the Board. Two weeks after being sworn in as General Counsel, Robb has issued Memorandum...more
12/5/2017
/ Administrative Appointments ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Joint Employers ,
NLRB ,
NLRB General Counsel ,
Policy Memorandums ,
Purple Communications ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Unions
On August 31, 2017, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas granted summary judgment for a diverse coalition of 55 business groups, led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and joined by numerous state...more
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is reconsidering portions of a final rule setting standards for occupational exposure to beryllium. The rule, published January 9, 2017, was initially set to take...more
On June 7, 2107, a plaintiff brought a putative class and collective action against Chipotle for alleged violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act and New Jersey’s Wage and Hour Law. The plaintiff asserts the company...more
6/15/2017
/ Apprenticeships ,
Chipotle Grill ,
Collective Actions ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Dismissals ,
Employee Definition ,
Minimum Salary ,
Misclassification ,
Over-Time ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
On March 27, 2017, President Trump signed a joint resolution of disapproval (H.J. Res. 37) to block the rule implementing Executive Order 13,673, Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces, otherwise known as the "blacklisting" rule. The...more
On Thursday, March 9, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit held long-awaited oral arguments in Browning-Ferris International v. NLRB. The case will be critical in defining joint employment...more
As a result of the Supreme Court’s recent decision to grant certiorari and address the dispute over whether class and collective action waivers are lawful in an arbitration agreement, many employers have asked whether similar...more
2/6/2017
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Collective Actions ,
Corporate Counsel ,
D.R. Horton v NLRB ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Murphy Oil v NLRB ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
NLRB General Counsel ,
Opt-Outs ,
Protected Concerted Activity
On a very limited legal basis, a federal district court has declined to enjoin the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration from enforcing portions of its new recordkeeping rule related to potentially retaliatory...more
On November 22, 2016, at the request of 22 states and 55 business groups that brought suit as plaintiffs, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas issued a preliminary injunction blocking the U.S....more