On May 25, 2022, the U.S. Department of Labor announced that the Wage and Hour Division (WHD) published new Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) Guidance. The newly issued Fact Sheet #280 explains when eligible employees may...more
As many employers approach their one-year anniversary of working from home, it is obvious that the COVID-19 pandemic has permanently changed both how and where we work. By 2025, an estimated 36.2 million Americans will be...more
On September 30, 2020, New York’s Paid Sick Leave Law (“Law” or “PSLL”) will take effect. The Law applies to all private employers and employees, and as we have previously reported, starting September 30, 2020, employees in...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) has responded to last month’s court decision striking down several significant provisions of its temporary rule (“Rule”) interpreting the paid sick and expanded family and medical leave...more
9/17/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Intermittent Leave ,
Labor Regulations ,
Paid Leave ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Sick Leave ,
Wage and Hour
In response to a lawsuit brought by New York State (“State”), the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York has invalidated four provisions of the U.S. Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) Final Rule (“Rule”)...more
8/17/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Paid Leave ,
Public Health ,
Sick Leave ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
While much attention is currently focused on whether Congress will extend, in whole or in part, the emergency $600 increase in unemployment insurance benefits (“UI”) that, until July 31, 2020, had been provided by the CARES...more
On July 20, 2020, the Wage and Hour Division (“WHD”) of the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) published new guidance for businesses reopening amid the COVID-19 pandemic. ...more
7/27/2020
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Sick Leave ,
Wage and Hour
On November 8, 2019, Governor Cuomo signed A584/S660 (“Law”) into law, one bill in a series of legislation meant to protect reproductive health rights. Under the Law, all New York employers are prohibited from discriminating...more
12/5/2019
/ Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employee Privacy Rights ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Policies ,
Governor Cuomo ,
Human Rights Code ,
New Legislation ,
Reproductive Discrimination ,
State Labor Laws
The Texas Workforce Commission (“TWC”), the agency responsible for administering unemployment benefits and assessing unemployment taxes, recently adopted a rule (“Rule”) pursuant to which certain workers who provide services...more
7/22/2019
/ ABC Test ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Digital Marketplace ,
Economic Realities Test ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Independent Contractors ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
State Labor Laws ,
Texas ,
Unemployment Insurance ,
Wage and Hour ,
Websites
The U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) recently announced that it has extended for three years the validity of its current online notices and medical certification forms for use in connection with leaves of absence under the...more
In a move allowing increased flexibility for employers and greater opportunity for unpaid interns to gain valuable industry experience, the United States Department of Labor (“DOL”) recently issued Field Assistance Bulletin...more
Addressing Workplace Sexual Harassment in the Wake of #MeToo -
Revelations of the Harvey Weinstein scandal, and those that have followed, have ignited sexual harassment complaints against employers across all industries....more
12/27/2017
/ Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Cybersecurity ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Equal Pay ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Harassment ,
Minimum Salary ,
Paid Leave ,
Popular ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
The New York State Department of Labor (“NYSDOL”) has adopted its previously proposed amendments to the state’s minimum wage orders to increase the salary basis threshold for executive and administrative employees...more
On October 19, 2016, the New York State Department of Labor (“NYSDOL”) announced proposed amendments to the state’s minimum wage orders (“Proposed Amendments”) to increase the salary basis threshold for executive and...more
As federal, state, and local governments have focused in recent years on what they have termed “wage theft,” the classification of workers as independent contractors has been the subject of agency audits and litigation...more
On June 1, 2015, the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) issued guidance on the best practices for providing restroom access to transgender workers. The guidance’s core principle is...more
6/15/2015
/ Civil Rights Act ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Discrimination ,
Employee Restrooms ,
Employee Rights ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Gender Identity ,
OSHA ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title VII ,
Transgender
On May 27, 2015, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued new model Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) notices and medical certification forms. The previously issued forms expired as of February 28, 2015, without any update...more
On May 2, 2014, the U.S. Departments of Labor and Health and Human Services published a series of guidance and model notices clarifying the provision of health insurance to recently terminated employees. The Department of...more
5/19/2014
/ Affordable Care Act ,
COBRA ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Mandates ,
Health Insurance ,
Health Insurance Exchanges ,
Healthcare ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Notice Requirements
In response to a federal mandate requiring states to restructure their unemployment insurance ("UI") laws to reduce government spending on UI benefits, New York State has amended its law in a way that may cause New York...more
New York employers should be aware that, effective December 31, 2013, the statewide minimum wage increased from $7.25 to $8.00 per hour. This is the first in a series of incremental changes that will see the hourly minimum...more
The U.S. Department of Labor ("DOL") announced that, as of August 9, 2013, it had updated guidance documents to remove references to the Defense of Marriage Act ("DOMA") in order to affirm the availability of spousal leave...more
The New York State Department of Labor ("DOL") recently published its long-awaited proposed regulations ("Proposed Regulations") pertaining to the newly expanded categories of permissible wage deductions pursuant to the New...more
On March 8, 2013, the U.S. Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) Final Rule will go into effect, implementing regulations expanding Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) protections to military families and airline flight crews,...more