Blogs

Employment Law

EEOC Touts its Aggressive Enforcement Efforts in FY’23

On September 29, 2023, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC or Commission) announced its year-end litigation round-up, summarizing the Commission’s enhanced efforts to enforce federal employment laws. The EEOC enforces Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Equal Pay Act, and parts of the Americans with Disabilities Act.…

October 2, 2023

Employment Law

New Overtime Protections: What Employers and Employees Need to Know

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently shook up the labor market with an announcement that could significantly impact 3.6 million low-paid salaried workers in the United States. Under the new rule proposed by the DOL, the new salary threshold for overtime pay eligibility under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) would be set at…

September 14, 2023

Employment Law

What is Up for Contractors When the Federal Government Shuts Down?

With the Senate returning from its August recess on September 5, 2023, and the House not back in session until September 12, 2023, — and differences of hundreds of billions of dollars on spending remaining between the two chambers — time may have run out to avoid a federal government shutdown on October 1, 2023,…

September 7, 2023

Employment Law

EEOC Proposes New Regulations for Pregnant Workers Fairness Act

On August 11, 2023, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued proposed regulations to implement the federal Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA). The proposed regulations will remain open for public comment through October 10, 2023. What is the PWFA? The PWFA became law on June 27, 2023. It requires covered employers (those with fifteen…

August 15, 2023

Employment Law

NLRB Adopts Employee-Friendly Standard for Evaluating Workplace Rules

On August 2, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) adopted a new standard for evaluating when employer workplace rules will be found to have a “reasonable tendency” to discourage employees from exercising their right under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) to form, join, or assist with labor organizations, to bargain…

August 8, 2023

Employment Law

Unraveling the Legal Labyrinth of Workplace Retaliation Claims

Unlawful retaliation in the workplace, whether under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, or under state civil rights or whistleblower protections, is a pivotal situation – the EEOC received more than 28,000 retaliation complaints in 2022 – and involves complex areas of employment law, requiring a nuanced understanding for employers to effectively navigate the…

July 10, 2023

Employment Law

Will Liability Waivers Bar the Families of the Titan Expedition Victims from Recovering Damages?

You likely know the story by now. What started as an intrepid expedition to take a close-up look at the wreck of the Titanic using an experimental submersible vehicle named Titan to descend 12,500 feet below the surface of the north Atlantic Ocean, ended with the subsequent discovery of the Titan in pieces scattered on…

July 5, 2023

Employment Law

Employee Noncompetes Violate Federal Labor Law, According to NLRB General Counsel

In a shot across the bow to U.S. businesses, National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) General Counsel (GC) Jennifer Abruzzo recently issued a memo to all NLRB Regional Directors, Officers-in-Charge, and Resident officers making clear her view that “the proffer, maintenance, and enforcement” of non-compete provisions in employment agreements violate the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA),…

June 27, 2023

Employment Law

Avoiding Improper Employee FLSA Classifications

In a prior post, I discussed the five “white-collar” exemptions to the Fair Labor Standards Act’s (“FLSA”) minimum wage and overtime pay requirements. This post addresses the consequences of improperly classifying employees as exempt, identifies common classification mistakes, and offers suggestions and recommendations to ensure proper classification. Consequences of Improper Classification The ramifications of improperly classifying…

June 26, 2023

Employment Law

NLRB Ditches Trump-Era Independent Contractor Test – Reverts to 2014 Obama Standard

In The Atlanta Opera, 372 NLRB 95 (2023), a decision that may have particular significance for gig-economy businesses relying extensively on independent contractors, such as DoorDash and Lyft, the National Labor Relations Board (Board) got rid of its Trump-era independent contractor test under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) that had focused special significance on…

June 21, 2023