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On August 3, 2020, the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced that it will resume issuing charge closure documents. The EEOC had suspended issuing charge closure documents on March 21, 2020 due to the pandemic, unless a charging party requested closing charge documents be issued. Although the EEOC has continued to investigate cases, …
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On Wednesday, May 20, 2020, Jeff Beemer and I conducted a webinar of the same title as this blog, which you can register to access here. In that webinar, we discussed the top concerns employers face as they seek to re-open their businesses under the relaxed stay-at-home orders and re-up their workforces. This blog will …
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As the New Year approaches, employers throughout the United States must prepare for new legislation taking effect that may impact their operations. One critical change that commonly occurs around the New Year is an increase to the minimum wage. On January 1, 2020 (or December 31, 2019), the minimum wage will rise in 21 states. …
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In Kenney v. Helix TCS, Inc. No. 18-1105 (10th Cir. Sept. 20, 2019), the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals held that employers in the cannabis industry must abide by the wage/hour requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) despite that cannabis remains federally prohibited as a Schedule 1 controlled substance under the Controlled Substances …
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30 FAQs about the New Rule The Department of Labor (“DOL”) unveiled the final version of its overtime exemption rule (the “Rule”), which sets the annual salary threshold for exempt employees to qualify for the Fair Labor Standards Act’s (“FLSA”) white-collar exemptions at $35,568 per year or $684 a week, an increase from the current …
The patchwork of state employment laws just got a few more patches. On July 12th and August 12th (Senate Bill S6577), Governor Cuomo signed two employment-focused laws that added a number of updates to the New York State Human Rights Law (NYSHRL). The first law, which took effect on July 12 on signature by the …
Employment law is constantly evolving and changing to keep up with the evolving workforce and work-related issues. For example, in the last year, we have seen a changing landscape focused on gender bias and discrimination with the Me Too and Times Up movements. While we will continue to see claims, charges, and lawsuits related to …
For those keeping track, there are a number of different (yet somewhat similar) tests agencies and courts use to determine whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor. For example, there is the Right-to-Control Test that the Internal Revenue Service uses for federal tax purposes, which is not to be confused with the …
Relevant Background Regarding Joint Employer Status Joint employer status continues to be a major issue at all levels of the debate, including with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and federal and state courts. This is highlighted by the recent conflict that arose in December 2018 with the D.C. Circuit’s decision in Browning-Ferris Industries of …
With the issue of appropriate vs. inappropriate sexual conduct continuing to be the hot button topic, it is important to understand there is another related issue that remains front and center yet it remains silent, and that issue is retaliation. In terms of workplace sexual harassment as a claim in its own right, a brief …
Continue reading “In the #MeToo Era, Why Retaliation is the Scariest Word for Employers”