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On November 14th, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services agency (“USCIS”) is expected to formally publish proposed fee changes in the Federal Register for the applications and petitions it processes. Public comments about the regulatory fee changes should be due 30 days later, but it appears that the new fee levels may start to be …
Continue reading “Just in Time for Thanksgiving: The USCIS Implements Large Filing Fee Increases”
In September 2014, four reality TV participants on the show Texas Car Wars sued the network Megalomedia for violating the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) alleging that Megalomedia did not pay them in full for their time on the show. According to the participants, film shoots regularly exceeded 40 hours per week and participants were …
Continue reading “Keepin’ It Real: Wage and Hour Issues in the Reality TV Industry”
Every so often an employer sponsoring an ERISA employee benefit plan will receive a written request from a participant or beneficiary (or their legal counsel) to provide plan related documents. Sometimes the request asks for specific documents and sometimes the request is broader, asking for all instruments under which the plan is established or operated, …
Continue reading “Pay Attention to Requests for ERISA Plan Documents or Risk the Con$equence$”
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 …
Two new laws that seek to enhance pay transparency and pay equity have been passed and, once proclaimed, will impact provincially-regulated and federally-regulated employees and employers. Bill 3, Pay Transparency Act, 2018 – For Provincially Regulated Employers and Employees The Ontario government passed Bill 3, Pay Transparency Act, 2018 (PTA), which imposes requirements on Ontario …
Continue reading “Pay Transparency and Pay Equity in Ontario”
Having recently helped a client determine if it employed on average more than 50 employees per month in a calendar year and therefore was an applicable large employer (“ALE”) subject to the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) in the following calendar year, I had many opportunities to see the complexities of the ACA’s rules in operation. …
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 …
From our perspective we appear to be experiencing an uptick in the reporting of employees testing positive for controlled substances, whether how to address positive tests for cannabis in those states in which it is legal to use either medically or recreationally, or other substances. We cannot quantify this uptick, but we have seen clients …
The American population, and thus the American workforce, is becoming increasingly subject to anxiety and depression disorders. Employers must find ways to retain and motivate employees with such diagnoses in order to maintain a competitive advantage and to avoid legal liability. Nobody knows precisely how many U.S. employees suffer from anxiety and depression, but they …
In a growing technological and global marketplace, the labor market is expanding to accommodate the “gig economy,” a labor market characterized by short-term, freelance or other alternative work relationships. Though app-based businesses and delivery companies typically come to mind when referring to the gig economy, many Fortune 500 companies are actively engaging gig workers for …
Continue reading “Employment Law Considerations for Engaging Gig Workers”