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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”
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 …
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”
Most folks reading this post are subject to a slew of policies that govern his or her employment. For most of us, workplace policies govern when we come to work, what we do when we get there, when we can leave for the day, when and how we take time away from work, what we …
More than 570,000 No Match letters (NML) have been sent by the Social Security Administration (SSA) starting in late March of 2019 with instructions for the Employer to review the name and social security number (SSN) provided on the W-2 form (Wage and Tax Statement) and to provide any necessary corrections to the SSA with …
It is well known by employers that nonqualified deferred compensation (“NQDC”) plans that are established to provide unfunded deferred compensation benefits to a select group of management or highly compensated employees (referred to as “top hat plans,” as in the top hat, for example, worn by the “Monopoly Man”) are not subject to the typical …
The summary plan description (“SPD”) and disclosure regulations provided by the Department of Labor (“DOL”) are spread across six regulatory sections. They are voluminous. One section, however, provides an alternative method of compliance for providing retirement plan SPDs and summaries of material modification (“SMMs”) to terminated participants and beneficiaries receiving benefits if certain requirements are …