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Sixth Circuit Finds Faulty Handbook Bars Employer from Challenging Employee’s Eligibility for FMLA Leave

February 9, 2015 | Blog | By George Patterson

The Sixth Circuit recently held that a Michigan county agency was barred from arguing that its employee was ineligible for leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), because the employee relied on an inaccurate description of FMLA eligibility requirements contained in the agency’s personnel manual when he commenced the absence that led to his termination.
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Can Employers Require Their Employees to be Vaccinated?

February 5, 2015 | Blog

If it can happen in the "Happiest Place on Earth", then why can't it happen at my office? That is a question many employers are asking themselves after a recent multi-state measles outbreak was linked to Disneyland in California.
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Emergency Legislation to DC’s Wage Theft Law Clarifies That Exempt Employees Are Not Subject to Heightened Recordkeeping Requirements

February 4, 2015 | Blog | By David Barmak, Frank Hupfl

The D.C. Council has passed emergency legislation to address certain ambiguities in and other issues raised by D.C.’s Wage Theft Prevention Amendment Act, which takes effect on February 26, 2015.  As we noted last month, the Act’s language as previously written was unclear on whether exempt employees were subject to the Act’s heightened recordkeeping requirements.
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More on California Non-Competes – But This Time from Delaware

February 4, 2015 | Blog | By Jennifer Rubin

When it comes to California non-competes, you can never get enough clarity.  And when that clarity comes from a Delaware Chancery Court, it adds a utility element that our corporate brethren appreciate.
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New York Federal Court Finds that the Fair Labor Standards Act Does Not Require an Employer to Compensate an Employee for Time Spent at Mandatory Alcohol Counseling and Treatment Sessions

February 3, 2015 | Blog

Employers do not have to pay their employees to attend mandatory alcohol counseling and treatment sessions, according to a New York Federal court.
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Seattle Seahawks Headed for a Second Straight Super Bowl Victory? Yes, According to Unemployment Statistics; No, According to Lion…and Other Notes for Employers in Advance of the Big Game

January 30, 2015 | Blog

Predicting the Super Bowl victor used to be easy. You just looked at the city with the lower unemployment rate and who Elijah that lovable orangutan picked and you called it a day.
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DOL Looks to Update/Modernize Sex Discrimination Guidelines for Federal Contractors and Subcontractors

January 29, 2015 | Blog

Yesterday, the Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) published a notice of proposed rulemaking that would rescind the Labor Department’s sex discrimination guidelines for federal contractors and subcontractors and replace them with new rules.
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Massachusetts Expands Its Leave Law to Cover Fathers

January 29, 2015 | Blog | By Robert Sheridan

This past September, we discussed the practical and legal implication of changing attitudes towards parental leave for fathers. Following up on this theme, Massachusetts recently passed a law, the Massachusetts Parental Leave Act (the “Parental Leave Act”), which will replace the current Massachusetts Maternity Leave Act (the “Maternity Leave Act”).
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Employers: Don’t Forget About the Possibility of Associational Discrimination Liability

January 29, 2015 | Blog

A case out of a New York State appeals court should remind employers that they may liable for discrimination where they take an adverse action against an employee based on the employee’s association with someone in a protected class.
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Don’t Sleep on This New Jersey Employers: State Supreme Court Adopts More Stringent Test to Claim Independent Contractor Status

January 27, 2015 | Blog | By David Katz

Recently, in Hargrove v. Sleepy’s, LLC, the New Jersey Court issued a unanimous decision raising the bar for New Jersey employers seeking to classify individuals as independent contractors under New Jersey’s Wage Payment Law (governing time and mode of wage payments) and New Jersey’s Wage and Hour Law (governing minimum wage and overtime).
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Winter Storm Juno Expected to Bring Lots of Snow, but Also Potential Wage and Hour Issues

January 26, 2015 | Blog

So it’s going to snow a lot today and tomorrow. A lot. A potential blizzard. Some say this could be one of the biggest snowstorms ever to hit the East Coast.
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The Companionship Exemption Remains: DC District Court’s Most Recent Decision in Home Care Association of America v. Weil Marks Second Victory for Home Care Employers; DOL Appeals

January 23, 2015 | Blog | By Frank Hupfl

On January 14, 2015, Judge Richard J. Leon of the DC Federal District Court issued another favorable opinion for home care employers by vacating a Department of Labor regulation that would have narrowed the definition of “companionship services.”
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California Sunshine Warms the Market: A Twist on Customer Non-Solicitation Provisions in the Golden State

January 23, 2015 | Blog | By Jennifer Rubin

Those of you reading our Employee Mobility blog posts are familiar with California’s unique approach to non-compete agreements: they are, except in a few limited circumstances, unenforceable in the Golden State.
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2015 Health Care Reform Compliance Checklist for Employers

January 23, 2015 | Blog

My colleague Patty Moran authored an article recently published in Bloomberg BNA about the Affordable Care Act’s employer shared responsibility rules that took effect this month. According to this mandate, employers of a certain size must either offer coverage to full-time employees or risk paying a penalty.
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DC’s New Wage Theft Law Imposes Additional Notice, Posting, and Recordkeeping Requirements on Employers

January 23, 2015 | Blog | By David Barmak, Frank Hupfl

Last October, we reported on DC’s soon-to-be-enacted DC Wage Theft Prevention Amendment Act.
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Bully for You: Ready or Not, California’s Anti-Bullying Training Requirement Starts Now

January 15, 2015 | Blog | By Jennifer Rubin

Welcome to 2015 and the start of California’s Anti-Bullying Training Requirements. Employers of 50 or more in California must now add an “anti-bullying” training requirement to their training curriculum, which is required to be delivered every two years to supervisory personnel regarding harassment, discrimination, and retaliation in the workplace.
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A Board Member’s “Go Bag” for the Unexpected CEO Termination

January 15, 2015 | Blog

My colleagues Jen Rubin and Rich Kelly co-authored an article recently published in Corporate Board Member magazine in which they outline principles and proven techniques to help board members navigate a fast-moving CEO termination.
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ConAgra Foods Defeats Challenge to Its Executive Exemption Classification in FLSA Class Action

January 15, 2015 | Blog | By George Patterson

A federal judge in Arkansas granted summary judgment for ConAgra Foods in a collective action brought by a group of departmental Team Leaders who alleged ConAgra misclassified them as exempt and denied them overtime pay in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
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Beyond US Citizens and Lawful Permanent Residents: Are Other Classes of Individuals Legally Authorized to Work Protected from Employment Discrimination?

January 14, 2015 | Blog | By Angel Feng

In a novel case, a New York federal court judge recently denied an employer’s motion to dismiss a Section 1981 alienage discrimination class action lawsuit. The lawsuit alleges that Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company violated that Act by implementing a policy of hiring only US citizens and lawful permanent residents.
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Does a Settlement of Remaining Penn State Sanctions Issues Help the NCAA?

January 14, 2015 | Blog

My colleague, Tyrone Thomas, was quoted in The Patriot News article entitled Does a Settlement of Remaining Penn State Sanctions Issues Help the NCAA, in which he comments on the NCAA’s enforcement processes as they relate to the child abuse sex scandal at Penn State.
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