The Modern Workplace
On March 13, 2023, Governor Pritzker signed the Paid Leave for All Workers Act (the “Act”), which requires nearly all Illinois employers to provide employees up to 40 hours of paid leave annually to be used for any reason. The Act’s paid leave requirements will go into effect on January 1, 2024. Illinois is now the third state to require employers to provide paid time off to employees to be used for any reason, following Maine and Nevada.
Under the Act, Illinois employees are eligible to accrue paid leave at the rate of one hour of paid leave for every 40 hours worked up to 40 hours in a ...
In a recent opinion (Helix Energy Sols. Grp., Inc. v Hewitt), the Supreme Court held that a highly compensated supervisor paid on a daily-rate basis was not an executive exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act’s (FLSA) overtime pay requirement because he was not paid on a salary basis.
Hewitt, an offshore oil rig supervisor, filed the action against his former employer, Helix Energy Solutions Group, seeking overtime pay under the FLSA which guarantees overtime pay to covered employees when they work more than 40 hours in a workweek. Hewitt was paid on a daily-rate basis from 2014 to ...
On January 1, 2023, the amendments to the Illinois One Day Rest in Seven Act (“ODRISA”) took effect, and the changes are significant. Employers with one or more employees in Illinois should take note of these new amendments to avoid costly penalties.
New Rest Breaks
The amended ODRISA requires covered employers to provide non-exempt employees with a minimum of 24 hours of rest within every consecutive seven-day period. Prior to January 1, 2023, the ODRISA required employers to provide eligible employees with at least twenty-four consecutive hours of rest in every “calendar ...
As employers increasingly operate in multiple jurisdictions and are allowing more and more employees to work remotely, employers should be mindful that a number of states are passing pay transparency laws. Employers hiring workers in such states and/or posting positions that permit remote work locations need to be sure that they are aware of and comply with potential pay transparency laws.
The California Transparency Laws
California, which already required employers to disclose salary information to applicants upon reasonable request, has added new pay scale disclosure ...
In June 2022, in S.W. Airlines Co. v. Saxon, 142 S. Ct. 1783 (2022), the Supreme Court weighed in on the scope of arbitration agreements in employment contracts for transportation workers. Saxon, a ramp supervisor at Southwest Airlines who worked loading and unloading cargo from aircrafts, brought a putative class action against Southwest for allegedly violating the Fair Labor Standards Act by not providing ramp workers with overtime compensation despite requiring them to work over forty hours a week. Southwest argued that Saxon was bound by the arbitration provision in Saxon’s ...
I was sitting by my window the other day and noticed how the sun was melting the snow around my house even though the air temperature was cold. For a person living in a northern climate, I see this as a sign of Spring and with it, the return to green grass, flowers, and warmer temps. It also reminds me that the semi-annual ritual of the changing of the clocks for those states that participate in Daylight Savings Time is upon us. Each Spring, we “Spring Ahead” by moving the clocks forward one hour at 2:00 a.m. on a designated date. Each Fall, when Daylight Savings Time ends, we “Fall ...
Effective October 1, 2021, Connecticut and Nevada join a chorus of other states – including, for example, California, Colorado, Maryland, Washington and Rhode Island - in implementing new pay disclosure laws. Employers with employees in Connecticut and Nevada must now disclose wage and/or wage range information at various stages in the hiring process. Connecticut and Nevada’s new pay disclosure laws are designed to level the playing field for applicants, promote pay equity, and promote pay transparency and accountability.
Under Connecticut’s “An Act Concerning the ...
The new federal administration continues to put its stamp on the development and enforcement of wage and hour laws under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Recently, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued a new Field Assistance Bulletin (Bulletin 2021), revoking a Trump administration policy relating to the practice of seeking liquidated damages in pre-litigation settlement discussions.
Employers who violate the FLSA provisions relating to minimum wage, overtime compensation, and protections for tipped employees, are liable for the unpaid wages or tips as well as an equal ...
New Test
The Final Rule implements a five-factor economic reality ...
On May 18, 2020, the United States Department of Labor (DOL) implemented a final rule arguably giving employers more flexibility in the retail and service industries to exempt certain employees from overtime pay requirements.
Generally, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires that employers pay employees at an overtime rate for time worked in excess of 40 hours in a workweek, unless the employees are exempt under Sections 7 or 13 of the statute. One of these exemptions applies to employees who work for a retail or service establishment if: (i) the employees regular rate of pay ...
- The minimum salary for executive, administrative and professional employees who are exempt from the overtime requirements of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) has increased from $455 to $684 per week ($35,568 per year).
- The annual compensation now required to meet the exemption under the FLSA for highly compensated employees has been raised to $107,432.
- Several states increased the state ...
- Paid leave (generally).
- Medical leave.
- Family leave.
- Work shift scheduling requirements.
- Wage theft ...
- What to Do When You Shut Down Your Business Due to Inclement ...
The last quarter of the calendar year is often a time when companies are busy with planning and budgeting for the following year. Minnesota employers doing budget planning for 2018 need to keep in mind that the state minimum wage rates will be adjusted as of January 1, 2018.
Not surprisingly ...
On Thursday of last week, the U.S. Senate confirmed Alexander Acosta as the 27th Secretary of Labor, filling the final open seat in President Donald Trumps cabinet. With its secretary in place, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) will now be able to move forward with decisions on two major rule-making issues.
The most widely watched decision to be made by the DOL is whether to defend or abandon the Obama Administrations FLSA rule that would, if effective, significantly increase the minimum salary required for white collar exempt employees. As we reported earlier, that rule was blocked by ...
As we previously reported, on November 22, 2016, a federal district court judge in Texas issued a nationwide preliminary injunction enjoining the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) from implementing and enforcing the new Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) overtime rules that were supposed to apply on December 1, 2016. The injunction essentially put the implementation of the new regulations on hold pending further litigation.
After the injunction ruling, the DOL appealed to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals asking for an expedited appeal. The Fifth Circuit granted the DOLs request, but ...
When President Trump was elected in November 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) was fighting ...
Many employers round the time of arrival or departure for non-exempt employees to the nearest five minutes, tenth of an hour, or quarter of an hour. Many of those employers have rounded time for years without thinking about whether doing so is legal. Recently, a number of class action suits have been brought against employers based on their rounding practices. Those suits have highlighted the fact that, while the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) does allow rounding of time, there are very specific requirements that must be met to do so.
The FLSA requires that employers pay their workers ...
On Thursday, President Trump named Alexander Acosta as his nominee for U.S. Secretary of Labor following the withdrawal of his initial choice, Andrew Puzder. Mr. Puzder withdrew his name from consideration after he apparently lost support from several Republican senators necessary for his confirmation.
Mr. Acosta is Trumps first Hispanic nominee and has previously been confirmed by the Senate for multiple federal government positions. Mr. Acosta has not been as outspoken on employment and labor issues as Mr. Puzder, making Mr. Acosta's confirmation less controversial and more ...
Well, what a year 2016 has been! As the retrospectives start pouring in, we want to get ahead of the curve and look back on some of the workplace and employment law developments of 2016.
According to a recent Forbes article, innovations in the world of work this year have included Dutch desks that pull up to the ceiling at 5:30 pm, putting an exclamation point on the end of the workday, and desks in Greece that convert into beds for power naps or overnighters. We see the latter as especially rife with employment law risk. Overtime anyone? (Not to mention the potential for office romance gone awry ...
The December holiday season is, in many ways, a wonderful time of year. To make sure it stays that way, here is a quick refresher for employers on how to sidestep the panoply of employment law minefields that can crop up during the holiday season.
Religious Discrimination and Accommodations
December is home to multiple religious holidays, including Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, and the Winter Solstice, among others. For this reason, it is important to remember that federal law and many states prohibit religious discrimination in employment and require religious accommodations ...
For those in the employment law and human resources fields, there are lots of moving targets to track this holiday season. Two of those moving targets include the temporary block placed on the U.S. Department of Labors (DOL) new federal overtime rules and a pending legal challenge to a new OSHA rule.
DOL Overtime Rule
As discussed in our post last week, a federal district court in Texas has issued a nationwide injunction blocking implementation of the new DOL overtime rules that were set to go into effect on December 1st. Yesterday, the DOL appealed the district courts ruling to the U.S ...
As we let you know last week, legal challenges to the new federal overtime pay rules scheduled to go into effect on December 1, 2016, are pending in federal district court in Texas. On November 22, 2016, the Judge hearing the Texas cases issued a nationwide preliminary injunction enjoining the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) from implementing and enforcing the new rules. As such, employers who were busily preparing to comply with those rules have a reprieve at least for now- from having to comply.
In his decision, Texas Judge Mazzant concluded that the plaintiffs established a prima facie ...
In the aftermath of President-elect Trumps victory, many employers are wondering how the president-elects priorities will impact their employment and labor law obligations. One immediate question on employers minds is whether they still must comply with the Obama administrations new federal overtime pay rules set to go into effect on December 1, 2016. It is highly unlikely that there will be any activity related to these rules by President-elect Trump prior to the December 1 deadline, although a later retraction or retrenchment of the rules is certainly possible. Employers ...
The White House has detailed a broad series of new administrative steps in response to an earlier Executive Order calling for actions that enhance competition to benefit consumers, workers, and entrepreneurs. The White House described these steps as consistent with the continuing effort of the administration to find ways to increase job growth and reduce income inequality across the country. Although the new administrative steps do not include new prohibitions and generally do not require immediate action, the steps do raise the possibility of near-term legislative and ...
Last week, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced the approval of the new EEO-1 report form by the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Beginning in March 2018, the EEOC will use the revised EEO-1 report to collect summary employee pay data from certain employers. Specifically, private employers with 100 or more employees are required to fill out the revised EEO-1 report on an annual basis. Federal contractors and subcontractors with 50-99 employees will not have to submit summary pay data, but they will continue to report demographic data ...
On September 9, 2016, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and the U.S. Justice Department filed a petition for certiorari in NLRB v. Murphy Oil, asking the U.S. Supreme Court to determine whether arbitration clauses requiring workers to arbitrate disputes individually and not on the basis of collective or class actions (class action waivers)are invalid under federal labor law. Given the clear split on this legal issue among the federal circuit courts, the Supreme Court appears likely to accept review.
What's the Split and Where Does Minnesota Stand?
Class Action Waivers Are ...
The Minnesota ...
The plaintiffs in Tyson Foods worked in the kill, cut, and retrim departments of a Tyson Foods pork processing plant in Iowa. To do their ...
Just a few of the employment and ...
The executive order is one of the methods the Obama administration has chosen to ...
The increased salary issue was expected to reach the boiling point with the release of the final DOL rule in ...
The tugboat captains case makes painfully clear that identifying and ...
The holiday season picks up in full swing this week with the celebration of Thanksgiving. Along with the merriment of the holiday season, though, comes a dramatic drop in productivity and a rise in vacations, flu epidemics, religious celebrations, weather contingencies, employee reviews, and holiday party antics. Here are answers to some of the vexing employment law questions that typically become as ubiquitous at this time of year as snowflakes in Minnesota:
- Are employees entitled to time-and-a-half pay for holidays worked? No unless time worked on a holiday includes overtime ...
The Final Rule
Minnesota's minimum wage is based on the size of the employer as determined by gross sales, with large employers paying more than small employers. Under the amended 2014 ...
The fifteen page document outlines the familiar multi-factor economic ...
As we all get started on our New Years resolutions, employers should add one more to their list revising any email policies. In the waning days of 2014, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued an important email ruling that affects all employers, whether unionized or not. In the Purple Communications case, the NLRB held that non-management employees with access to their employers email system have a presumptive right to use that system during non-working time to communicate about union organizing or about other topics related to improving their wages and working ...
Believe it or not, 2014 is drawing to a close and a new year is around the corner. As you prepare for 2015, here are some items on the U.S. Department of Labors regulatory agenda that you will want to track:
We've been on the look-out for proposed revisions to the Fair Labor Standard Acts (FLSA) white collar exemptions from overtime and minimum wage requirements since March of 2014. That was when President Obama issued a directive for the Labor Secretary to modernize and streamline the existing regulations and increase the minimum salary for the white collar exemptions. The Department of ...
I was sitting by a campfire last night and, although it was a beautiful night, I could not help but notice that there are signs of fall everywhere. The leaves are beginning to change, the evening air had a slight nip, and darkness arrived much earlier in the evening. These reminders of fall mean that, because of Minnesota's participation in Daylight Savings Time, we need to think about the semi-annual ritual of the changing of the clocks. Each spring we Spring Ahead by moving the clocks forward one hour at 2:00 a.m. on a designated date. Each fall, when Daylight Savings Time ends, we Fall ...
Wage theft is becoming a popular phrase in the media. A New York Times article recently announced that More Workers Are Claiming Wage Theft. Other news outlets are using the phrase to describe lawsuits brought by workers of a wide mix of employers, ranging from Jimmy John's to NFL franchises. Wage theft even has its own website.
At its core, wage theft is simply a catchphrase designed to draw attention to violations of wage and hour laws. The use of the term wage theft appears to be a relatively recent phenomenon. There were more references to wage theft in U.S. newspapers during the ...
As a follow up to our last Week in Review, wage and hour claims are still making headlines this week. Another technology company, SpaceX, has been sued for allegedly failing to provide employees with required breaks or to properly pay employees for off the clock work. SpaceX also faces a separate lawsuit alleging that it failed to give former employees proper advance notice of their layoffs under California law. Another big legal headline this week is the announcement that a federal judge has rejected a proposed $325 million settlement agreement between Apple, Google, Adobe, Intel and ...
Its been an interesting week on the wage and hour legal front. One of the big names in social networking, LinkedIn, made headlines this week when the U.S. Department of Labor announced a settlement of allegations that LinkedIn failed to properly record, account for, and pay certain employees for all of their hours worked. You can read the link below for lessons learned from this settlement. In other news, a federal judge ruled that critical federal government employees who worked during last year's government shutdown may be owed additional pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act ...
Apple is making the news this week in connection with its recently issued 'iTime' patent for a new smartwatch device and as anticipation grows for the soon-to-be released iPhone 6. The news on Apple isn't only technology related though. Apple is also fighting a class action lawsuit in California for allegedly denying lunch breaks and final paychecks to employees. The link below provides greater detail on this lawsuit, as well as other employment-related lawsuits Apple is currently defending. Be sure to add a review of your wage and hour practices to your to-do list this year. And, for ...
On August 1, 2014, Minnesota's new minimum wage law takes effect. The new law changes the states minimum wage requirements in several ways, including new definitions of large and small employers, progressively increasing rates over time, and indexing to inflation.
Minnesota sets its minimum wage based on the size of the employer as determined by gross sales. Under the new law, a large employer is one that has gross sales over $500,000 in annual business. Small employers are defined to have gross sales under $500,000 in annual business. Prior to the change, the gross sales ...
A new labor agreement reached in France requires employers in certain technology and consultancy sectors to take steps to ensure employees are not plugging into work on their free time. France has had a 35-hour workweek for several years, and many believed it was being intruded upon by frequent out of office distractions caused by email and other technology. To combat this, French employers in these sectors are required to take steps to make certain that employees completely disconnect outside of their working hours.
The Star Tribune is reporting that Minnesota legislators have reached a deal that will increase Minnesota's minimum wage for most employers to $9.50 per hour by 2016. When the proposed law is passed and signed by Governor Dayton, Minnesota will join 21 other states and the District of Columbia in having a minimum wage that exceeds the current federal law minimum of $7.25 per hour. Currently, the state of Washington has the highest minimum wage, coming in at $9.32 per hour. The U.S. Department of Labor provides a summary of state minimum wage rates on its website:
In addition to state wage ...
Earlier this month, President Obama directed the U.S. Department of Labor to update the federal overtime pay regulations by revising the salary component of the executive, administrative, and professional exemptions. To qualify for these overtime pay exemptions (a.k.a. the white collar exemptions), employees must receive a minimum, guaranteed weekly salary of at least $455 and satisfy a duties test that requires them to primarily perform exempt-level tasks. The Presidents directive was aimed only at the salary component of the white collar exemptions. The currently ...
Overtime pay is a big theme this week following President Obamas directive that the U.S. Department of Labor work to update the existing federal regulations on overtime pay. The most prominent change that is expected is an increase in the $455 minimum weekly salary that must be paid for an employee to be exempt from overtime pay requirements under federal wage and hour law. Before any overtime pay change can be finalized, the Department of Labor must complete a rule making process that could take a year or longer. Speaking of overtime, March Madness has begun once again. Check out the links ...
The Obama Administration announced this week that it will give employers with more than 50 but less than 100 employees one more year to comply with the Affordable Care Acts employer mandate. (But beware: You cant lay off workers to ensure that you fall below the 100 employee mark!) That means that these employers have until 2016 to provide insurance to full-time employees before being subject to any penalties for non-compliance.
Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr . . . it's cold out there! The recent cold snap that has swept the nation is affecting the workplace and technology. The cold weather serves as an important reminder for employers to have an up-to-date severe weather policy. In addition, before you email your employees from your smartphone at the bus stop to tell them that they don't have the day off work, check out NPR's reminder that your phone doesn't like the cold weather any more than you do. But don't worry; technology won't completely fail you this winter. We have a link to the top winter weather apps. Stay ...
The holiday season is a time for reflection, including reflection on our technology habits. Many individuals are aiming to be truly home for the Christmas holiday by engaging in digital detox plans and setting their smartphones and other mobile devices aside to spend time with family and friends. Disconnecting from workplace technology during non-work hours is also becoming a trend at other times of the year, and many employers are encouraging this trend. Another take-away from this holiday season may be to reflect on what your shopping habits can teach you about hiring ...
I sleep with Siri, and I'm not alone. According to a Pew Internet and American Life Project study, 44% of Americans sleep with their cell phone, many of which contain a work email account. Like that critical mass, I want to be connected and to be able to respond to a client if they email at 11:59 p.m. Because attorneys are exempt under wage and hour law, they don't have to be paid extra above and beyond our salary for emailing in the wee hours. That's not, however, the case with non-exempt employees. For employers that don't have effective policies and policing of after-hours technology ...
Many employers have implemented direct deposit payroll systems to reduce the transaction costs associated with paper payroll checks and the risks of the loss or theft of paper checks. A payroll card is an increasingly popular method used by employers to provide for the direct deposit of wages, particularly for employees without a deposit account at a financial institution. A payroll card is a debit or prepaid card onto which the employer loads an employees wages. The employee may then access those wages through withdrawals of cash at an ATM machine or by making purchases using the ...
The settlement may be good news to Lady Gaga ...
This week, as we celebrated National Boss Day, many people reflected on their relationship with their boss. Technology can sometimes challenge this relationship, for example, when employees have bosses that love email and refuse to communicate or manage an employee face-to-face. Another highly debated topic is whether bosses and subordinates should friend each other on social networking sites. Technology impacts these boss-subordinate relationships, but also the broader relationship between a company and its employees. For instance, recent court cases examined ...
Health Exchange Notice Due to Employees by October 1
What is the exchange notice?
Given a recent uptick in court rulings enforcing class action waivers, it may be time to revisit whether your company prefers to resolve disputes with employees in court or through arbitration. Class action waivers in arbitration agreements have been gaining in popularity with employers since the U.S. Supreme Court upheld an arbitration clause containing a class-action waiver in the AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion case in 2010 and again this year in the American Express Co. v. Italian Restaurants case. These Supreme Court cases involved consumer disputes, but numerous employers ...
As of July 1, 2013, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administrations Hours-of-Service Regulations relating to drivers of a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) are changing. These changes require some significant advance planning for employers of those who drive a CMV.
Vance v. Ball State University: This case involves the definition of a supervisor for purposes of harassment claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. Under current law, employers may be held strictly liable for the acts of supervisors but harassment by a co-worker will not create liability unless the employer knew or should have known about the harassment. This decision will clarify a ...
A recent article in The Chronicle of Higher Education highlights the plight of ...
Recent Department of Labor statistics indicate that the majority of employers who have breached Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA") provisions related to breastfeeding mothers have failed to provide an appropriate space for new moms to express milk. The FLSA was amended by the 2010 Patient Affordable Care Act to require employers to provide reasonable break time and a private space for a nursing mother to express milk for one year after the child's birth. All employers are expected to comply with the law, but employers with fewer than 50 employees are not subject to the requirements if ...
While employers should take steps to comply with all applicable legal obligations, it doesn't hurt to know those areas of compliance that are going to be given particular attention by enforcement agencies. Earlier this week, the EEOC announced its Strategic Enforcement Plan (SEP) for Fiscal Years 2013 2016. The SEP gives employers a peek at the measures the EEOC believes are needed to achieve its goal of deterring discriminatory practices in the workplace.
The SEP identifies the following six enforcement priorities:
- Eliminating Barriers in Recruitment and Hiring. The Commission ...
Well, the stakes for companies using unpaid interns have just gotten higher. Last Wednesday, an intern filed a wage and hour claim against Charlie Rose and ...
In Minnesota, a proposed bill is now working its way through the legislature that, if enacted, would make it significantly more difficult for a worker in the construction industry to qualify as an independent contractor, rather than an employee. The current version of this bill includes new, detailed, and restrictive criteria for qualification as an independent contractor. The new criteria proposed include, among other things, that an independent contractor must maintain a separate business with an office, equipment, and materials, and must incur the main expenses ...
I was researching cupcake places for an upcoming trip to New Mexico (I have a thing for cupcakes) when I came across the following advertisement for an unpaid internship on a cupcake shops website:
We're looking for interns! While these positions are unpaid, there is potential to lead to paid employment with [XYZ Bakery]. An internship with us is a great opportunity to learn all aspects of working in a scratch bakery, you'll have the opportunity to learn about cake batters, fillings, buttercream, fondant, gum paste, cake decorating and tiered cake construction.
No, I wasn't thinking of ...
Minnesota courts have held that employers can protect themselves from contractual liability by including ...
The U.S. Department of Labor has an app for that. On Monday, the DOL announced the launch of its DOL - Timesheet App, for iPhones (click here to download the app on iTunes). The application provides employees with an easy way to keep track of their working time. It also allows employees to add notes about time entries and easily export the entries. There's even a glossary with links to the DOL website, meant to educate employees about their rights under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Here's what the DOL says about the use of the DOL - Timesheet App:
This new technology is significant because ...
You may be wondering what cats have to do with employment law. Well, last week the U.S. Supreme Court recognized the cats paw theory of employment discrimination for the first time, making it easier for employees to prove discrimination and for employers to get burned by legal liability. The phrase cats paw stems from an Aesop fable in which a monkey uses flattery to induce a cat to retrieve roasting chestnuts from a hot fire and then absconds with the chestnuts after the cat has burned its paws. Based on the fable, cats paw refers to a person who is unwittingly used to accomplish another's ...