Michigan is not alone with its paid sick time law. As you wrestle to prepare a new policy to meet Michigan’s Earned Sick Time Act (ESTA), take heart that currently there are16 other states as well as the District of Columbia that require employers to provide some form of paid sick leave to their employees.

The Illinois Equal Pay Act (the "Act") is officially going live January 1, 2025.  It was passed in 2023 and amended several times. Employers in Illinois with 15 or more employees will be required to include pay and benefit information in all job postings both external and internal.    The following are specific provisions that must be complied with:

Last month the Federal Court in East Texas vacated the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) salary level test regulations. This DOL rule had moved the weekly salary level test to $844/week ($43,888/yr.) as of July 1^st this year and had scheduled a second increase that would have taken the salary level test up to $1,128/week or $58,656/yr. on January 1, 2025.

Two National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) decisions earlier this month continue the Biden Administration’s and the NLRB’s war against employer rights. The NLRB held in Amazon.com Services LLC (11/13/24) that employers violate worker rights when they require employees to attend meetings (even while being paid) to hear the employer’s side in a union organizing campaign. The second anti-employer decision the NLRB handed down this month held that employers commit an unfair...

On Friday the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas struck down the Department of Labor’s 2024 Exempt Employee Salary Level test (White-Collar tests) which had increased the salary level to $844/week ($43,888/yr) in July of this year with a scheduled second increase to $1,128/week ($58,656/yr) January 1, 2025. This ruling returns the salary level test to the level it was before July 1st – $684/week ($35,568/yr). 

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) remains essential but can present challenges for employers. While most employee requests for leave are genuine, there are instances that raise questions for HR. Even in legitimate cases, certain aspects of the leave process can create complications for HR teams. So, how can employers manage FMLA effectively without risking legal issues?
 

“Elections have consequences.” Ever since that was said by the then newly elected President Barack Obama (it may have been said before that, but that is the first time this author heard it), it has always seemed more of a threat than anything else, and it was just recently heard again from the Trump side, and if nothing else, it warns of change.

Ann Arbor has just made history by passing a landmark “right to sit” law aimed at reshaping the work environment for retail and hospitality employees. The ordinance grants workers in these industries the right to sit while on duty, as long as doing so doesn’t interfere with their job performance. This policy marks a shift towards more inclusive workplace standards and is expected to have a significant impact on retail and service employees, who often endure long hours on...

The Pregnant Worker Fairness Act (PWFA) became effective June 27, 2023.  The implementing regulations by the EEOC were promulgated on June 18, 2024.  It covers employers with 15 or more employees.  The PWFA requires a covered employer to provide a “reasonable accommodation” for a qualified employee’s or applicant’s known limitations related to, affected by, or arising out of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, unless the accommodation...

Managing leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) can be challenging for employers, particularly when they suspect misuse or abuse, especially with intermittent leaves. While it is crucial to respect employees' rights to FMLA without interference or retaliation, there are practical steps employers can take to curb abuse while remaining compliant.

As the 2024 election campaign reaches its peak, discussions about politics will likely find their way into the workplace. In addition to being a hallmark of democracy, such conversations can pose challenges for employers as they navigate rules around employees' rights to participate in political discourse. Below are some common statements employers might hear from employees and tips for handling them, along with recent changes in employment law that could impact these conversations.

For some time now the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has been facing questions from employers and others about its authority based upon the way it is structured as a government agency. There are various lawsuits around the country challenging the existence of the NLRB because its system of adjudication is seen as possibly unconstitutional. Last week, in a case brought on the west side of Michigan, a federal judge ruled that the NLRB’s protection of its judges under “just...

Effective January 1, 2025, employers that wish to maintain the FLSA exemption for certain jobs will have to increase salaries from a minimum of $844/week/$43,888/yr, to $1,128/week/$58,656/yr. This next increase is obviously the bigger of the two regulatory changes and may compel some employers to choose not to increase the salary levels and in turn convert those positions to non-exempt. This will mean they will become overtime eligible, and certain recordkeeping activity will now be...

Although employers are presently out from under the Federal Trade Commission’s rules against non-compete agreements, the National Labor Relation Board (NLRB) is now challenging such agreements, under of all things, the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). NLRB General Counsel, Jennifer Abruzzo, asserts that by restricting a worker’s right to take a job with a competitor of their employer, non-compete agreements are a threat to the free labor market. They stifle employees’...

The Worker Protection Act 2024 comes into force on October 26, 2024, and employers in Great Britain have specific items they must do to meet requirements of the law.  Given the issues arising from the #MeToo and other movements, this law was passed with the intention to keep the workplace as a safe environment for all. 

Several years ago, Michigan corrected a labor wrong by removing a requirement that home care givers under Michigan’s Medicaid program be in a union. Many of these workers who had to pay union dues were family members receiving a stipend for providing those care services to people in their own family.

There are less than five weeks until our national and local elections. Are politics and political discussions causing disruptions in your workplace? What are an employer’s rights to address worker political discussions that may be getting out of hand?

Michigan employers may not “discharge an employee or in any manner discriminate against an employee because the employee files a complaint” under the state’s safety and health law. An employee that may have suffered an adverse employment action against them because of involvement in a safety complaint may bring a complaint to the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity within thirty (30) days after the violation. This will lead to a MIOSHA investigation and...

In a recent case filed in the federal court in the Southern District of Texas, janitorial services company ABM Industry Groups (ABM) sued the U.S. Department of Labor, claiming the agency's administrative proceedings for enforcing anti-discrimination requirements for federal contractors are unconstitutional.  This case arises from the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in the Jarskey case (SEC v. Jarskey, No. 22–859 (6/27/24)). 

Earlier this year the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued final regulations setting a new salary level test for determining job exempt status. To classify a job as exempt from overtime and certain record keeping compliance requirements, a job typically must meet three tests:

Since the Michigan Supreme Court ruled the process of adopt and amend to be unconstitutional earlier this summer, employers have been faced with the prospect of complying with two problematic employment laws early next year. Michigan’s minimum wage law and the paid sick leave law will change back to the original ballot initiatives passed back in 2018 on February 21, 2025. 

The independent contractor (IC) definition has many variations depending what jurisdiction the parties are in, including overlapping federal and state definitions, and within the federal agencies and courts, different definitions.  It is confusing.  Further, the relationship is under attack from a variety of sources, with more push toward the California approach to independent contractors. 

Yesterday a federal court in Texas (Northern District) blocked a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) rule that would have put a ban on most all employee non-compete agreements scheduled to go into effect September 4th. The FTC’s rule banned non-compete agreements and other contract terms employers use to protect themselves and their businesses against unfair competition and theft of trade secrets by unscrupulous employees.

Michigan’s Attorney General, Dana Nessel, entered into an agreement with the Detroit and Minneapolis National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) offices to report and refer violations of labor law that the State comes across.  The violations will be reported directly to the NLRB for investigation and possible prosecution, thus, giving the pro-labor federal agency more eyes on employers.

A year ago, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) by party lines ruled to ramp up its scrutiny of workplace rules.  The NLRB ruled that employer handbook policies violate the National Labor Relations Act if they have a "reasonable tendency" to dissuade workers from engaging in organizing activity, such as making workplace recordings and discussing concerns with colleagues.  Many employers are under the mistaken belief that the National Labor Relations Act only covers...