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. 

Another Labor Day has come and gone.  This weekend is set aside to celebrate our workers and typically unions.  For decades each Labor Day we have heard that the tide has turned, and unions are coming back.  Over the past few years, union activism and activity have “popped.” But what has resulted from this recent uptick in union activity?

ESG stands for Environmental, Social and Governance. These are policies that companies are being asked to adopt that are “strategic frameworks that guide businesses in managing their environmental footprint, fostering social responsibility, and upholding strong governance practices.”

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.

While employers and others were digesting what the Michigan Supreme Court did to employers with its ruling on the Minimum Wage and Paid Medical Leave laws last week, talk has started to grow around a new law enacting Michigan Paid Family and Medical Leave that could pay employees up to fifteen (15) weeks of leave per year if they qualify for the benefit.

Last week the Michigan Supreme Court ruled that the "adopt and amend” enaction of our current minimum wage and paid medical leave was unconstitutional. This means that PA 337 and PA 338, the original ballot initiatives of 2018, will take effect February 21, 2025. It also means larger employers that adopted paid time off benefits compliant with the amended law will have to modify their paid time off policies to comply with the originally passed law. It also means small employers,...

Employers that hire outside consultants to help persuade workers to stay union free are required to file reports of this expenditure to the Department of Labor’s Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) each year stating so. This is nothing new. Employers file an LM-10 within 90 days of the end of the employer’s fiscal year. The outside consultants also have to file two forms. One must be filed within 90 days from the end of the consultant’s fiscal year and another form...

With the ubiquity and convenience of online gambling, are employer “no gambling” rules a bit anachronistic? Maybe so. In conducting an informal survey of just under 50 employee handbooks reviewed by ASE in the last four years, a no gambling policy or rule was found in 25% of those handbooks. Typically, this rule was buried deep in a general rules or standards of conduct policy.

Earlier this year the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) published a rule that would ban almost every post-employment non-competition provision. Non-competition agreements are agreements that limit or totally restrict the employee’s ability to obtain similar employment somewhere else within a stated geographic region and also typically for a stated period of time. An employment candidate’s job offer is also typically contingent upon the employee agreeing to the contract.

Last week the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released its report on state and local government worker pay. It showed that public worker pay is nearly 40% higher than private sector workers. Remember this next time a call for tax increases is made.

On Monday, the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) final rule changing the salary level test from $684/week to $844/week took effect as scheduled. This rule is being challenged in several Texas federal courts. It was hoped by some, that one of those Court decisions would result in the issuance of an injunction for the entire United States. However, in one case, the injunction issued on Friday only impacts State of Texas public employees. In the second case, the Court declined to issue an...

A recent survey by job site MyPerfectResume found that of 1000 respondents 86% of workers fear their human resources representative. Further, 85% reported that they hesitated to go the HR to discuss their work-related issues.

Last week the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) was using an easier test to determine if it had more power to enjoin employers accused of committing unfair labor practices than say other injunction seekers that come before the court. This ruling may curtain some of the NLRB’s more intrusive actions against employers that it has been pursuing under the Biden labor Board.