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...

An unmarried partner (regardless of whether a man or woman) of a mother giving birth is becoming more and more common these days. Although state or local law may provide specific time off for a partner for pregnancy, the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) works slightly differently. Employers need to ensure that their policy supports the FMLA approach. The following case demonstrates how to handle the situation as PTO, FMLA, and wage and hour issues could arise.

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,...

The Netflix show, Baby Reindeer, is a fictionalized story based on a real-life stalking incident. It tells the story of a struggling comedian, Donny Dunn, who meets a woman, named Martha, in a pub where he works as bartender. Martha then begins harassing and stalking Donny, his friends, and his family. It turns his life upside down. In real life, there are employment laws that address stalking and/or domestic violence situations involving employees, and it’s important that employers...

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.

Two recent decisions by the Supreme Court will have implications for HR.  First was the Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, No. 22-451 (2024) decision.  This decision concerned a 40-year doctrine called the Chevron deference, a nod to the power of agency actions.  The second decision was SEC v. Jarskey, No. 22-859 (2024).  This case discussed the powers of the internal administrative courts specifically in rulings which involve monetary relief.