With so much state law change being introduced and passed around the country and in Michigan, and until fall of last year Congress and the Executive branches being controlled by business-friendly Republicans, there was not much federal employment legislation to be concerned about. The Executive branch has been busy trying to adjust employment and labor regulations, but these adjustments have been to roll back the more onerous regulations implemented during the Obama administration.
The hottest issue in the EEO area is pay discrimination. In the news it is often written that women earn approximately 20 cents or more less than a male counterpart. When it is broken down by race, the disparity grows even larger. However, does disparity mean discrimination?
Employers that have franchise operations, engage independent contractors, or both have had the rules and protections that come with these business relationships turned on their heads in recent years. A newly proposed 4-factor test may simplify things.
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) continues to review union and non-union employer policies and rules. In an Advice Memo published last week by the NLRB, the Board’s advice division looked at two employer rules through the lens of its 2017 Boeing decision. This decision trimmed back considerably the previous NLRB’s position that if an employer’s rule could in any way infringe upon an employee’s right to engage in protected concerted activity it would...
Religious accommodations generally do not rise to the level of a disability accommodation when reviewed by courts. But a recent case against Walgreens indicates that standard may change.
On Monday March 25, 2019, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) released the audit list for fiscal year 2019. It should be noted that if a contractor was on the previous list released in September 2018 and was not audited yet, the release of the new list does not negate any audits not initiated in the previous list. In other words, the contractor in the September may still be audited.
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued an Opinion Letter clarifying how employers must go about allowing an employee to use other time off (paid or unpaid) in conjunction with the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) requirements.
Several weeks ago we wrote about how a limitation of actions agreement/clause can effectively restrict state wrongful employment actions to a much shorter period of time – normally 180 days. It is recommended a limitation of actions clause not be included in the employee handbook. They can be placed on an employment application form in its boilerplate text section normally just above the signature and date lines, or it can be a separate agreement signed at the point a job offer is made.
As reported last week in an ASE breaking news update, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released its long-anticipated changes to its white-collar exemption regulations. The big change was a “split the baby” approach to resolving a regulatory agency overreach by the DOL back in 2016.
On Friday, March 8, The Office of Federal Compliance Programs (OFCCP) opened the Section 503 Focused Review portal. The Focused Review derives from Directive 2018-04 which states that OFCCP will direct that “a portion of future scheduling lists include focused reviews as to each of the three authorities that the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs enforces...
Late yesterday, the U.S. Department of Labor published its new proposed rule raising the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) “white collar” exemption to $35,308/year or $679/week from $23,660/yr. or $455/week. The salary level test is one of three criteria that must be met to legally exempt an employee from overtime and some recordkeeping requirements.
On Monday a federal judge ordered the White House budget office to lift its stay of the reporting of pay with the EEO-1 tool granting summary judgment to the National Women's Law Center and the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement. It is questionable whether the two groups have standing to bring this lawsuit.
As a result of the federal government shut down, employers have two additional months to file their EEO-1 report. The normal filing due date for the EEO-1 is March 31st, but the 2018 EEO-1 report for employers is due this year by May 31, 2019. The tool will open up for reporting in two weeks per the EEOC. Filing instructions will be posted soon on the EEO-1 survey website.
A number of Democratic contenders for president have signed on to the slogan, Medicare-for-All. But there is confusion as to what it means and how to pay for it.
With the passage of and impending enactment date (March 29, 2019) of Michigan’s new Paid Medical Leave Act, employers that are covered are hastily reviewing their existing vacation, sick, and personal time, as well as formal Paid Time Off benefits and policies to see how far off they may be from compliance with the new law.