Last week the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division published three Opinion Letters on various wage and hour issues. Opinion Letters provide guidance on wage and hour questions but do not bind a court to its position on that question or issue. The three opinion letters address compliance issues surrounding overtime pay in various aspects.
At ASE we often get questions from our members about proper overtime pay calculation when different pay plans are at play. To calculate overtime pay for non-exempt hourly employees correctly, one should first determine a few things.
When the Equal Pay Act (EPA) was passed in 1963, it made it illegal for employers to pay women lower wages than men for equal work on jobs requiring the same skill, effort, and responsibility. Over the years, these cases were far and few between and difficult to win. As a result, the previous administration as well as a growing number of blue (Democratic controlled) states have passed more rigorous pay discrimination laws, pushing for pay transparency as a solution for the wage...
Most employers have policies that outline requirements regarding dress and appearance. These can range from business vs. casual dress, if body piercings or visible tattoos are allowed, and some outline grooming standards. Some employer grooming standards not only require a neat appearance but may also detail whether certain hairstyles or certain hair colors are prohibited or whether male employees must be clean shaven or have short hair. As employers define their dress code...
The Trump National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) continues its pro-business course. Until 2017, the NLRB regularly attacked employer rules that it deemed restrictive, directly or indirectly, on employees' right to organize. Employers, including non-union, were compelled to review employee handbook policies/rules to correct rules that were viewed as restrictive toward union organizing rights.
The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, whose jurisdiction includes Michigan, ruled against a machine parts manufacturer last August when it overturned a lower court decision that held an employee’s severance agreement barred her lawsuit alleging Title VII discrimination and violation of the Equal Pay Act.
In May 2019, JP Morgan Chase reached a tentative settlement of $5 million dollars to resolve a class action lawsuit alleging the bank’s parental leave policy was biased against dads. It is the largest recorded settlement in a U.S. parental leave discrimination complaint.
Consider the following scenario. An employee is injured (whether at work or outside of work) and sees a doctor. When the employee returns, the employee provides a doctor note with work restrictions because of the underlying condition of the injury.
Late last year Michigan passed a minimum wage increase that increased this state’s minimum wage for the next 10 years. It also passed the Paid Medical Leave Act requiring employers with over 50 employees to provide five paid days off.
As we noted a couple of weeks ago in the EPTW article, Summer Interns – To Pay or Not to Pay, employers operating internships must know what is required of them, and many may also be minors. Most internships should be paid ones pursuant to the law.
Did you know friendship as a hiring factor can beat off a discrimination allegation? A recent Michigan Court of Appeals ruling affirms other court decisions holding the same.
Last Friday, May 3, the Federal Register published the EEOC’s notice for pay collection for the 2019 EEO-1 cycle. The surprising turn of events began when The National Women's Law Center and the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement challenged OMB’s decision to rescind the Obama Era change to the EEO-1 reporting to add pay reporting as unfair and poorly reasoned in November 2017. In March 2019 the judge granted summary judgement to the two groups requiring the...
According to a recent (April 23rd) case from the Michigan Appellate Court located in Ingham County, a job offer may be revoked if the applicant tests positive for marijuana, even if it is considered medical marijuana.
As EPTW readers know, joint employment, independent contractors, and worker misclassification confusion has been an ongoing federal concern. New federal joint employer regulations were published by the U.S. Department of Labor late last month.
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan ordered the EEOC to have employers submit their 2018 pay data by September 30, 2019. She then ordered the EEOC to collect a second year of pay data, either collecting employers' 2017 data or collecting 2019 data in 2020. The EEOC has until April 29 to put a statement on its website informing employers of the decision and requirement and to decide by May 3rd whether it will collect 2017 data or 2019 data.