Relationships. Commitment. Results.
Careers
At one time, it was common for employers to offer maternity leave to new mother employees, but not offer any leave to new father employees. However, in 2015, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued its most recent enforcement guidance for employers on parental leave policies: “[E]mployers should carefully distinguish between leave related to any […]
Until recently, the federal courts of appeals had been deeply split on the question of whether workers’ obligation to file a claim with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) or similar state agencies prior to suing their employers is a procedural or jurisdictional obligation. As the U.S. Supreme Court explained, this is an important distinction […]
One might think that the long-established Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which governs minimum wages and overtime, would be easily understood by employers today. After all, it turned 80 years old in 2018. However, an uptick over the past few years in FLSA wage and hour lawsuits continues to prove that employers aren’t paying […]
On March 7, 2019, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued its new overtime rule, which proposes raising the minimum salary threshold to qualify for the white-collar exemptions from minimum wage and overtime pay requirements from $455 per week ($23,660 per year) to $679 per week ($35,308 per year). With this rule, the DOL has not […]
2019 will likely be the return of the Overtime Rule, which was initially issued by the Obama-era Department of Labor (DOL) and later blocked by a federal district court judge in late 2016. That was after many employers spent considerable time and effort preparing to comply with the requirements of the Overtime Rule. The rule […]
This fall, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued a memorandum clarifying its position on post-incident drug testing. In the memorandum, OSHA noted that drug testing used to evaluate the underlying cause of a workplace incident that harmed or could have harmed an employee is lawful. However, OSHA cautioned that if an employer does […]
On November 6, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) applies to all government employers, regardless of the number of people they employ. In issuing its decision (Mt. Lemmon Fire District v. Guido), the court eliminated this longstanding area of confusion for smaller public employers. When the […]
The Supreme Court’s June 27, 2018 Janus v. AFSCME decision may prove to be the most significant labor law case in half a century. The 5-4 case outlaws mandatory “fair share” fees for public employees who refuse membership in unions. Early post-Janus analysis indicates that the ruling is having a severe financial impact on public […]
Mark Fusco and Rina Russo, both Walter | Haverfield attorneys, were recently granted permanent admission to the Federal District Court for the Northern District of New York. The admission comes after a firm client requested that Walter | Haverfield defend a complex employment matter. The client has significant presence in New York, and the matter involves alleged […]
On September 13, 2018, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) announced its new proposed rule regarding its joint employer standard. It provides that an employer may be determined a “joint employer” of another employer’s employees: 1) if the first employer “possesses and exercises substantial, direct and immediate control over the essential terms and conditions of […]
“Disparaging or offensive language is prohibited.” “Employees may not engage in disrespectful conduct.” The above rules might seem reasonable to you or perhaps you have seen them in your own company’s employment policies. However, prior to the National Labor Relations Board’s (“NLRB”) ruling in The Boeing Company, 365 NLRB No. 154 (Dec. 14, 2017), these types […]
On May 21, 2018, the Supreme Court limited the rights of millions of employees to bring class action cases against their employers in employment disputes involving mandatory arbitration clauses. The landmark ruling delivers a sharp setback for groups of employees who wish to band together to file wage and hour claims against their employer. […]