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Labor & Employment News Alert

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking: DOL Proposes Overtime Pay Expansion

After months of speculation, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) unveiled new overtime pay requirements on Thursday, March 7, 2019. The new proposal would raise the new salary threshold for white collar overtime exemptions will move to $35,308 per year under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Workers who earn less than $35,308 per year (or $679 per week) would be automatically eligible for overtime pay…

Best to Keep it to Yourself: 4th Circuit Finds That False Gossip Can Give Rise to a Hostile Work Environment

On February 8, 2019, the Fourth Circuit, which covers West Virginia, ruled that false rumors in the workplace can give rise to liability for an employer for a hostile work environment. The case Parker v. Reema Consulting Services, Inc., begins innocently enough. The Plaintiff in this case was hired as a low-level clerk for Reema Consulting, but quickly rose through the ranks, receiving six…

NLRB REVERSES COURSE ON “ENTREPRENEURIAL OPPORTUNITIES”

In a decision that will benefit companies that rely on independent contractors, particularly ride-share services, the National Labor Relations Board issued an opinion last week reverting to its pre-Obama-Era standard for determining whether a worker is an independent contractor or an employee for purposes of the National Labor Relations Act. 

 

The case, SuperShuttle DFW, Inc., 367 N.L.R.B. No. 75…

Supreme Court Watch: SCOTUS Grants Certiorari on Title VII Case

On January 12, 2019, the Supreme Court of the United States granted certiorari in Fort Bend County v. Davis, which questions whether Title VII’s requirement that a plaintiff exhaust their administrative remedies is a jurisdictional prerequisite to suit or instead a waivable claim processing rule.

Before filing a lawsuit under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, an individual who alleges…

Reminder: Employees Can Discuss Salary and the Terms and Conditions of Employment With Each Other.

Even lawyers can get it wrong. The National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) recently reached a settlement agreement with the law firm Goldberg Segalla regarding allegations that the law firm forced employees to sign a “confidentiality agreement” that made discussing the terms and conditions of employment a terminable offense (Case No. 02-CA-220607).

The NLRB, though, barred the confidentiality…

There's still time to register for the Labor & Employment Seminar on January 25!

Learn about the latest changes in labor and employment law at the upcoming Labor & Employment Seminar on January 25, 2019 at the Tropicana Conference Center. Our topics focus on new trends in employment and labor law and include an outlook for the 2019 Indiana Legislative Session. Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credits are pending. Download the invitation here

 

An Early Look at Federal Labor and Employment Law Developments in 2019

Since we just turned the page on 2018, it is time to focus on what labor and employment law developments may be in store for employers in 2019.  This post highlights several labor and employment regulatory and case law developments that may come to fruition this year.

 

1. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is scheduled to release a new proposal in June regarding how employers…

Employees are not permitted to misappropriate confidential information in support of their discrimination claims.

On November 15, 2018, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed the district court’s grant of summary judgment to an employer who had terminated an employee following her unauthorized review and disclosure of confidential personnel files. In Netter v. Barnes, the Fourth Circuit held that Title VII does not protect a terminated employee who violated a valid state law. You…

ACA: Alive and Well or on Death’s Doorstep?

The highly publicized decision from a federal district court judge in Texas declaring the Affordable Care Act unconstitutional has raised serious questions across America, not the least of which is – Is the Affordable Care Act still the law of the land?  The answer for the time-being is, yes.

 

Late Friday night, the Texas district court held that the individual mandate provision of the ACA was…

The Latest Edition of the JK Defense Newsletter and an Upcoming Free Seminar

Learn about the latest changes in labor and employment law in the attached JK Defense Newsletter and an upcoming Labor & Employment Seminar on January 25, 2019 at the Tropicana Conference Center. Our topics focus on new trends in employment and labor law and include an outlook for the 2019 Indiana Legislative Session. Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credits are pending. Download the invitation …

One Court Declines to Find Retroactive Liability Against Public-Sector Unions in the Wake of Janus

This past summer saw a significant upheaval in the area of public-sector labor law with the United States Supreme Court ruling in Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, Council 31, which held that agency fees could not be automatically deducted from an employee’s pay unless that employee affirmatively consents to the payment. (You can read more on the Janus …

Hot off the Press for Public Employers and Political Subdivisions: The Supreme Court rules that the ADEA covers even small state and local government employers

Today, in Mount Lemmon Fire District v. Guido, 586 U.S. ____ (2018), which is the first decision of the new term, the Supreme Court of the United States unanimously upheld the Ninth Circuit’s decision to reopen a lawsuit by two firefighter captains who claimed that they were illegally terminated by the Tucson Fire District because of their age.  The Fire District argued that because it employed…

 

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