On February 9, 2023, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (DOL) issued Field Assistance Bulletin No. 2023-1 (FAB) to help employers (1) better understand their wage and hour obligations under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) with regard to their non-exempt teleworkers; and (2) how to apply the eligibility rules under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) when employees telework. Although the FAB does not break new ground or change the FLSA or the FMLA and their regulations, it does provide guidance on the DOL’s enforcement positions going forward.
Highly ...
Companies with employees working in Colorado must prepare now for that state’s Family & Medical Leave Insurance (“FAMLI”) program, which will provide paid leave to eligible employees for certain qualifying events beginning in 2024. Covered employers will need to register for the FAMLI program and periodically submit certain wage data and required premiums to the State’s FAMLI Division to help fund the program. Some of the important steps for covered employers to take to comply with the new FAMLI Program include the following:
Step 1 – Post the 2023 Program Notice.
Step 2
In early January, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a proposed rule that would ban the use of non-compete agreements by employers in the United States. The rule is a proposed, not final, rule and could face a number of legal challenges that might prevent it from taking effect. Therefore, while employers should be aware that major changes may lie ahead, there is still time to plan and prepare.
The FTC’s proposed rule is sweeping. With only limited exceptions, it would retroactively invalidate all existing non-compete agreements between employers and employees and bar ...
Last Friday, January 20, 2023, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) issued its newest Corporate Scheduling Announcement List (affectionately known as CSAL) for applicable supply and service federal contractors and their applicable subcontractors. The OFCCP definition of “federal contractor” is relatively straightforward - generally a single $50,000 contract with a federal agency - but the OFCCP definition of an applicable subcontractor to a federal contractor can be much more subtle in application and could be difficult to ascertain.
The OFCCP ...
On January 1, 2023, the amendments to the Illinois One Day Rest in Seven Act (“ODRISA”) took effect, and the changes are significant. Employers with one or more employees in Illinois should take note of these new amendments to avoid costly penalties.
New Rest Breaks
The amended ODRISA requires covered employers to provide non-exempt employees with a minimum of 24 hours of rest within every consecutive seven-day period. Prior to January 1, 2023, the ODRISA required employers to provide eligible employees with at least twenty-four consecutive hours of rest in every “calendar ...
Employers should be aware of recent updates regarding two #MeToo-related federal laws: the Speak Out Act and the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act.
The Speak Out Act
President Biden signed the Speak Out Act on December 7, 2022, and the law went into effect immediately. The Act makes non-disclosure and non-disparagement clauses agreed to prior to a “sexual assault dispute” or “sexual harassment dispute” unenforceable. In other words, non-disclosure agreements signed as part of an onboarding process for new employees are not ...
As much of the country wound down from Thanksgiving celebrations with friends, families and everything in between last month, football programs around the country were also recuperating from one of the most anticipated weekends of the season – the historic rivalry weekend which occurs just in time for the Thanksgiving tryptophan to wear off. As an added bonus, it also happened to be that time of year for many college programs when the afternoon football game is followed quickly by a basketball game in the evening. It is, for some sports fans, the “most wonderful time of the year” ...
As employers increasingly operate in multiple jurisdictions and are allowing more and more employees to work remotely, employers should be mindful that a number of states are passing pay transparency laws. Employers hiring workers in such states and/or posting positions that permit remote work locations need to be sure that they are aware of and comply with potential pay transparency laws.
The California Transparency Laws
California, which already required employers to disclose salary information to applicants upon reasonable request, has added new pay scale disclosure ...
It’s that time of year again for holiday parties. Because many companies did not host holiday parties in 2020 or 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and are now returning to in-person events, it’s time to brush up on the best practices for avoiding holiday-related legal claims.
Holiday parties are a wonderful opportunity for team building and increasing morale. However, there are potential legal issues associated with company holiday parties. The following are some of the legal issues to think about when planning a holiday party:
1. Religious Discrimination: Be careful not to ...
On October 19, 2022, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) released a new poster that employers must prominently display in the workplace. The new poster replaces an old version, titled “Equal Employment Opportunity is the Law,” which featured important information regarding federal laws prohibiting workplace discrimination embedded in blocks of text that may have been cumbersome and difficult to read. The new poster, entitled simply “Know Your Rights,” contains much of the same information, along with some new updates.
Perhaps most striking ...
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