Bradford Kelley and Mike Paglialonga explain the basics of wage and hour laws and why it’s critical for business owners to ensure their business complies with federal, state and local laws and regulations.

American Drycleaner

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Bradford Kelley and Mike Paglialonga explain the basics of wage and hour laws and why it’s critical for business owners to ensure their business complies with federal, state and local laws and regulations.

American Drycleaner

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Over the past few months, the Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER) of the Department of Justice has entered into several settlements from which employers can learn some valuable lessons so that these discriminatory practices are not followed.

In a recent settlement, a transportation and parking management company agreed to settle an IER charge to resolve IER’s determination that the company discriminated against the Charging Party when it refused to honor the employee’s valid Employment Authorization Document (EAD).

New Jersey is the latest state to advance pay transparency requirements.  On September 26, 2024, the New Jersey state legislature passed Senate Bill 2310, which if signed and enacted by Governor Murphy (as is expected), would mandate that certain New Jersey employers disclose wage or salary ranges and general benefits information in each job posting/advertisement. The bill would also require that employers take “reasonable” steps to make opportunities for promotions known to current employees.

Applicability

Michael Lotito writes about unions and their allies’ attempts to sneak parts of the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act into the budget bill.

The Wall Street Journal

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Keith A. Jacoby explains what makes Mark Rudy a good mediator.

Daily Journal

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Update: This bill was signed into law on March 3, 2022.

On May 12, 2022, the “Employee and Retiree Access to Justice Act” was introduced in the House of Representatives by Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA).  Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) introduced a companion bill in the Senate. The bill seeks to ban arbitration and discretionary clauses in employer-sponsored benefit plans governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).

Rhonda B. Levy and Barry Kuretzky discuss a case in which an arbitrator issued the first award in Ontario to address and uphold the reasonableness of a hospital vaccination policy that allows employers to terminate employees for non-compliance.

Human Resources Director Canada

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On May 3, Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law SB 2006 (codified as Section 381.00316, Florida Statutes).  The law prevents business entities from requiring that patrons or customers provide documentation certifying COVID-19 vaccination or post-infection recovery to enter or obtain service from a business in Florida. It also prohibits educational institutions from requiring students or residents, and governmental entities from requiring persons, to provide vaccination passports or proof of post-infection recovery.

William H. Foster and Katie E. Towery examine the impact President Biden’s “America’s Jobs Plan” might have on South Carolina’s growing businesses and workforce. 

Association of Corporate Counsel South Carolina

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Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) opportunities have been a hot topic in college sports since the summer of 2021. In July 2021, the NCAA released an Interim NIL Policy. Before then, individual states had passed laws allowing college athletes to enter NIL deals. Florida was one of the earliest states to enact an NIL law. Passed in 2020, it went into effect in July 2021. Recent amendments to Florida’s NIL law will have a substantial impact upon businesses looking to enter NIL deals with athletes at Florida schools and upon Florida schools with intercollegiate athletic programs.

In a joint “Dear Colleague” letter (DCL) released May 19, 2023, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights teamed up with the U.S.

Montana Senate Bill 248 went into effect on June 1, 2023. This law allows student-athletes to earn compensation from Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) endorsement deals and is part of a trend of NIL legislation being passed by states that allow student-athletes to monetize endorsement deals.

The country’s colleges and universities will likely face significant labor cost pressures for the next year, according to a higher ed sector financial analysis released last week by Moody’s Investors Service. 

Maryland has enacted a law allowing student-athletes to earn compensation from name, image, and likeness (NIL) endorsement deals. The law, Md. Code Ann., Educ. § 15-131, went into effect on July 1, 2023, and is part of a continuing trend of states implementing legislation allowing student-athletes to monetize endorsements.

Tyler A. Sims disagrees with a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) regional director’s ruling that men’s college basketball players at Dartmouth College are employees for National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) purposes.

SHRM Online

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Update: On June 20, 2024, the Cal/OSHA Standards Board unanimously approved an amended version of the proposed indoor heat illness prevention regulation which specifically excluded the government entities (mainly correctional facilities) whose inclusion had led to the earlier rejection by the Director Finance. The Board also requested that the Office of Administrative Law (OAL) expedite their review and allow the regulation to become effective immediately upon OAL approval.

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Alka Ramchandani-Raj says a proposed OSHA rule would direct OSHA inspectors to request to see an employer’s written heat plan as part of construction site inspections on days the temperature has reached the rule’s trigger point. 

Bloomberg Law

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Felicia Watson discusses three concerns about a proposed OSHA rule that would protect indoor and outdoor workers from heat illness.

SHRM

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Alka Ramchandani-Raj discusses California’s new indoor and outdoor heat rule for employees and the ambiguity surrounding how the rule will be enforced.

Bloomberg Law

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Maryland’s Occupational Safety and Health (MOSH) Division of Labor and Industry recently announced its publication of the Heat Illness Prevention Standard as a final regulation in the September 20, 2024, edition of the Maryland Register. Effective September 30, 2024, the final regulation—which creates obligations for Maryland employers to protect their employees against heat hazards—will be published in the Code of Maryland Regulations (COMAR) under chapter 09.12.32 Heat Stress Standards.

On October 15, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor released expanded guidance for OSHA inspections of employers in the animal slaughtering and processing industry. This guidance supersedes previous guidance issued in 2015, which had been limited to poultry processing establishments.

As part of the Obama administration's commitment to accountability in spending under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), the federal Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) will be tracking its ARRA-related and non-ARRA-related enforcement activities separately and aggressively auditing recipients of ARRA funds.

On July 7, 2009, OFCCP released a new directive that explains the different procedures that will apply in scheduling and conducting compliance evaluations for ARRA-funded contractors versus other federal contractors.

The district court's opinion denying cross-motions for summary judgment in Bobbitt v. Broadband Interactive, Inc., No. 8:11-cv-2855 (M.D. Fla. Oct. 21, 2013) illustrates how not to structure an independent contractor relationship and how not to lay the groundwork to defend that relationship in the event of litigation.  The case also serves as a warning that even well-conceived independent contractor relationships may be open to question by a court that is inclined to distrust them.

Background

Connecticut has passed a new law regulating electronic nicotine delivery systems and vapor products in various venues, including numerous places of employment.  Effective October 1, 2015, Public Act No. 15 206 (the Act) supersedes and preempts any relevant provisions of municipal laws or ordinances regarding the use of these products. 

The Law

The Act prohibits the use of electronic nicotine delivery systems and vapor products in:

1. buildings owned or leased and operated by the state or its political subdivisions,

Mark Phillis discusses the practice of looking to HR professionals to testify in court and conduct workplace investigations.

Bloomberg BNA Human Resources Report

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Aki Tanaka talks about how the monthly average working hour per employee went down in Japan after the country started implementing a law limiting overtime in 2018.

SHRM Online

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(November 8, 2023) – Littler, the world’s largest employment and labour law practice representing management, has released its sixth annual European Employer Survey Report. Based on responses from 780 human resources (HR) executives, in-house lawyers and business leaders from across Europe, the report explores the myriad ways in which employers are responding to changes in workplace management, policy and culture.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 12, 2024) – Littler shareholder Tyler A. Sims testified today before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and the Workforce at a joint hearing of the Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development and the Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions on “Safeguarding Student-Athletes from NLRB Misclassification.”

Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute files brief for the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace urging court to grant review of Goldstein v. Professional Staff Congress and reaffirm Constitutional protections against compulsory union representation

Scott Forman gives his predictions for legal technology and data analytics tools, especially towards generative AI point solutions, in 2024.

Legaltech News

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Kristy Peters discusses how employment law attorneys can be critical partners for employers to help them identify challenges and opportunities for their business.

InBusiness Phoenix

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The Senate recessed, leaving two nominees key to the partisan balance on the National Labor Relations Board in limbo, and Michael Lotito says it’s a sign that their confirmations are not guaranteed.

Law360

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Alex MacDonald discusses his article “The Accidental Success of the NLRA: How a Law About Unions Achieved Its Goals by Giving Us Fewer Unions” on a podcast.

Labor Union News

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Stephan Swinkels discusses a major reversal in reforms to Dutch tax law that would have impacted the recruitment and mobility of highly skilled foreign talent.

Global Mobility Lawyer

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Zoe Argento provides insight into Colorado’s AI law and the risks employers may have if they allow AI tools in the workplace. 

The Sum & Substance

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