Monthly Archives: May 2018

U.S. Supreme Court Rules That Class Action Waivers Are Enforceable

Employers may require employees to enter into arbitration agreements that waive such employees’ ability to participate in a class or collective action lawsuit, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled this week. In a long-awaited decision that represents a significant victory for employers, the Court in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis held that such agreements do not violate the National Labor Relations … Continue Reading

SOS: Students Stuck Outside

A new and unexpected policy change will cause problems for students who plan to process visa applications from abroad. Foreign nationals who overstay their student visas could be barred from re-entering the U.S. under a draft policy memorandum issued by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on May 11. The new policy, which will supersede existing policy that’s … Continue Reading

DOL Again Offers Opinion Letters to Employers

Employers will once again have another source of guidance on wage and hour issues from the U. S. Department of Labor, which last month reinstated the practice of issuing opinion letters. The DOL stopped issuing opinion letters during the Obama administration, and instead switched to a practice of offering Administrator’s Interpretations (AI), which have broader applicability. Employers, who can rely … Continue Reading

Say Goodbye to Independent Contractors: The New “ABC” Test of Employee Status

The circumstances under which California businesses may classify workers as independent contractors rather than employees under California wage laws have been greatly narrowed by a decision the California Supreme Court issued April 30, 2018. The landmark decision in the case known as Dynamex presumes that all workers are employees, sets out a new three-part “ABC” test businesses must satisfy in … Continue Reading

#HimToo

The headlines may feature the names of powerful businessmen and stars who’ve been accused of sexual harassment, but employers should remember the perpetrator may not always be a man. Powerful women can be harassers, too. And there is the key: harassment is more about power than gender.

Abigail Saguy, a Professor of Sociology and Gender Studies at UCLA who has … Continue Reading

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