Last year was a significant year for California’s Private Attorneys General Act (known as “PAGA”), the 18-year-old wage-and-hour enforcement act that, according to one study, has generated over 20,000 lawsuits against employers over the past five years costing employers, on average, over $1.1 million per case. On its face, PAGA purports to improve enforcement of … Continue Reading
Texas employers of ALL sizes should be aware that Texas has significantly expanded employee protection for sexual harassment claims with two new bills signed into law by Governor Abbott. The first opens the door for Texas employers of all sizes to be liable for sexual harassment. The second extends the statute of limitations for sexual … Continue Reading
The pandemic relief package enacted by Congress in late December briefly extended the available payroll tax credits for leave provided under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) through March 31, 2021. The relief package did not extend the requirement to provide paid leave, so after December 31, 2020, employers are not mandated to provide … Continue Reading
Last month, New York City joined an emerging national trend toward increased protections for independent contractors and freelance workers, adopting a new law, Int. 136-A, extending to independent contractors and freelancers the protections afforded to employees under the city’s Human Rights Law (NYCHRL). Effective January 11, 2020, the NYCHRL will apply to employers that employ … Continue Reading
A manufacturer has “subjected its employees to an ugly mix of sexism, racism, and xenophobia and violated federal law prohibiting harassment and retaliation” the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleged in a lawsuit recently filed in New York. What led to such an inflammatory charge from the EEOC? Among other things, the employer’s implementation of an … Continue Reading
Staffing agencies may provide the solution to a company’s short-term staffing needs. However, clients should not assume they can avoid liability for workplace issues by using a staffing agency; indeed, in some cases, a client is exposed to liability as a result of using a staffing agency. Engaging a staffing agency provides no protection against … Continue Reading
Employers have a duty to preserve information that is potentially relevant to anticipated or existing litigation and failure to comply with that duty can have dire consequences. As such, issuing a litigation hold should be at the top of every employer’s to-do list once placed on notice of a lawsuit, an administrative charge, an agency … Continue Reading
Employers who require all employees to sign a form non-competition agreement regardless of the state in which the employee is located or the type of work performed by the employee should think twice before doing so. Recent legislation focused on reform of non-competition agreements at the state level may signal a trend. In light of those … Continue Reading
While employers took solace from the Nov. 22 nationwide preliminary injunction which blocked implementation of a controversial rule increasing the salary threshold for employees to be exempt from overtime, the battle is not over. The Department of Labor filed its notice of appeal December 1, the same day the new salary regulations were to take … Continue Reading
In Florida, employee handbooks, procedure manuals, and other statements of an employer’s policy are generally non-binding and do not give rise to enforceable contract rights. But suppose an employer induces an employee to continue working by offering a long term incentive plan? That was the issue addressed in a recent decision by Florida’s Fourth District … Continue Reading
Beginning in 2014, “large employers” may be assessed a penalty for not providing required coverage under the employer shared responsibility mandate of the Affordable Care Act. This does not mean that employers need not worry about whether they qualify for the mandate until 2014. Why you may ask? Because an applicable large employer is defined … Continue Reading
