Perspectives on Labor, Employment & OSHA

On May 28, 2019, the Maryland Governor permitted (without signature) the Noncompete and Conflict of Interest Clauses Act (the Act) to become law.

The esports industry has been rapidly growing since its inception in the 1990’s. Viewership numbers for esports championship games exceed that of the NHL’s Stanley Cup Finals, the MLB World Series, and the NBA Finals.

Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker recently signed a bill that moves the Paid Family and Medical Leave Program start date from July 1, 2019 to October 1, 2019.

The 2019 edition of Legal 500 US has rated 49 Arent Fox LLP attorneys as national leaders in their field. In addition, 15 of the firm’s practice areas were ranked among the best in the country.

Today, the US Supreme Court settled a hotly debated issue under Title VII: Is the statute’s charge-filing requirement jurisdictional? The answer, according to the unanimous Court, is no.

The Supreme Court’s, McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 US 792 (1973), burden-shifting framework is all too familiar to employment discrimination and retaliation litigants. 

The US House of Representatives passed the Equality Act of 2019, which would prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in a broad array of important areas.

Bowing to pressure from the business community, the Department of Family and Medical Leave (Department) recently set a new deadline of June 30, 2019 for employers to provide written notice of the paid family and medical leave program to employees. The Department also extended the initial filing dead

In an opinion letter issued earlier this week, the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) advanced a business-friendly standard to determine whether a worker is an FLSA-covered employee or an independent contractor. 

Yesterday, in a 5-4 decision written by Chief Justice John Roberts, the United States Supreme Court held that ambiguous arbitration agreements do not provide the affirmative contractual basis required to send a dispute to classwide arbitration.

The US Supreme Court ruled in Lamps Plus, Inc., et. al. v. Varela, No 17-988 (April 24, 2019), that class-wide arbitration is not available to parties when the underlying arbitration agreement between them is ambiguous as to whether it was contemplated.

On April 17, 2019, the newly created Massachusetts Department of Family and Medical Leave (the Department) released the notices required to be provided by employers and covered business entities to their current workforce. The notices must be provided no later than May 31, 2019.

The Massachusetts Department of Family and Medical Leave recently released an implementation timeline for the new paid family and medical leave program, revised draft regulations, and a series of “toolkits” to assist employers and workers with their preparations for the new benefit.

It’s not uncommon for an employee to perform work for an employer — A — that simultaneously benefits another person — B. 

In two recent memoranda, NLRB General Counsel Peter Robb has clarified the standards to be used by the Board’s Regions in evaluating cases alleging that a union breached its duty of fair representation.

Overriding the veto of Republican Governor Larry Hogan, the Maryland House of Delegates and Senate voted for Maryland to become the sixth state to adopt a $15 minimum wage. Governor Hogan had vetoed the bill because he claimed it would result in job losses and hurt small businesses. The House voted

In a groundbreaking decision, the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission on March 4, 2019 ruled for the first time that the Occupational Safety and Health Act’s (OSH Act) general duty clause obligates employers to protect their workers from workplace violence.

The requestor’s client provides an optional community service program for its employees. Under the program, employees engage in certain volunteer activities that either the client sponsors or the employees themselves select.

Acting Administrator of the Wage & Hour Division (WHD) of the DOL issued an opinion letter taking the position that employers cannot allow employees to exhaust paid sick and other leave before designating leave as FMLA and having it count against their 12- or 26- week entitlement.

On March 7, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced its long-awaited Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to increase the salary threshold for the so-called “white collar exemptions” from the Fair Labor Standards Act’s overtime pay requirements.

Revisiting an issue remaining from the last administration, the US Department of Labor (“DOL”) on Thursday evening issued a new proposed rule raising the minimum salary and compensation requirements for overtime exemptions under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”).

The NYC Commission on Human Rights issued a legal enforcement guidance affirming that grooming or appearance policies that ban, limit, or otherwise restrict natural hair or hairstyles associated with Black people generally violate the NYC Human Rights Law’s anti-discrimination provisions.

On March 1, 2019, only seven days after the NLRB General Counsel issued a Memorandum taking an expansive view of Beck rights, a divided NLRB ruled that nonmember objectors cannot be compelled to pay for union lobbying expenses United Nurses & Allied Professionals (Kent Hospital).

On February 22, 2019, NLRB General Counsel Peter Robb issued a Memorandum on a union’s duty to properly notify employees of their General Motors/Beck rights and to accept dues checkoff revocations after contract expiration. Memorandum GC 19-04 (Feb. 22, 2019).

Three recent settlements between very different employers and the US Department of Justice have highlighted the need for employers to be mindful of the complex interplay between export control laws and anti-discrimination provisions in US immigration laws.