Suppose you commonly reimburse employees for certain expenses like mileage, meals, or equipment. Suppose instead of paying them the usual rate of “x,” you decide to pay them significantly more, like maybe “4x” for those expenses. Can you do so and exclude those payments from the employee’s regular rate of…
Credit: Lori Chavez-DeRemer on Instagram If you had your money on President-Elect Trump selecting a pro-labor Republican with support from several unions to run the U.S. Department of Labor, you and I should go to Vegas together so I can ride your coattails. On Friday, President-elect Donald Trump tapped Oregon…
Is this post safe for work? Yes, it is. Did I write it in Incognito mode, just in case? Yes, I did. A recent California decision offers employers a good reminder about the importance of applying work rules and policies evenly to avoid potential discrimination claims. The case involves a…
Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Labor issued an opinion letter concluding that, under certain circumstances, an employee may use leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to treat a serious health condition when treatment is provided as part of a clinical trial. Let’s explore why. Actually, before…
Sorry, 50 Cent, not that club. On Monday, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed legislation (Senate Bill 2310) requiring certain businesses to disclose wage or salary information and description of benefits in job postings. Here are five things employers need to know about this new law: It covers private businesses…
In the wake of election results earlier this month that will result in a Republican president and a Republican-controlled Congress in 2025, it’s reasonable to expect some changes in employment law. I’ve assembled an all-star panel of employment lawyers to explore them, including my partners Amy Epstein Gluck and Dessi Day and two…
Wikipedia says that déjà vu is the phenomenon of feeling as though one has lived through the present situation before. Last Friday, a Texas federal judge vacated a U.S. Department of Labor 2024 Rule that raised the minimum salary level to be exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act overtime…
Within the past week, the National Labor Relations Board has reversed over 100 years of combined precedent with two decisions that will make it easier for unions to organize American workplaces. Employer Statements About Unionization’s Impact on Employer-Employee Relationship On November 8, the Board decided that it would start evaluating…
Employers don’t have crystal balls. Last week, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals reaffirmed the well-settled rule that when one coworker accuses another of creating a hostile work environment, that claim will fail ten times out of ten unless the employer knew or should have known about the harassment but…
As a thank you to the many readers who provided me with stellar Dallas-area BBQ recommendations, like the one featured above from Hutchins BBQ in McKinney, I’m sharing a tool that the U.S. Department of Labor recently announced to provide workers with disabilities and employers ideas for workplace accommodations. The…