Employee Participation in an Employer-Sponsored Volunteer Program is Not Compensable, DOL Says

The Department of Labor (DOL), Wage and Hour Division, recently issued its first set of opinion letters for 2019. One of the letters, FLSA2019-02, addresses whether employee time spent participating in an employer's optional volunteer program is compensable work time under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). As many employers today offer optional volunteer programs to their employees, this opinion letter is helpful for employers to determine whether employee time spent volunteering with such a program is compensable. More ›

Court Orders EEOC to Resume Collection of Pay Data

In a move directed at addressing inequities in pay and preventing pay discrimination, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia rejected the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) decision to stay the collection of pay data by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Unclear from the Court's decision, however, is when the EEOC will begin implementation of the pay data collection. For employers subject to this requirement, organizing pay records and information will only help streamline their reporting process once it gets underway. More ›

Why the ADA Can Make it Difficult for a Direct Supervisor to Discharge an Employee

It is often a challenge for employers to decide on who will deliver the bad news to an employee that their employment has ended. That decision may depend on who can connect with an employee and cause the least amount of personal and workplace turmoil.

Direct supervisors may rightfully claim they have special insight into certain workplace tensions and feel they are best positioned to steer clear of these tensions during a termination meeting with an employee. But in some instances, the law actually favors using Human Resources personnel or managers with less personal interaction with the employee. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is one such example, and employers should consider using management personnel who can credibly and demonstrably deny knowledge of personal observations or individualized data when ending an employment relationship with an employee considered "impaired" under the ADA. More ›

The End of the Saga of DOL's Proposed Changes to FLSA Overtime Rules?

For nearly four years, proposed Department of Labor (DOL) rule changes that would expand the number of workers eligible for overtime wages have remained in limbo. The latest twist in this long-standing saga came last week, when the DOL published a new "Notice of Proposed Rule Making" (NPRM), which sets a new salary threshold for overtime pay at $679 per week ($35,308 per year). Under these proposed rules, any salaried employee earning less than that amount, will be entitled to overtime for the hours the employee works beyond forty (40) in a week. More ›

It's Legal—Local Ordinances Can Raise Minimum Wage Above Minnesota State Statute

The Minnesota Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court ruling that a Minneapolis ordinance raising the minimum wage did not conflict with—and was not impliedly preempted by—state statute, clearing the path for a rise in minimum wages in the municipality. (Graco, Inc., et al. v. City of Minneapolis, Case No. A18-0593). While review may still be sought at the Minnesota Supreme Court, employers in Minneapolis should continue complying with the ordinance's minimum wage requirements. More ›

Minimum Wage in Illinois Set to Nearly Double by 2025

Employers in Illinois will be dealing with double digit minimum wage increases over the next several years, after Illinois Governor JB Pritzker signed "The Lifting Up Illinois Working Families Act" into law. More ›

It's Risky Business for California Employers when Scheduling Employees On-Call

In Skylar Ward v. Tilly's Inc., the Second Appellate District of the Court of Appeal for the State of California found, in a split decision, that employees who were required to call in two hours before a scheduled on-call shift in order to confirm their shift, should be compensated under laws governing "reporting time pay." This decision should remind California employers of the need to compensate on-call employees consistent with the Labor Code, Wage Orders, and any other applicable laws. Employers should also consider that—pursuant to the majority opinion in Ward v. Tilly—requiring employees to call in ahead of on-call shifts amounts to asking them to report to work and they should be compensated for this time. More ›

Employers Need to Go Back to the Drawing Board for Their Wellness Program Incentives

Many employers incorporate wellness programs into their group health plans. Studies indicate that such programs, which can provide incentives to employees to encourage healthy behaviors, are offered by more than half of all employers who sponsor a health plan. More ›

EEOC Announces EEO-1 Survey Deadline Extension Due to Government Shutdown

The recent federal government shutdown left the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) mostly shuttered. As a result, the commission has announced an extension of the 2018 EEO-1 reporting period deadline to May 31, 2019. The online reporting period will begin in early March, although the exact opening date has yet to be announced. Employers can visit the EEOC website for updates. More ›

Applicants Not Protected by ADEA's Disparate Impact Theory, According to 7th Circuit

In a split decision, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals held en banc that the Age Discrimination in Employment Act's (ADEA) protections against disparate impact age discrimination do not extend to applicants. Rather, they apply only to employees. More ›