Election day will soon be upon us. Employers often have questions about voting leave—who is entitled to it; what they are required to provide; whether the leave must be paid; and what they are permitted and prohibited from doing on election day.
What voting leave is an employer required to provide?
Ohio employers must give
Most states, including Ohio, participate in Daylight Savings Time. This means that this Sunday, March 9, 2014, Daylight Savings Time begins, and we spring forward and push the clocks forward one hour at 2:00 a.m. Daylight Savings Time runs from the second Sunday of March to the first Sunday of November.
So, what does this mean for employers? Well, the key concern for employers is how the change impacts hourly (non-exempt) employees who work during the time change, e.g., the graveyard shift?
Continue Reading Daylight $avings $tart$ $unday. $pring Forward and Pay Employee$ Correctly
As we reported was likely to occur, President Obama signed an Executive Order yesterday requiring federal contractors to pay their employees at least $10.10 per hour beginning January 1, 2015. The minimum wage only applies to new federal contracts and contracts renewed by the federal government after January 1, 2015. However, the Executive Order states that “for all new contracts . . . negotiated between the date of this order and the effective date[] . . . , agencies are strongly encouraged to take all steps that are reasonable and legally permissible to ensure that individuals working pursuant to those contracts . . . are paid an hourly wage of at least $10.10.”
Continue Reading President Obama Signs Executive Order Requiring $10.10 Minimum Wage for Federal Contractors
The Supreme Court recently clarified the meaning of “changing clothes” under Section 203(o) of the Fair Labor Standards Act in Sandifer v. United States Steel. In general, non-exempt employees who spend time “donning” (putting on) and “doffing” (taking off) certain articles of clothing associated with their job must be compensated for that time. Section 203(o) provides an exception to this requirement in the context of collective bargaining—if an employer and the employees’ union agree that employees will not be paid for time spent “changing clothes,” the employer does not have to compensate for that time.
Continue Reading Supreme Court interprets meaning of “changing clothes” under FLSA collective bargaining exception
Yesterday, the Sixth Circuit revived the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)’s lawsuit against Skanska USA Building, Inc., holding that it was the de facto employer for subcontracted employees, a decision with potentially broad-reaching implications for employers with subcontracted employees and independent contractors, particularly in the construction industry.
Continue Reading Sixth Circuit Holds that Subcontracted Employees Can Sue the General Contractor on Construction Project as Their De Facto Employer
Come Jan. 1, 2014, the federal minimum wage rate will remain at $7.25 per hour for non-tipped employees, and $2.13 per hour for tipped employees. As of Jan. 1, 2013, 19 states and the District of Columbia had minimum wage rates higher than the federal minimum wage rate. In 2014, not only will that number grow to 20 states, but a number will see their minimum wage rates increase further.
Continue Reading State Minimum Wage Increases for 2014
Stewart v. CUS Nashville, LLC, No. 3:11-cv-0342, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16035 (M.D. Tenn. Aug. 8, 2013) serves as a cautionary tale to employers about the disastrous impact that can happen when managers and social media collide. And while this case turned out well for the employer in the end, that end was
The Sixth Circuit held that a six-month time limitation in an employment agreement constitutes an invalid waiver of an employee’s claims brought under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) and, more surprisingly, the Equal Pay Act (“EPA”).
In Boaz v. FedEx Customer Information Services, Inc. No. 12-5319 (6th Cir. Aug. 6, 2013), the plaintiff, Margaret
A federal court has denied a defendant-employer’s request that plaintiffs sift through and turn over all their social media posts made during their work hours in an FLSA collective action in which the plaintiffs claim their employer failed to give them meal breaks. How did that happen? I thought you’d never ask.
Continue Reading Court Denies Employer’s Access to Social Media Posts in FLSA Collective Action and Sends Warning: If You Want Access to Social Media, Come with Both Barrels Loaded … Leave the Water Gun at Home
By a tight five-to-four decision, the United States Supreme Court’s Genesis Health Care Corp. v. Symczyk decision provides employers a method to “pick off” the lead plaintiff in an FLSA collective action using a Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 68 offer of judgment and by doing so, take out the remaining collective action.
Continue Reading Genesis: A Unicorn, or the Beginning of a New Tactic? Supreme Court Holds Employers Can “Pick Off” a Named Plaintiff and Defeat a FLSA Collective Action with an offer of Judgment, but Leaves Open If All Employers Can Employ This Strategy