Chicago Adopts “Fair Work Week Ordinance”

Expansive Law Aimed at Predictive Scheduling for Workers, Limiting Employers’ Ability to Unilaterally Change Work Hours

On July 24, 2019, the City of Chicago enacted the “Fair Work Week Ordinance,” requiring that many businesses provide workers with up to two-weeks advance notice of their work hours and schedules. The FWW Ordinance becomes effective on July 1, 2020, and will require employers from a broad spectrum of industries to set most employee schedules at least 10 days in advance. Read More ›

Lawsuit Filed to Stop August 1 Effective Date of San Antonio Paid Sick Leave Ordinance

UPDATE III: Judge Agrees to Delay San Antonio Paid Sick Leave Ordinance

At a hearing this morning, Judge Sol Casseb entered the Agreed Order submitted by attorneys for the City and the businesses that filed suit regarding their agreement to delay the effective date of the PSL ordinance from August 1 to December 1. Entry of the Agreed Order eliminated the need for a hearing on the businesses’ request for an injunction prohibiting the ordinance from going into effect on August 1 and should, hopefully, allow sufficient time for the Texas Supreme Court to determine whether it will consider the enforceability of the City of Austin’s PSL ordinance, which case is currently pending before the Supreme Court. Read More ›

Justices Highlight Importance Of Title VII Procedural Details

On June 3, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court resolved the debate in employment discrimination law which had split the circuits. In a unanimous decision, the court held in Fort Bend County v. Davis that the exhaustion requirement that a plaintiff must first bring a Title VII discrimination charge to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or the equivalent state fair employment practices agency is not a jurisdictional requirement, but rather a claims-processing rule that is mandatory but can be forfeited if the defense is not raised in a timely manner. Read More ›

Help Wanted in Michigan? Only Those 21 Years and Up Need Apply

“Help Wanted” signs are becoming familiar sights at most Michigan retailers. As unemployment rates have fallen across the state, and employers struggle to fill vacancies, the influx of students hitting the summer job market may come as welcome news. Unfortunately, would-be adult use marijuana businesses should temper their excitement.  Michigan’s Regulation and Taxation of Marihuana Act requires employees to be 21 years of age or older.  Specifically, MCL 333.27961(e), provides that: “No marijuana establishment may allow a person under 21 years of age to volunteer or work for the marihuana establishment.”  Read More ›

Freedom to Gig: New Department of Labor Opinion Bolsters Employers’ Ability to Classify “Virtual Workers” as Independent Contractors

The U.S. Department of Labor on Monday unveiled its first guidance under the current Administration on the hotly contested issue of employee-versus-independent contractor classification, saying workers for an unnamed technology platform that connects service providers with clients are independent contractors. The guidance was provided through an Administrator’s Opinion Letter, and as such it provides unique defenses to employers with similar situations and who rely on the letter. Read More ›

The Michigan Saga Continues: The Constitutional Validity of the New Michigan Paid Medical Leave Act and New Minimum Wage Law Heads to the Michigan Supreme Court

This past summer, two voter initiatives were headed to the November ballot for consideration. One initiative was to increase the state minimum wage, and the other was to create a state law requiring most employers to provide employees with paid sick leave. However, before such initiatives could appear on the ballot for voter consideration, in September 2018 the Michigan Legislature seized its constitutional right to enact those initiatives on its own, thereby keeping the initiatives off the ballot. Now, the Michigan Supreme Court will have the last word on whether the initiatives were properly enacted in their current form. Read More ›

Auto-Deduction for Employee Meal Breaks Can Work for Hospitals, but be Careful!

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, all employees must be paid overtime for all hours worked over 40 in a workweek. The law also requires employers to keep accurate records of all time worked. Many employers, though—particularly hospitals—often automatically deduct 30 minutes from their employees’ 8.5 workdays assuming that all employees take their regular 30-minute meal breaks. But what happens when an employee is interrupted during the employee’s meal break to answer a call, attend to a code or other emergency, and the like? This scenario has been fodder for lawsuits against hospitals, most recently in an Ohio federal court–Myers v. Marietta Memorial Hospital, No. 2:15-CV-2956 (S.D. Ohio March 27, 2019). Read More ›

No Fooling – DOL Seeks to Limit Joint Employer Liability with New 4-Factor Test

The U.S. Department of Labor is pressing ahead with its efforts to revamp the Fair Labor Standards Act regulations (we recently posted here regarding proposed changes to the Regular Rate of pay calculation regulations). On April 1, 2019, the DOL proposed a new four-factor test that would clarify when two employers are jointly responsible for minimum wage and overtime violations. Under this test, the DOL would consider whether the potential joint employer: Read More ›

DOL Proposes Another Major FLSA Rule Change: This Time on Calculating the “Regular Rate of Pay” for Overtime

Earlier this month, the DOL published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”) to increase the minimum salary level most exempt employees must be paid in order for them to be deemed exempt from the FLSA’s overtime pay requirements. For a summary of that proposal, click here. The comment period for the proposed changes will close in late May, and it is anticipated that the salary level rules will be finalized and implemented in early 2020. This NPRM was “big news,” particularly in light of the 2016 national injunction barring the implementation of the Obama Administration’s attempted changes to the regulations.  Read More ›

EEO-1 Pay Data Rule Rollercoaster – Stay Tuned but Don’t Panic!

Following shifting executive policies, court decisions, and guidance on the EEO-1 Pay Date reporting requirement, the EEOC has now confirmed that the May 31, 2019 deadline to report pay data is officially on hold (for now).

By way of background, in 2016, under the Obama administration, the EEOC expanded its annual mandatory “Employer Information Report EEO-1” (EEO-1) form to require employers and federal contractors with 100 or more employees to include pay data, categorized by race, ethnicity and gender, in their reports (see Dykema’s previous update here). The EEOC also extended the reporting deadline for calendar year 2017 (the first year requiring the new pay data) to March 31, 2018. The expanded data collection sought to combat pay discrimination by identifying wage disparities Read More ›