Employment

The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals recently issued an opinion holding that an employer cannot assert equitable defenses based on an employee’s misconduct in under-reporting hours as a total bar to the employee’s FLSA claim where the employer was aware of the employee’s conduct.

These days most employers manage a vast amount of electronic information about their employees, including the employees’ personal identifying information. But what obligations do employers have to unionized employees with respect to managing that information and bargaining with them in the event of a breach of their private information?

My colleague David Barmak was quoted in a Business Insurance article entitled Supreme Court May Dilute EEOC’s Aggressive Legal Strategy, in which he explains the Supreme Court’s heightened scrutiny of the EEOC’s claims against employers.

Recently, Mintz Levin held a seminar in New York City that we designed to address some of the major challenges employers are facing in the New Year.  Our program contained segments on New York City’s paid sick leave law, effective management of HR Issues, the Affordable Care Act, employment practices liability insurance coverage, and workplace privacy.

Disruptive “technology” companies Uber and Lyft were back in court recently doing their best to ensure their business models are not upended by a ruling that their drivers should be classified as employees rather than independent contractors.

Recently, Mintz held a seminar in New York City that we designed to address some of the major challenges employers are facing in the New Year.  Our program contained segments on New York City’s paid sick leave law, effective management of HR Issues, the Affordable Care Act, employment practices liability insurance coverage, and workplace privacy.

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals has released its much-anticipated decision in Roach v. T.L Cannon Corp., addressing the Supreme Court’s Comcast Corp. v. Behrend decision in connection with a wage and hour class action lawsuit.

I still consider Groundhog Day not only a great comedy, but also a great movie.  Twenty-two years ago, the late Harold Ramis graced us with a tale about Phil Connors, a Pittsburgh TV weatherman, who finds himself repeating the same day over and over while on assignment covering Groundhog Day in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.

Please join us on February 25th at 1:00 p.m. ET for a webinar, the second in our 2015 Privacy & Security Webinar Series, which will focus on privacy in the workplace. Our workplace goes well beyond the office these days, which makes employment and privacy compliance even more challenging.

I was quoted in a SHRM Online article entitled Measles Outbreak Raises Compliance Questions, in which I respond to common HR questions employers may have in the wake of the measles outbreak.

My colleague Jennifer Rubin was quoted in a Law360 article entitled Calif. Anti-Bullying Law to Add Fuel to Worker Litigation, in which she explains the implications of a new anti-bullying law in California that requires supervisors to complete anti-bullying training.  The article emphasizes the contrasting perspectives on the law.

My colleague Don Schroeder was quoted in a SHRM Online article entitled NLRB Charges Against McDonald’s Put Focus on HR, in which he comments on the NLRB’s decision to file complaints against McDonald’s USA and its franchisees due to their alleged retaliation against employees who participated in union and protected concerted activity.

The Sixth Circuit recently held that a Michigan county agency was barred from arguing that its employee was ineligible for leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), because the employee relied on an inaccurate description of FMLA eligibility requirements contained in the agency’s personnel manual when he commenced the absence that led to his termination.

If it can happen in the "Happiest Place on Earth", then why can't it happen at my office? That is a question many employers are asking themselves after a recent multi-state measles outbreak was linked to Disneyland in California.

The D.C. Council has passed emergency legislation to address certain ambiguities in and other issues raised by D.C.’s Wage Theft Prevention Amendment Act, which takes effect on February 26, 2015.  As we noted last month, the Act’s language as previously written was unclear on whether exempt employees were subject to the Act’s heightened recordkeeping requirements.

When it comes to California non-competes, you can never get enough clarity.  And when that clarity comes from a Delaware Chancery Court, it adds a utility element that our corporate brethren appreciate.

Employers do not have to pay their employees to attend mandatory alcohol counseling and treatment sessions, according to a New York Federal court.

Predicting the Super Bowl victor used to be easy. You just looked at the city with the lower unemployment rate and who Elijah that lovable orangutan picked and you called it a day.

Yesterday, the Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) published a notice of proposed rulemaking that would rescind the Labor Department’s sex discrimination guidelines for federal contractors and subcontractors and replace them with new rules.

This past September, we discussed the practical and legal implication of changing attitudes towards parental leave for fathers. Following up on this theme, Massachusetts recently passed a law, the Massachusetts Parental Leave Act (the “Parental Leave Act”), which will replace the current Massachusetts Maternity Leave Act (the “Maternity Leave Act”).