Perspectives on Labor, Employment & OSHA

Declaring that “[e]qual opportunity is the bedrock of American democracy, and our diversity is one of our country’s greatest strengths.”

In 2016, the US Department of Justice issued its Antitrust Guidance for Human Resources Professionals (Antitrust Guidance), in which it warned that criminal charges may result if corporations enter into “naked no-poach agreements.”

In light of the development of a COVID vaccine, employers across all industries are beginning to plan for their employees to return to the workplace.

We’ve reported, at length, on Virginia’s first-in-the-nation, state-wide, temporary COVID-19 workplace safety standard linked below. That standard took effect on July 27, 2020, and will expire on January 26, 2021.

In November 2020, Montana joined Arizona, New Jersey, and South Dakota in legalizing recreational cannabis use.

Last week, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (the EEOC) proposed two final rules: One under the Americans with Disabilities Act (the ADA), and the other under the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA). 

The latest trends and developments in the class action world

The latest trends and developments in the class action world.

On January 11, 2021, Mayor Muriel Bowser signed into law the Ban on Non-Compete Agreements Amendment Act of 2020, passed by the Council of the District of Columbia in December 2020.

Effective January 1, 2021, every private employer in Florida must either use E-verify, a federal web-based program, to verify the identity and work authorization for each new hire.

On January 6, the US Department of Labor announced a final rule, aimed at clarifying the distinction, under the FLSA, between employees and independent contractors.

On December 31, 2020, the Administrator of the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division issued an opinion letter addressing whether certain travel time that occurs on a partial telework day is compensable under the FLSA. Opinion Letter FLSA2020-19 (December 31, 2020).

In a major setback for the Trump administration, US District Court Judge Beth Labson Freeman, of the US District Court for the Northern District of California, issued a nationwide injunction.

After months of debate, Congress has passed, and President Trump is expected to sign, a COVID-19 relief, appropriations, and tax bill. Doubtlessly, the Bill, which is nearly 6,000 pages long, will undergo much scrutiny and analysis over the ensuing days and weeks.

On December 7, 2020, the Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) issued a rule clarifying the scope of the religious exemption under Executive Order 11246 (EO 11246), which requires equal employment opportunity in federal government contracting.

Both practical and legal issues will need to be resolved, but as of today, the EEOC has signaled that mandatory COVID vaccinations are lawful for the vast majority of employees.

California Court of Appeal held that California’s wage and hour laws apply to seamen working on a ship outside of California’s jurisdictional limits.

In the currently labyrinthine world of litigation and legislation impacting the appropriate classification of independent contractors in California, we suggest that you seek the advice of your AF Labor & Employment.

Society for Human Resource Management

The Federal Circuit Court has issued an opinion invalidating a post-employment invention assignment provision in an employment agreement because the assignment provision violated California law disfavoring restrictive covenants.

On November 19, 2020, the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board (the Board) unanimously approved a set of emergency COVID-19 safety regulations that significantly expand the responsibilities of most California employers to prevent the risk of COVID-19 outbreaks in the workplace.

On November 9, 2020, the California Court of Appeal (Fourth Appellate District, Division 3) decided Semprini vs Wedbush Securities, Inc., holding that a certified class of employees paid on a commission-only basis did not meet the salary basis test for the administrative exemption from overtime.

Since California first legalized medical marijuana in 1996, approximately thirty-two other states and the District of Columbia have followed its lead and approved marijuana use for medical purposes.

Remember August 2019? Before COVID? Before masks? Before shutdowns, limited reopenings, resurgences, and renewed shutdowns? Before presidential election drama?

On November 18, 2020, the Fourth Circuit upheld a summary judgment award in favor of Lowe’s Home Centers LLC (Lowe’s), holding that it did not violate the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) when a disabled, long-term employee was removed from his senior role and passed over for two similar vacant