Carly Baratt

Firm/Organization: Epstein Becker & Green, P.C.

Blogs: Financial Services Employment Law, Hospitality Labor and Employment Law, Retail Labor and Employment Law, Trade Secrets & Employee Mobility, Wage and Hour Defense Blog

Latest Articles

Wage and Hour Defense Blog

DOL Issues Field Assistance Bulletin Providing Guidance on Classification of Home Care, Nurse, or Caregiver Registries Under the FLSA

By Jeffrey H. Ruzal & Carly Baratt on July 19, 2018

Last Friday, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued Field Assistance Bulletin No. 2018-4 to help guide the DOL Wage and Hour Division field staff as to the correct classification of home care, nurse, or caregiver registries under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). This is the most recent piece of guidance on a topic first addressed by the DOL in a 1975 Opinion Letter. The bulletin is noteworthy in two respects. First, it confirms that…

Trade Secrets & Employee Mobility

State Attorneys General Investigating Use of Non-Competes by Fast Food Franchisors

By Carly Baratt on July 11, 2018

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On Monday, attorneys general in eleven states, including New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, California, and Illinois, revealed that they are investigating several prominent fast food franchisors for their potential use of no-poaching or non-compete agreements restricting the ability of low wage workers to obtain a better-paying job with another franchise. To that end, these attorneys general have propounded document and information requests to these restaurants, returnable August 6, 2018. In the Illinois AG’s press release,…

Retail Labor and Employment Law

Continued Enforcement of New York’s Ban the Box Law

By Carly Baratt on June 20, 2018

Yesterday, the New York Attorney General (“NYAG”) announced a settlement with national retailer Aldo Group Inc. (“Aldo”) for violation of New York City’s ban the box law, which, among other things, prohibits employers from inquiring into a prospective employee’s criminal history on an initial employment application. The NYAG’s investigation revealed that (i) Aldo’s employment applications impermissibly inquired into the applicant’s criminal history and (ii) Aldo lacked consistent policies and procedures for evaluating the criminal records…

Hospitality Labor and Employment Law

Massachusetts Attorney General Enforces State Ban the Box Law for First Time, Fining Three Businesses and Issuing Warnings to 17 Others

By Carly Baratt on June 7, 2018

Massachusetts is one of many states which have adopted legislation, commonly known as a “ban the box” law, prohibiting public and private employers from requesting criminal record information in a prospective employee’s “initial written employment application” and limiting the type and scope of questions an employer may ask a candidate following receipt of an “initial written employment application.” Yesterday, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey announced that her office has settled with four businesses and issued…

Hospitality Labor and Employment Law

New EEOC Commentary on Workplace Harassment

By Carly Baratt on May 7, 2018

Last week, the EEOC released its latest edition of its federal sector Digest of Equal Opportunity Law, a quarterly publication featuring recent Commission decisions and federal court cases selected by EEOC’s Office of Federal Operations. This edition features an article titled, “Promising Practices for Preventing Harassment,” which is the fruition of an EEOC task force on workplace harassment. The article, which is particularly timely given the #MeToo movement, advances five core principles to deter and…

Trade Secrets & Employee Mobility

Arkansas Appellate Decision Bolsters Enforceability of Non-Competes

By Carly Baratt on April 25, 2018

A recent decision from an Arkansas appellate court raises two important issues of enforceability of non-competition agreements: (1) the enforceability of a non-compete after expiration of the contractual non-compete period and (2) the applicable standard for determining whether a valid protectable interest exists. In Bud Anderson Heating & Cooling, Inc. v. Neil, the plaintiff Bud Anderson Heating and Cooling, Inc. (“BAHC”), a HVAC vendor and service provider, appealed a lower court’s denial of BAHC’s…

Hospitality Labor and Employment Law

Massachusetts Employers’ Ability to Inquire into Job Applicants’ Criminal History Further Curbed

By Carly Baratt on April 23, 2018

Massachusetts employers should take note of a provision in the Massachusetts criminal justice reform law – signed into law last week – that amends the type and scope of questions an employer may ask an applicant about his or her criminal history following an “initial written employment application.” Since 2010, Massachusetts has prohibited public and private employers from requesting criminal record information in a prospective employee’s “initial written employment application” (commonly known as a “ban…

Wage and Hour Defense Blog

U.S. DOL Issues Three Opinion Letters After Nine-Year Hiatus

By Jeffrey H. Ruzal & Carly Baratt on April 16, 2018

On April 12, 2018, the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued the first Opinion Letters since the Bush administration, as well as a new Fact Sheet. The Obama administration formally abandoned Opinion Letters in 2010, but Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta has restored the practice of issuing these guidance documents. Opinion Letters, as Secretary Acosta states in the DOL’s April 12 press release, are meant to explain “how an…

Carly Baratt

DOL Issues Field Assistance Bulletin Providing Guidance on Classification of Home Care, Nurse, or Caregiver Registries Under the FLSA

State Attorneys General Investigating Use of Non-Competes by Fast Food Franchisors

Continued Enforcement of New York’s Ban the Box Law

Massachusetts Attorney General Enforces State Ban the Box Law for First Time, Fining Three Businesses and Issuing Warnings to 17 Others

New EEOC Commentary on Workplace Harassment

Arkansas Appellate Decision Bolsters Enforceability of Non-Competes

Massachusetts Employers’ Ability to Inquire into Job Applicants’ Criminal History Further Curbed

U.S. DOL Issues Three Opinion Letters After Nine-Year Hiatus

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