The Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (“DLSE”) recently issued updated guidance regarding rest breaks that reverses its previous position, which permitted employers to require that employees stay on work premises during their rest periods. In this new guidance, the DLSE states that employers “cannot impose any restraints not inherent in the rest period requirement itself,” including forbidding employees to leave the premises. This guidance follows the California Supreme Court’s determination that rest breaks, like meal…

Introduction Imagine this scenario – you have hired a catering company to cater an event for you. The company performs its obligations, providing both the food and catering staff to ensure your attendees are well fed and taken care of. Happy at the conclusion of the event, you pay the company in full, and provide extra payment to the catering company in the form of a tip to demonstrate your appreciation. Who owns that tip…

Introduction For the first time, a federal appellate court has determined that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is a form of sex discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”). Under Title VII, an employer may not take an adverse employment action against an employee on the basis of a protected characteristic, such as race, color, religion, national origin, or sex. On April 4, 2017, the full panel…

While the Department of Labor may have stayed any national increases to the minimum exemption salary thresholds for the time being, New York employers have not been granted the same reprieve. Effective December 31, 2016, the New York Department of Labor announced incremental increases to its minimum wage laws. With the increased minimum wages, increases were also made to the corresponding salary thresholds applicable to the executive and administrative exemptions to New York’s overtime laws.…

Unless you have been living under a rock for the last few months, you are undoubtedly aware that December 1, 2016 marks the day that the U.S. Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) new overtime rules become effective. The new minimum salary level for the executive, administrative, and professional employee exemptions under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) will be $913 per week, or $47,476 per year, which more than doubles the current minimum salary levels. You…