Employment & Labor

2018 – How Far Have We Really Come in Learning About Sexual Harassment and Assault? The U.S. Senate is Showing Us.

By A.J. Hernandez Anderson on September 24, 2018

On Sunday night, the New Yorker published a piece by Ronan Farrow and Jane Mayer regarding sexual assault allegations against U.S. Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, from his freshman year at Yale. The article was published on the heels of the first victim, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, agreeing to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee regarding her allegations that Judge Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her when they were high school students. A third unidentified woman …

Trade Secrets & Employee Mobility

Recent Decision Questions Use of No-Poach Clauses in Franchise Agreements

By Daniel J. Green on September 24, 2018

States across the country have been using enforcement actions, legislation, and interpretive guidance to limit employers’ ability to enforce restrictive covenants against low wage workers. The recent decision in Butler v. Jimmy John’s Franchise, LLC et. al., 18-cv-0133 (S.D. Ill. 2018) suggests this trend may extend to federal antitrust law. The Butler case relates to the legality of certain restrictive covenants in Jimmy John’s franchise agreements.[1] The Complaint alleges that Jimmy…

Labor & Employment Law Perspectives

Antitrust Scrutiny of No-Poaching Agreements Continues to Pick Up Steam

By Benjamin R. Dryden, Elizabeth Haas & Jesse Beringer on September 24, 2018

Partnerships are the backbone to strengthening business — Defocused shot of two businesspeople shaking hands in an office

To most people, “poaching” is a bad thing, connoting a mix of elephant hunting and mediocre eggs. But in labor and employment—where “poaching” means recruiting away another employer’s talent—antitrust regulators, legislators, and class action attorneys have increasingly made clear that companies should engage in poaching, or else they will face potentially serious consequences under the antitrust laws.…

Labor & Employment Law Perspectives

Incentive Compensation That is Never Subject to Income Tax – Too Good to Be True?

By Casey K. Fleming on September 24, 2018

Clients frequently ask if they can provide incentive compensation to their employees and executives in a manner that gives them flexibility and drives performance, but receives coveted capital gains treatment. This usually sounds too good to be true. In most cases, you can defer or sometimes minimize income tax for employees (retirement plans, deferred compensation arrangements, stock appreciation rights, non-qualified stock options), but there is one tool that enables employees to skip income tax, FICA,…

Employment Law Business Guide

Time to Update Those Background Check Notices

By Charla Bizios Stevens on September 24, 2018

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) has issued a new notice to be issued by applicants and employees who will be subject to background checks. Employers should begin using the new notice, entitled “A Summary of Your Rights Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act” (“FCRA”) immediately.…

California Workplace Law Blog

California Legislature Says Recordkeeping Violations Not Subject to Six-Month Statute of Limitations

By Tressi L. Cordaro on September 24, 2018

Beginning in 2019, employers in California will now be on the hook for recordkeeping violations well beyond the six-month statute of limitations. Bill Number AB 2334 (Occupational injuries and illnesses: employer reporting requirements: electronic submission) co-sponsored by California Labor Federation and California Professional Firefighters was introduced by Thurmond (D) earlier this year, passed the State legislature and was signed by the Governor on September 19, 2018. The law goes into effect January 1, 2019. To read the full…

Café con Labor

Los “kiwis” (neozelandeses) tendrán la protección de licencia remunerada por violación doméstica. ¿Qué me dicen de los floridanos?

By Joanne Heft & Giselle Gutierrez on September 24, 2018

En abril del 2019, los empleadores de Nueva Zelanda van a tener que proveer 10 días de licencia remunerada a las víctimas de violencia doméstica. El propósito de esta licencia con remuneración es permitirles a las víctimas de violencia doméstica reubicarse, procurar asistencia jurídica y tratar su trauma sin temer la pérdida de sus ingresos. En la Florida, a los empleadores (con 50 o más empleados) se les exige proveer a los empleados elegibles (que…

Wage & Hour Litigation Blog

As Second Circuit Buys into “Fair Interpretation” of the FLSA, “Narrow Construction” Stalls Out

By Seyfarth Shaw LLP on September 24, 2018

By: Howard M. Wexler and Vlada Feldman Seyfarth Synopsis: The Second Circuit’s recent rulings in Munoz-Gonzalez v. D.L.C. Limousine Service, Inc. and Flood v. Just Energy Marketing Corp. further demonstrate the impact of the Supreme Court’s holding in Navarro, et al. v. Encino Motorcars, LLC as it pertains to FLSA exemptions by rejecting the traditional “narrow construction” approach in favor of a “fair interpretation.” We previously wrote about how the Supreme Court put the brakes…

Employer Law Report

Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection issues revised FCRA summary of rights form

By Brian Hall on September 24, 2018

Section 301 of the federal Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act, which was signed into law on May 24, 2018, amended the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), effective Sept. 21, 2018, to require consumer reporting agencies (such as those that employers use for applicant and employee background check purposes) to include new language on the Summary of Rights form that explains a consumer’s right to obtain a security freeze to protect against identity…

Labor Relations Today

NLRB Seeks to Tackle Joint Employer Issue Through Rulemaking Process

By Brennan W. Bolt on September 24, 2018

On September 14, 2018, the National Labor Relations Board published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the Federal Register regarding its joint-employer standard. The Proposed Rule seeks to overrule the Board’s 2015 joint-employer decision in Browning-Ferris and replace it with the following in the NLRB’s Rules and Regulations: An employer, as defined by Section 2(2) of the National Labor Relations Act (the Act), may be considered a joint employer of a separate employer’s employees only if the two employers share…