The Ohio Supreme Court today issued a knockout punch to public authorities seeking to enforce local-hiring requirements on public-construction projects. In 2003, the Cleveland City Council enacted what is generally known as the “Fannie Lewis Law.” The much-disputed law required public-construction contracts valued at $100,000 or more to include a provision mandating that Cleveland residents perform 20 percent of total construction labor hours on the contract. Contractors awarded projects but who failed to comply would…

Today, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) announced its final rule to increase overtime pay for salaried employees. The new rule lifts the annual salary threshold from $455 per week ($23,600 annually) to $684 per week ($35,568 annually). The rule also raises the annual compensation requirement for highly compensated employees (“HCE”) from $100,000 per year to $107,432 per year. This is a significant change from the proposed rule, which set the annual HCE compensation at $147,414.…

The National Labor Relations Board (the “Board” or “NLRB”) has issued notice that it will propose a new rule establishing that students who perform any services for compensation, including, but not limited to, teaching or research, at a private college or university in connection with their studies are not “employees” within the meaning of Section 2(3) of the National Labor Relations Act (the “Act”). The Board’s decision has potential for significant impact on the status…

Under a new rule being advanced by the U.S. Department of Labor, applicants for unemployment benefits may soon have to pass a drug test in order to receive benefits. The rule, which has been a source of significant controversy, recently moved closer to becoming a reality when the DOL sent it to the federal budget oversight office for final approval. President Trump has expressed support for the DOL’s proposed rule, which would allow states to…

Last week, the Labor Department’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) published a proposed new rule broadening the religious exemption to its equal employment opportunity regulations. The proposed rule is based on OFCCP’s stated perception that religious organizations are “reluctant to participate as federal contractors because of uncertainty regarding the scope of the religious exemption.” LGBTQ advocates are lambasting the move by the Trump Administration as a deliberate attempt to engage in taxpayer-funded discrimination.…

Recently, a Federal District Court in the Middle District of Tennessee held, in Marie Hastings v. First Community Mortgage, that a female former Human Resource Director’s claim of sex discrimination was not established simply by the fact that she had been excluded from a social group of male executives, even though she alleged in her complaint that company decisions were made at these social meetings without any input from females. According to the plaintiff,…

As previously reported in the Labor & Employment Law Navigator, the Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of the Department of Labor reinstituted its practice of issuing opinion letters in April of last year. Recently issued opinion letters continue to provide helpful guidance for employers on a number of wage and hour issues. Certain Paralegals May Be Properly Classified As Exempt In Opinion Letter FLSA 2019-8, the WHD addressed the issue of whether paralegals employed…