New York City first adopted a local paid sick leave law in 2014. Over the ensuing six years, the City legislature amended the law several times, including in 2018 to add “safe leave” as a form of paid time off. Late last month, the City amended the Earned Safe and Sick Time Act (ESSTA) yet again – this time to align the Big Apple’s local law with the recently-enacted statewide Paid Safe and Sick Leave …

Employment Law Watch

Executive Order 13950 on diversity training: Hidden traps for employers

By Michael Correll & Adam Weiner

October 16, 2020

Beginning November 20, 2020, President Trump’s Executive Order 13950 On Combating Race and Sex Stereotyping (“EO 13950” or “The Order”) will fundamentally reshape the way government contractors conduct diversity training. Signed September 22, 2020, the Order prohibits federal workplace trainings that “promote race or sex stereotyping or scapegoating.” Importantly for private employers, federal contractors also “will not be permitted to inculcate such views in their employees.” On October 7, 2020, the Department of Labor issued…

Employment Law Watch

California expands Family Care and Medical Leave eligibility

By Michele Haydel Gehrke, Jennifer Terry & Corrie Buck

September 25, 2020

On September 17, 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 1383 (SB-1383), which significantly expands employee eligibility for family and medical leave under the California Family Rights Act (CFRA). The law, which will go into effect January 1, 2021, reduces the number of employees required for an employer to be covered under the CFRA and also expands the reasons why employees may take these leaves. Currently, private employers with 50 or more employees working in…

Employment Law Watch

U.S. Department of Labor proposes new “reality” for classifying independent contractors

By Mark S. Goldstein & Leora Grushka

September 24, 2020

This week, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) proposed a new rule that would create a uniform approach to the way companies classify workers as independent contractors or employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The notion of classifying workers as independent contractors versus employees has continued to gain importance in recent years, given the growing gig economy, which makes independent contractors central to the business models of many major companies. The DOL’s newly…

Employment Law Watch

DOL issues new final rule and updated guidance for employers who use the fluctuating workweek method to calculate overtime

By Michael Correll & Michael Lombardino

September 23, 2020

On May 20, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published a final rule explaining that bonuses and other incentive payments—paid in addition to an employee’s weekly salary—are compatible with the fluctuating workweek (FWW) method of calculating overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The final rule went into effect on August 7, 2020. On August 31, 2020, the DOL issued an opinion letter confirming that an employee’s work hours do not have to…

Employment Law Watch

DOL doubles-down on FFCRA rules (but amends others) in response to federal court decision

By Mark S. Goldstein, Michael Correll & Amy Harwath

September 22, 2020

On September 11, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a new administrative rule concerning the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), a federal law that provides two forms of COVID-19-related paid time off to employees of businesses with fewer than 500 employees. The rule comes just over a month after a New York federal court rejected substantial portions of the agency’s prior FFCRA guidance in State of New York v. U.S. Department of…

Employment Law Watch

California requires new COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave

By Michele Haydel Gehrke, Mark Phillips, Marianne Rittenburg & Ronnie Shou

September 15, 2020

On September 9, 2020, Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill (AB) 1867 into law, adding section 248.1 to the Labor Code. Under this new section, “hiring entities” are required to provide supplemental COVID-19 paid sick leave (CPSL) to “covered workers.” This is in addition to any paid sick leave that may be available to the covered workers under California’s Healthy Workplace Healthy Family Act of 2014 (HWHFA)[1]. “Hiring entities” include private businesses with 500…

Employment Law Watch

Pennsylvania medical marijuana use on the rise in times of COVID-19

By Jay Glunt, Chalyn Galligan & Marguerite Goglia

September 10, 2020

Pennsylvania’s Medical Marijuana Act (the “Act”) legalized the use of medical marijuana as of April 2016. Initially, the Act permitted the use of medical marijuana to treat 17 serious medical conditions when certified as such by a properly credentialed healthcare provider. The list included conditions such as cancer, HIV/AIDS, Parkinson’s disease, neurodegenerative diseases, and terminal illnesses. Since 2016, however, the Act’s list of qualifying conditions has expanded and now covers 23 conditions, including anxiety. At…

Employment Law Watch

New York federal judge nixes U.S. Department of Labor’s new “joint employer” rule

By Mark S. Goldstein & Leora Grushka

September 9, 2020

Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a rule updating its interpretation of the “joint employer” doctrine under federal wage and hour law. Yesterday, however, a New York federal judge struck down a significant portion of the rule. Judge Gregory H. Woods’ 62-page decision delivers a significant blow to businesses that had relied on the business-friendly nature of the DOL’s new rule. By way of background, the joint employment doctrine refers to…

Employment Law Watch

Fifth Circuit says Texas trial court should have considered reforming an overbroad non-compete at the preliminary injunction stage

By Paulo McKeeby & Michael Lombardino

August 13, 2020

The enforceability of employment non-competes in Texas is governed by the Texas Covenants Not to Compete Act. If a non-compete covenant is found to be overbroad, “the court shall reform the covenant to the extent necessary to cause” the covenant to be reasonable. Tex. Bus. & Com. Code § 15.51(c). The Texas Supreme Court has yet to address whether reformation of an overbroad non-compete restriction is appropriate at the temporary injunction stage or whether reformation…

Employment Law Watch

Analysis and commentary by Reed Smith attorneys on developments in employment and labor law

Blog Authors

New York City passes key amendments to paid safe and sick leave law

Executive Order 13950 on diversity training: Hidden traps for employers

California expands Family Care and Medical Leave eligibility

U.S. Department of Labor proposes new “reality” for classifying independent contractors

DOL issues new final rule and updated guidance for employers who use the fluctuating workweek method to calculate overtime

DOL doubles-down on FFCRA rules (but amends others) in response to federal court decision

California requires new COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave

Pennsylvania medical marijuana use on the rise in times of COVID-19

New York federal judge nixes U.S. Department of Labor’s new “joint employer” rule

Fifth Circuit says Texas trial court should have considered reforming an overbroad non-compete at the preliminary injunction stage

Stay Connected

Company

Products

Support

New to the Network