Labor & Employment Insights

Perspectives in labor and employment law affecting employers and businesses

Race and National Origin Discrimination Claims Cover Discrimination Based on All Races or National Origins

April 15, 2021

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Employers seeking to diversify their workforces need to remember that Title VII’s prohibition on class-based discrimination still applies — even if your motives are pure. The EEOC announced that it settled a lawsuit in which it alleged that a company was discriminating in favor of Hispanic job applicants over black, white, and Asian applicants. The Facts Helados La Tapatia, Inc., a California-based company that produces Mexican-style desserts, will pay $200,000 and “furnish comprehensive injunctive relief”…

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Tipping the Scales: The Tipped Employee Final Rule Not So Final Afterall

By Stephanie C. Gaston & Anne R. Yuengert

April 9, 2021

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You may recall we previously reported on the DOL’s new tipped employee regulations that were set to take effect in March 2021. Well, the DOL, under the new administration, is now hitting pause on that final rule. The Biden DOL has announced that portions of the final rule will take effect on April 30, 2021, while other portions will be delayed and possibly revised pending the department’s review and invitation for comments. A quick refresher…

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Coming Back (or Staying Gone) for More: ARPA Extends Tax Credits for Providing COVID-19 Leave

By Anne R. Yuengert & Sarahanne Y. Vaughan

April 1, 2021

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Just when you had your COVID-19 leave policies in place, Congress goes and passes new legislation: the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). Remember, as we outlined in a previous blog post, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) was passed in March of last year and provided that employers with fewer than 500 employees had to give emergency paid sick leave (EPSL) and emergency family medical leave (EFMLA) to employees for certain reasons related to COVID-19.…

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Weeding Out Claims by Agricultural Workers – The NLRA, the Agricultural Exemption, and the Cannabis Industry

By Whitt Steineker & Sarahanne Y. Vaughan

March 25, 2021

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In a recent Advice Response Memo, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) indicated that employees of a cannabis growing operation were exempt from the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), meaning that the employees were not entitled to the NLRA’s protections. The employees had alleged that the cannabis operation interfered with their attempts to unionize, but the NLRB advised that the two workers fell under the NLRA’s agricultural workers exemption. Therefore, the employees’ claims were…

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Less May Actually Mean More: EEOC Stats on 2020 Filings

By Cortlin Bond & Anne R. Yuengert

March 23, 2021

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The EEOC has released its annual report on discrimination charges filed across the country for the fiscal year 2020. So, how does the data line up with the 2019 data (a rundown of which can be seen here)? Charges Are Down Overall Yet again, workplace discrimination charges are down – there were 67,448 new charges in 2020. The decrease could be related to the COVID-19 pandemic but it may not be. The EEOC has…

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Should I Stay or Should I Go? Ninth Circuit Finds Gender Discrimination in Retention Raise

By J. William Manuel & Anne R. Yuengert

March 17, 2021

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An Equal Pay Act plaintiff must show that employees of the opposite sex were paid different wages for equal work. Pretty simple — right? However, there are many factors that go into deciding what is “equal work” or whether the difference in wages is really tied to sex. In Jennifer Joy Freyd vs. University of Oregon, the Ninth Circuit recently explained just how complicated some of those questions can be. Differences in the Psychology Department?…

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Vaccinations Offer Hope, But What Should Employers Consider When Designing COVID-19 Vaccine Incentive Programs?

By Rachel M. LaBruyere & Anne R. Yuengert

March 9, 2021

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On March 2, 2021, President Biden announced that there will be enough COVID-19 vaccines for “every adult” in the United States by the end of May 2021. Given the current lack of vaccine availability, this announcement signals a light at the end of the tunnel for everyone, not the least of which are employers eager to get employees back to in-person work. Many employers have been considering the best way to implement a vaccination program…

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Putting the Brakes on the Gig Economy? Biden DOL Delays Effective Date of Final Rule on Independent Contractor Status

By T. Matthew Miller & Anne R. Yuengert

March 3, 2021

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On January 7, we wrote about the DOL’s Final Rule on Independent Contractor Status that was slated to take effect on March 8, 2021. Many employer and business groups applauded the Final Rule because its focus on the economic reality test was intended to make it easier for employers to classify certain workers as independent contractors. The Final Rule was expected to have a particularly positive impact on the “gig” economy, which has classified many workers…

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Don’t Let Your Employee’s “Unpaid” Meal Breaks Turn into a Costly Mistake for You

By John P. Rodgers & Anne R. Yuengert

February 25, 2021

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An unpaid meal break can become a very expensive lunch for an employer, but there are ways to comply with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to try and minimize the risk. Identifying the Potential Problem The problem that results from unpaid meal breaks typically arises like this: Nonexempt employee clocks out for lunch, or has an automatic meal break deduction from the timecard Employee gets busy and performs work during the unpaid meal break…

Labor & Employment Insights

Put ‘Em All Back in There: Federal Court Injunction Halts an Alleged Runaway Shop

By Matthew C. Lonergan & Anne R. Yuengert

February 18, 2021

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Although most employers don’t want a union in their workplace, the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) is clear: You cannot interfere with union organizing efforts. A federal district court in Kentucky recently followed this rule and ordered a company to reopen a shuttered facility and rehire the workers affected by the closure. In NLRB v. Smyrna Ready Mix, the court issued the injunction because there was evidence allege that alleged the facility closure was…

Labor & Employment Insights

Perspectives in labor and employment law affecting employers and businesses

Blog Authors

Race and National Origin Discrimination Claims Cover Discrimination Based on All Races or National Origins

Tipping the Scales: The Tipped Employee Final Rule Not So Final Afterall

Coming Back (or Staying Gone) for More: ARPA Extends Tax Credits for Providing COVID-19 Leave

Weeding Out Claims by Agricultural Workers – The NLRA, the Agricultural Exemption, and the Cannabis Industry

Less May Actually Mean More: EEOC Stats on 2020 Filings

Should I Stay or Should I Go? Ninth Circuit Finds Gender Discrimination in Retention Raise

Vaccinations Offer Hope, But What Should Employers Consider When Designing COVID-19 Vaccine Incentive Programs?

Putting the Brakes on the Gig Economy? Biden DOL Delays Effective Date of Final Rule on Independent Contractor Status

Don’t Let Your Employee’s “Unpaid” Meal Breaks Turn into a Costly Mistake for You

Put ‘Em All Back in There: Federal Court Injunction Halts an Alleged Runaway Shop

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