Tuesday, August 24, 2021 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. Eastern 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. Central 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Mountain 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Pacific On July 21, 2021, the US Department of Labor announced a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to establish standards and procedures to implement and enforce Executive Order 14026, “Increasing the Minimum Wage for Federal Contractors.” The Executive Order and its enacting regulations will increase the minimum wage for…

By: Ryan McCoy Seyfarth Synopsis: The Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) exempts workers engaged in interstate commerce from enforcement of mandatory arbitration agreements. Uber drivers (and other drivers working in the gig economy) have frequently argued that they fit under this “interstate transportation” exemption in order to avoid arbitration of their claim that they have been misclassified as independent contractors. A growing number of courts across the country have rejected those arguments, however, finding that Uber…

By: Andrew McKinley and Eric Lloyd Seyfarth Synopsis: Today, the U.S. Department of Labor rescinded the final rule entitled “Joint Employment Status Under the Fair Labor Standards Act,” more commonly known as the Joint Employer Rule. This alert provides an overview of the DOL’s action and its impact on employers. With the growth of the gig economy and in light of the varying standards that have developed among the courts in the over-80-years since the…

By: Daniel I. Small, Robert T. Szyba, Howard M. Wexler, and Glenn J. Smith Seyfarth Synopsis: New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed a legislative package into law on July 8, 2021 that increases enforcement mechanisms for state agencies to impose a variety of penalties against employers who misclassify workers as independent contractors and creates a new office specifically designed to enforce such violations.  Most portions of the legislation are effective immediately. Continuing his…

By Lennon B. Haas, Kyle Petersen, and Kevin M. Young Seyfarth Synopsis: Though it may sound esoteric, the question of whether “last mile” drivers fall within the Federal Arbitration Act’s transportation worker exemption bears tremendous consequence. If they are exempt, they can’t be compelled to arbitrate under the FAA. If they are not exempt, the answer reverses. In a recent decision, the Eleventh Circuit wedged open the door for employers to establish that…

By: Ariel Fenster and Noah Finkel Seyfarth Synopsis:  If the gist of a proposed regulation is made final, the 80/20 rule will be back, and with a vengeance.  Employers who take a tip credit for their tipped employees will have to ensure that those employees spend no more than 20 percent of their time in a workweek, and no more than 30 minutes of uninterrupted time, on side work that does not itself generate tips.…

Tuesday, May 25, 2021 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. Eastern 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. Central 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Mountain 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Pacific Classifying workers properly to comply with wage-hour and fair employment laws is an important aspect that many businesses are already aware of, but misclassifying workers may have unintended effects to other legal interests, including non-competes and other restrictive covenants. In this third installment of our 2021 Trade…