Recent developments show that employers face both incentives and threats from the Obama Administration designed to ensure that employees know of their right to engage in “whistleblowing” (i.e., sharing possible unlawful activity with government agencies). Two recent examples are the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) and recent enforcement actions by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
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Employee Handbooks and Policies
California Prompt Payment Rules Apply to Retirees: Final Paychecks Due upon Retirement
By Bass, Berry & Sims on
On August 18, 2016, the California Supreme Court confirmed that the final wage payment rules provided for by the California Labor Code apply to retiring employees.
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U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Issues New FLSA and EPPA Posters
By Bass, Berry & Sims on
Posted in Employee Handbooks and Policies
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has updated their mandatory posters, which notify employees of their rights under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and Employee Polygraph Protection Act (EPPA), to no longer list the civil monetary penalties that may be assessed for violations of the aforementioned Acts. Additionally, the FSLA poster has also…
San Diego Amends Recent Paid Sick Leave Law
On August 3, 2016, the mayor of San Diego signed a new Implementing Ordinance that will provide for several changes to the city’s new paid sick leave law. As noted in our previous post, the San Diego City Council had considered changing the law shortly after it was passed because the ordinance seemed to create conflicting obligations with the statewide mandate. For example, while the California Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014 permits capping annual sick leave accrual and allows employers to avoid carrying over sick leave from one year to the next (under the practice of providing all required hours at the beginning of each calendar year, i.e., the “upfront method”), the San Diego Ordinance did not. The new amendments, however, address these issues and provide additional clarity for employers seeking to comply with both laws.
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SEC Fines Public Companies for Attempting to Limit Whistleblower Incentives in Severance Agreements
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently fined BlueLinx Holdings and Health Net, Inc. for including within severance agreements a provision designed to eliminate a former employee’s right to recover whistleblower incentives. In what is generally considered a standard provision in severance agreements, the companies’ agreements allowed for the former employees’ participation in any government investigation but required a waiver of the right to recover any incentive payments that the law provides for whistleblowers. The SEC issued substantial fines to these companies for this waiver requirement. The SEC explained that the whistleblower incentive is a key part of the SEC’s enforcement efforts and that any public company’s attempt to eliminate or limit that incentive violates the law.
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3 Overtime Pay Policy Repercussions
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Tim Garrett provided insight on the Department of Labor’s (DOL) overtime pay policy, slated to take effect on December 1, 2016 (for additional background on the DOL policy, read the firm’s blog post, “DOL Announces New Salary Level in Overtime Regulations“). As Tim points out for the article, “‘I’m not saying overtime pay shouldn’t be increased, but this should be done in more responsible manner… The regulations currently don’t recognize some unintended consequences.’” According to Tim, these consequences may include the following:
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