Wage and Hour Law and Practice

Subscribe to Wage and Hour Law and Practice

Please note that the content below was posted on March 19, 2020. We have since provided updated guidance on the topics discussed in this post here.

On Wednesday, March 18, 2020, President Trump signed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act into law. The final version of the law contains significant revisions to the bill that was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on Saturday, March 14, 2020.

Employers’ obligations will become effective no later than April 2, 2020. A summary of the employment-related provisions and answers to some frequently asked questions regarding the Act are provided below.

On March 23 from 12 p.m. – 1 p.m. CT, we will host a webinar titled “Employer Obligations Under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act”.

Please register here and join us as we discuss the latest guidance for employers and answer your frequently asked questions.

Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act

Employers must provide paid sick time to employees who are unable to work (or telework) for the following purposes through December 31, 2020:

  1. The employee is subject to a federal, state, or local quarantine order related to COVID-19.
  2. The employee has been advised by a healthcare provider to self-quarantine due to COVID-19 concerns.
  3. The employee is experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 and seeking a medical diagnosis.
  4. The employee is caring for an individual who is subject to an order described in (1) above or has been advised as described in (2) above.
  5. The employee is caring for a child if the school or place of care has been closed or the child care provider of such child is unavailable due to COVID-19 precautions.
  6. The employee is experiencing any other substantially similar condition specified by the Secretary of Health and Human Services in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of Labor.

…
Continue Reading Families First Coronavirus Response Act

On Saturday, March 14, 2020, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. The Act is expected to be voted on by the U.S. Senate, and signed by President Trump early this week.

There are two different versions of the bill that are being circulated, but both versions contain extended FMLA…

In an article published by the Nashville Business Journal, we urge employers to get ready for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s data reporting. Although facing criticism, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is moving forward with its pay data collection, and with the reporting deadline set for September 30, employers should prepare now.

Employers with more than 100 employees and any federal contractors with more with 50 employees are required to submit an EEO-1 survey, which has historically analyzed organizations’ employment data categorized by sex, race and ethnicity. Under the new reporting requirements, employers and federal contractors with more than 100 employees will also report compensation data.…

Continue Reading What Employers Need to Know about EEOC’s Pay Data Collection Plan

Bob Horton will be presenting on recent pay equity trends at the Tennessee Human Rights Commission’s (THRC) 2019 Employment Law Seminar.I am looking forward to presenting on recent pay equity trends at the Tennessee Human Rights Commission’s (THRC) 2019 Employment Law Seminar.

The seminar will be held at the One Century Place Conference Center in Nashville on Wednesday, June 12, 2019 from 8:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. CST.

For more information and to register, visit…

With the end of the year rapidly approaching, employers should ensure compliance with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) new electronic reporting requirements for injury and illness data. The deadline for compliance was December 15, 2017, but OSHA’s website states that they will be accepting submissions of Form 300A through December 31, 2017.

What is the purpose of the new OSHA reporting rule?

According to OSHA, “making injury information publicly available will ‘nudge’ employers to focus on safety.” OSHA will post the establishment-specific injury and illness data it collects under this recordkeeping rule on its public website (after removing personally identifiable information).

The final rule also prohibits retaliation against any employees for reporting injuries or illnesses and requires that employers notify employees of their right to report work-related injuries and illnesses free from retaliation.…

Continue Reading OSHA Reporting Deadline Quickly Approaching on December 31 – Here’s What You Need to Know

On November 29, 2017, a California Superior Court judge ruled that employers that require employees to set aside time for a shift and have them call in to determine if they will indeed be working are required to pay employees “reporting time pay,” even if the employee never actually steps foot inside the business for a shift.  This ruling serves as a cautionary reminder to employers that California disfavors “on-call shifts,” and employers should expect to pay employees a premium to utilize such shifts.
…
Continue Reading Employers May Face Steep Reporting Time Pay Obligations for Requiring Workers to Be On Call

Several new minimum wage rates are slated to take effect on January 1, 2018 in various cities throughout California, as well as the state as a whole.  California employers should begin preparing now to adjust employee wages to ensure compliance with the new rates.

A summary of the new minimum wage rates for nonexempt employees is provided below:…

Continue Reading California Employers Should Prepare for New Minimum Wage Laws: A Summary of New Minimum Wages Effective January 1, 2018

Although the Trump administration rescinded its guidance on worker misclassification earlier this year and appears to have otherwise taken a “softer approach” to misclassification enforcement, California employers should remain diligent in properly classifying their workers and should not allow lax federal enforcement to lead to similarly lax corporate policies.  California employers remain subject to strict laws governing worker misclassification.  California law presumes that all workers who render services for another are non-exempt employees unless employers prove that they are independent contractors or exempt employees. Cal. Lab. Code § 3357. Employers who willfully misclassify their workers can be subject to steep penalties.
…
Continue Reading California Employers Should Remain Cautious when Classifying their Workforce, Notwithstanding More Lenient Federal Policies

In an article for the October 2017 issue of The Corporate Counselor, Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Tim Garrett examined the latest ruling related to the Department of Labor’s (DOL) overtime rule following Texas Federal Judge Amos Mazzant’s final rule striking down the Obama-era rule. If implemented, the rule would more than double the minimum salary that employers would have to pay “white-collar” workers to meet overtime pay exemptions. Judge Mazzant’s final ruling cited that the DOL rule had made the salary level too high and that the exemption would inadvertently become based on pay and not duties of the position. Following the ruling, the DOL withdrew its appeal of the preliminary injunction and the Fifth Circuit granted the request.
…
Continue Reading Update: Stage Now Set for DOL to Adopt More Modest Salary Level for Overtime Exemptions

Texas Federal Judge Amos Mazzant has issued a final ruling striking down the overtime rule. In the August 31 ruling, Judge Mazzant used essentially the same reasoning on which he based his temporary injunction ruling.  In light of this final decision, the appeal of his temporary injunction likely becomes moot. In addition, Judge Mazzant made clear that he is not finding that the DOL is prevented from ever using a particular salary level, but rather is invalidating this particular rule as going “too far” in essentially eliminating those who perform exempt duties but make less than the high salary threshold.
…
Continue Reading Federal Judge Issues Final Ruling Striking Down Overtime Rule

From the Bass, Berry & Sims Blog Network
From the Bass, Berry & Sims Blog Network

Thought Leadership by our Attorneys.