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Wage And Hour: IWC Wraps Up Daily Overtime Hearings

On June 30, the Industrial Welfare Commission held its final hearing to vote on a number of outstanding overtime and other wage and hour issues. The items addressed relate to new wage orders, which spell out rules for various industries and occupations. We’ll summarize the latest IWC developments that will impact many California employers.

Paid Leave Rejected by Denver Voters

Employers in Denver need not worry about adding paid sick and “safe” time leave for everyone who works for them at least 40 hours a week – voters rejected the proposal by an almost two-to-one margin Denver’s Ballot Initiative 300 was defeated 66,719 votes (64 percent) to 37,498 (36 percent) Nov. 1. A broad coalition […]

Determining FMLA Eligibility: Caring for Adult Children

This article series highlights the requirements for determining Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) eligibility. The last installment focused on what employers need to do to stay complaint. Another twist in the FMLA family care determination occurs when an employee requests leave to care for an adult child.

After-tax HSAs may help employers avoid paying the Cadillac tax

Plan design can help employer plan sponsors avoid the objectionable task of paying excise taxes on health plan coverage they provide to employees. The Cadillac tax is the Affordable Care Act’s way of taxing health benefits, in part to fund the law’s ambitious coverage objectives. As liability under the tax in 2018 approaches, employers are […]

Disability Bias: Threat to Demote Disabled Employee Who Wouldn’t Relinquish Accommodation Illegal; Train Your Supervisors

A new Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal ruling highlights that you can’t threaten an employee with discipline, demotion, or discharge for exercising their rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act, including the right to an accommodation. Employee Taken Off “On-Call” Duty Brenda Brown was a Tucson, Ariz., police detective in the neighborhood crimes unit. When […]

Travel Pay Rules in California: Not Always Clear-Cut

If an employee injures third parties while working, you as the employer can be held liable for those injuries. Normally, an employee’s regular commute to and from work is not considered to be “working” time, so employers aren’t responsible for accidents that happen then.

A real friend sticks closer than a brother

Editor’s Note: Dan invited former Tennessee Employment Law Letter editor John Phillips to share his memories of business colleague and “lasting friend” Lee Smith. by John Phillips In March of 1986, I started The Tennessee Employment Law Update, a monthly newsletter. Some lawyers subscribed to the newsletter, but it was primarily designed for HR professionals. […]

Did the Recession Make Your Job Descriptions “Lawyer Bait”?

By BLR Founder and CEO Bob Brady During the recent recession, many employees saw their jobs change and grow. There may be fewer bodies, but the work still has to get done. In a lot of cases this, means that job descriptions are out of date and inaccurate. They may be fodder for significant lawsuits […]

‘Qualifying Exigency’—Military FMLA Clarified

"Qualifying exigency"—one of two types of military FMLA leave, and one of those great regulatory terms that gives the illusion of clarity but is hard to pin down in the real world. The FMLA allows qualified employees with family members actively or formerly in the military to take leave under two circumstances: qualifying exigency (we’ll […]

Misclassifying Employees as Independent Contractors: Front-Burner Issue Again

by Kara E. Shea Independent contractors, by definition, are self-employed. Because they aren’t employees, they aren’t covered by employment, labor, and related tax laws. As a result, some employers may be tempted to reclassify employees as independent contractors to avoid taxes, benefits, record-keeping requirements, overtime, and other expenses. Wage and Hour Compliance Manual Contractors are […]