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Wage and Hour: Supreme Court Upholds “Companionship Services” Exemption

Evelyn Coke, a domestic worker who provided companionship services in New York, sued her employer, Long Island Care at Home, Ltd. She alleged that the company didn’t pay her overtime wages, in violation of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The employer asked the court to dismiss the suit because Coke and workers like […]

Instacart Backs Down on Controversial Pay Policy Update

It can be hard to find workers in any business environment, and that’s even more true with a strong economy and low unemployment But it’s not just big corporations looking for top-dollar professionals that are feeling the pinch; companies whose workers are part-time, temporary, and largely independent need to be careful of how they treat […]

Americans With Disabilities Act: EEOC Issues New Guidelines On When You Do—And Don’t—Have To Accommodate Disabled Employees

The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has released comprehensive guidelines designed to help its investigators analyze complaints-and help employers comply with their accommodation obligations-under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The new enforcement guide attempts to answer frequently asked employer questions on a range of topics-from how to handle medical verification of a disability to when […]

Workplace Discrimination: Ninth Circuit Makes It Easier For Employees To Sue When Employer Had Discriminatory–And Legitimate–Reasons For Discipline

Because of an important new Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling, employers may now have an uphill battle to fight when faced with allegations that discrimination was one factor—even if not the only factor—in an adverse employment decision such as a termination. We’ll explain what this is about and suggest ways you can avoid this […]

Short Takes: Overtime on Bonuses

Could I get some clarification on whether we owe overtime on predetermined bonuses? We pay a production bonus to our assembly workers when they hit certain production levels. The bonus is not a great amount of money, but it does seem to keep production levels up. Now we’ve heard that we should somehow be paying […]

What Tennessee Election Results Mean for Employers

By John B. Phillips, Jr. After the midterm elections, Tennessee’s congressional delegation will be made up of seven Republicans and two Democrats, a net gain of two seats for the GOP. Tuesday’s election continues Tennessee’s move toward a solid-red Republican state. Both U.S. Senators are Republicans, though neither was up for election this year. In […]

Equal Pay: Female Lab Workers Charge Pay Bias

An Alameda County Superior Court judge has certified a class action lawsuit on behalf of as many as 10,000 women who claim they were passed over for promotions and paid less than male colleagues at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. An attorney representing the scientists estimated that the employer may face damages of more than $250 […]

Vermont Drops Immediate Demand for Liberty Mutual Data

A quick update on the case involving the state of Vermont’s demand for claims data from Liberty Mutual’s group health plan — the state agreed to drop its immediate demand for this information, pending the ultimate outcome of the lawsuit. The state’s health and insurance agency had issued a subpoena for this data, and Liberty […]