Blog Posts: Taking Care of HR Business
Visit the Full BlogHuman resource professionals, supervisors, and company executives alike face a constantly changing and evolving legal landscape. Verrill's Taking Care of HR Business blog is here to keep you up to date on the newest and most important legal developments for employers.
Department of Labor Releases Final Independent Contractor Status Rule
On Tuesday January 9, 2024, the Department of Labor (DOL) published its final rule setting forth how worker classification (i.e., whether a worker is an employee or independent contractor) will be determined by the agency under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). This issue is relevant to all industries...
What’s Next: How to Respond to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Current Policies Surrounding Confidentiality and Non-Disparagement Provisions
The Background: McLaren Macomb On February 21, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board (“the Board”) decided McLaren Macomb , a case where a hospital offered severance pay to eleven permanently furloughed employees in exchange for the employees agreeing to sign a severance agreement. The severance agreements contained provisions that...
Nondisclosure Provisions in Maine: Are Your Agreements Compliant?
In late 2022, a new Maine law took effect restricting the use and reach of nondisclosure provisions in Maine employment agreements. The new law, Nondisclosure Agreements in Employment , 26 M.R.S. § 599-C, is one of the most recent of similar state laws to be enacted that restrict an...
Pay Transparency Laws are on the Rise – What Employers Need to Know
Last week (November 1, 2022), New York City Local Law 59 came into effect. The law requires employers with four or more employees working in New York City (NYC) to publish salary ranges for every advertised job, promotion or transfer opportunity that could or will be performed in NYC...
More Madness: Catch Up With NCAA Happenings
While there’s no denying March Madness brings the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) considerable attention, the Association has been the subject of significant press over the last year for several hot-button employment-related issues. First, there has been ongoing discussion concerning name, image, and likeness (NIL) issues. In February 2021...
BREAKING: The Supreme Court Blocks OSHA COVID Vaccine/Testing Rule (NFIB v. OSHA) and Allows the Healthcare (Medicare/Medicaid) Vaccine Rule (Biden v. Missouri) to Take Effect
In NFIB v. OSHA , the Court focused its decision on OSHA’s emergency temporary standards which require the Secretary to show (1) “that employees are exposed to grave danger from exposure to substances or agents determined to be toxic or physically harmful or from new hazards, and (2) that...
Myth Buster: Employees Do Not Have to Be Affiliated With An Organized Religion to Be Entitled To A Religious Accommodation
This is the third in a series of posts from Verrill with the purpose of helping to dispel myths that are currently circulating concerning employment laws and rules related to COVID-19 and vaccine mandates. A myth we have been hearing from clients and friends is that in order for...
What Does The Proposed Federal Minimum Wage Mean For My Business?
On July 22, 2021 the U.S. Department of Labor proposed a rule titled “Increasing the Minimum Wage for Federal Contractors” [1] formalizing the Biden Administration’s Executive Order 14026. The rule calls for federal contractors to pay their workers $15/hour and tipped workers $10.50/hour beginning on January 30, 2022. Both...
Employers Check Your Handbooks: New NLRB General Counsel Sets Course
On August 12, 2021 National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) General Counsel Abruzzo published her first memo setting forth the NLRB’s priorities. The memo identifies recent cases where the Board overruled past legal precedent in addition to noting several areas as requiring careful examination. One of the doctrinal shifts the...
Connecticut Employers Take Note – Cease Seeking Past Pay Information
Big changes are coming to Connecticut employers and with it, many organizational hiring practices with the passage of HB Number 6380. HB Number 6380 limits the disclosure of wage information from past positions. Currently, Connecticut employers are prohibited from asking (or directing a third party to ask) about an...
This Week's Show: COVID-19 and Return to Work
On Saturday, July 10, Tawny interviewed Emily Waddell, Associate Attorney in Verrill's Employment & Labor Group, for this segment of HR Power Hour. For this episode, Tawny and Emily discuss returning to work and COVID-19. Emily provides tailored legal solutions to support her client’s human capital and organizational objectives...
NLRB General Counsel Says “Rat’s It”: Scabby the Rat Here to Stay
Who is Scabby? Scabby is an inflatable rat, sometimes installed by unions at protests and on picket lines. Scabby has been around since the late 1980s and is a well-known symbol to passersby of an ongoing labor dispute. At the beginning of February, the General Counsel of the National...
What Does the COVID-19 Vaccine Mean for My Business?
With the first inoculations of the COVID-19 vaccine making headlines over the past few weeks, employers are starting to plan for the impact this will have on their businesses. The development of a vaccine inspires hope that a return to normalcy (and for some workers – a return to...
DOT Service Animal Final Rule: No More Service Snakes on Planes
Those dreaming of taking to the skies next year with scaled, feathered, or furry friends may want to take a look at the recent DOT Service Animal Final Rule before making travel plans. In an employment setting, there is no federal law that specifically restricts the type of service...
