Category: Wage and Hour
Full-Day Conference to Address Labor & Employment Changes from the New Administration
The first year of the Trump administration has brought significant changes – many of which directly affect employers. On Thursday, January 25, Verrill Dana will host a full-day Annual Employment Law Update at The Westin Harborview Hotel to explore these changes and how to address them. "Employers need practical...
Podcast: Employment Policies in the Trump Administration
In this Verrill Voices podcast, labor and employment attorneys Tawny Alvarez and Richard Moon discuss recent administrative and legislative developments, how they affect employers generally. More specifically, they discuss the current position in which the Department of Justice and the EEOC are taking separate and distinct positions on the...
FLSA Exempt Salary Adjustment Update
On Thursday, Judge Amos Mazzant of the Eastern District of Texas issued an order concluding that the Department of Labor's amendments to the FLSA—increasing the minimum salary threshold from $23,660 annually to $47,476.00 in order to qualify as exempt—were invalid. Specifically, the Memorandum Opinion and Order found the plaintiffs...
Podcast: Affinity Groups in the Workplace
While affinity groups can be a great marketing tool for employers to attract and retain workers, as well as to foster new ideas, they can also create a great deal of legal liability. For some background, affinity groups are generally formalized groups that share similarities of some sort, whether...
Connecticut Pay Equity Bill Moves Forward
Earlier this week, bill HB5591 , which has been touted as legislation that will help to close the gender pay gap between Connecticut employees, cleared the House of Representatives with a vote of 139-9. The bill, unlike the Massachusetts law that goes into effect next year, does not include...
Effective October 1, CT Employers Can Use Payroll Cards to Pay Wages
09/30/2016On June 7, 2016, Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy signed into law Public Act 16-125 , which allows employers to pay employees using payroll cards and to deliver certain wage and hour information to employees by electronic means. The new law takes effect on October 1, 2016. For a recent...
Despite Recent Challenges to Overtime Rule, Employers Should Continue Preparing for Implementation on December 1
On September 20, two lawsuits were filed in federal court seeking to stop the new overtime regulations from going into effect on December 1. One lawsuit was filed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in conjunction with a number of other business groups. The other lawsuit was filed by...
The Power Struggle is Real: Local Minimum Wages Battle State Minimum Wages and How Dillon’s Rule Affects the Playing Field
Municipalities all across the country have dived into the employment arena in the past few years. In an April 2016 publication by the National Employment Law Project, it was reported that 51 municipalities across the country have either passed or currently have pending, proposals to raise the minimum wage...
FLSA Overtime Guidance for Educational Institutions
You likely received notice that the U.S. Department of Labor released its final overtime regulations on May 18. Many education institutions will now be required to take steps to revise their pay practices and work distribution. This poses difficulties for education institutions of all sizes, whether at the elementary...
Final FLSA Overtime Rule: Guidance for Non-Profit Employers and Board Members
You likely received notice that the U.S. Department of Labor released its final overtime regulations on May 18. Many non-profits will now be required to take steps to revise their pay practices and work distribution. This poses difficulties for non-profits of all sizes, including those that are funded by...
FINALIZED Overtime Rule: How does it impact you?
The Department of Labor released its long-awaited final overtime regulations today. The most significant impact of the new regulations is that they more than double the salary threshold for classifying an employee as exempt from the overtime requirement to $47,476. While slightly less than originally anticipated, this is still...
White Collar Salary Level Update: Maine Senator Angus King Weighs In
MaineBiz reports that yesterday U.S. Senator Angus King wrote a letter to the Office of Management and Budget voicing his concerns on the DOL's proposed increase in the overtime threshold. More information regard the increase is available here and here.
Women Footballers Ask EEOC to Give the Boot To Wage Discrimination
Interesting story that developed on Wednesday: some of the biggest names in U.S. women's soccer filed a wage discrimination claim with the EEOC, contending that the U.S. Soccer Federation pays them almost four times less than members of the men's team, despite the women generating nearly $20 million more...
Mandated Paid Sick Leave Will Start Flowing in the Sugar Maple State in 2017
Yesterday, March 9, 2016, Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin signed into law a bill that will require paid sick leave to be offered to an estimated 60,000 workers throughout the state. The Governor noted that the "law will provide dignity for employees, a more productive workforce for employers, and a...
Roses are Red, Violets are Blue, Greeting Card Giant Settles Class Action Suit
Last week American Greeting Corporation settled a wage and hour class action under the FLSA and California state wage and hour laws in Smith v. American Greetings Corp. , No. 3:14cv02577 (N.D. Cal. Jan. 29, 2016). Additionally Plaintiffs brought claims under the California Private Attorneys General Act which permits...
Dear John, Number Two
Loyal blog readers may recall our post last August reporting on an Ohio company that required its workers to swipe into and out of the restroom at work , so as to monitor the amount of time spent on bathroom breaks. Predictably, that policy was not one tolerated by...
How You Doin'?. . . Wendy Williams' Interns Are Doing Great
Earlier this week I found myself in a car dealership in the middle of the day watching daytime television and waiting for a ride; Wendy Williams was on. I had never seen the show before (in large part because I spend my afternoons writing these blogs and not watching...
FLSA Fashion Faux-Pas
Danny Tanner may have some words of advice right now, but we think that the more apt advice can be found in previous blog posts warning employers of the dangers of using unpaid interns. The latest suit, brought in Manhattan Supreme Court, is brought by Shahista Lalani, a former...
It’s All Fun and Games Until Someone Files a Class Action
Last week a class action was filed against restaurant chain Dave & Buster's Inc. accusing the restaurant of decreasing employee hours to avoid providing health insurance under the Affordable Care Act. The action has been filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York under...
April Showers Brought May Flowers and A Host of Employment Action in New England
New England administrative agencies and courts have sprung into spring with a litany of action last week that will affect New England employers. Here's the run-down: Connecticut : Last week the Connecticut Assembly passed a measure that would bar Connecticut employers from requiring employees or applicants to provide access...
Legislative Update: Maine’s “Retail Workers Bill of Rights”
For all our friends and colleagues in the hospitality and retail sectors of the Maine economy, please be mindful of two pending pieces of legislation in Augusta that could affect minimum standards as to pay and work schedules for Maine employers in the retail industry. Read more here...
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