On January 1, 2020, anxious employers got a reprieve—albeit a temporary one—when Governor Cuomo vetoed the legislation. Continue reading “No New York Employee Wage Liens—Yet!”
Category: Collective bargaining
New York Closes in on Comprehensive Employee Wage Lien Law
Mara B. Levin, Anthony A. Mingione, and Stephen E. Tisman
The New York State Legislature has recently passed a bill that could substantially alter the legal landscape of wage disputes if signed into law by Governor Cuomo. The proposed Employee Wage Lien bill would allow employees to obtain liens against an employer’s real property and personal property based on allegations involving nonpayment of wages. If signed into law, the bill will become effective within 30 days. Similar laws have been enacted on other states.
The law will allow employees to file a notice of a lien up to three years following the end of the employment giving rise to the wage claim. Employees will be able to place liens up to the total amount allegedly owed based on claims relating to overtime compensation, minimum wage, spread of hours pay, call-in pay, uniform maintenance, unlawful wage deductions, improper meal or tip credits or withheld gratuities, unpaid compensation due under an employment contract, or a claim that the employer violated an existing wage order. In addition, the State Attorney General and Department of Labor will be able to obtain a lien on behalf of an individual employee—or a class of employees—against an employer that is the subject of an investigation, court proceeding, or agency action.
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Quick Flashback—NLRB Overruled Obama Board’s “Independent Contractor” Test
In SuperShuttle DFW, Inc. and Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1338 (Case No. 16-RC-010963), the Trump Board addressed the issue of whether franchisees who operated shared-ride vans were ICs and thus excluded from coverage under the NLRA. Relying on common-law agency analysis, the Board upheld a regional director’s decision finding the franchisees to be ICs. That traditional common-law analysis involves application and consideration of the following factors: Continue reading “Quick Flashback—NLRB Overruled Obama Board’s “Independent Contractor” Test”
Philadelphia City Council Passes “Fair Workweek” Bill and Votes to Increase Minimum Wage for City Workers and Contractors
Andrew A. Napier
“Fair Workweek” Bill
The “Fair Workweek” Bill, introduced by Councilwoman Helen Gym in June, applies to large chain businesses with more than 250 employees in the retail, food, or hospitality sectors, and at least 30 locations across the country or state (“Covered Employers”). If signed it would go into effect on January 1, 2020, and will require Covered Employers to give employees (including full-time, part-time, and seasonal and temporary workers) who work within the geographical boundaries of the City, 10 days’ advance notice of their work schedule. The amount of advance notice will increase to 14 days beginning January 1, 2021. An employee may decline, without penalty, any shift that occurs less than nine hours after the end of a shift, and if the employee agrees to work the shift, the employer must pay the employee an extra $40 per shift. Continue reading “Philadelphia City Council Passes “Fair Workweek” Bill and Votes to Increase Minimum Wage for City Workers and Contractors”
Employers Score Major Win as Predicted Changes at National Labor Relations Board Start to Come True
NLRB Reverses Landmark Browning-Ferris Decision and Loosens Test for Joint Employer Status
Scott F. Cooper
In Hy-Brand Industrial Contractors Ltd. and Brandt Construction Co., NLRB Chair Philip Miscimarra, joined by the two newest NLRB board members, William Emanuel and Marvin Kaplan, significantly reduced the scope of joint employer status in reversing BFI. The issue over the scope of joint employer status at the Board has been simmering for some time, as NLRB Chair Miscimarra wrote a dissenting opinion in the 2015 BFI decision, which was issued under the Obama administration when Democrat members held the Board majority. Continue reading “Employers Score Major Win as Predicted Changes at National Labor Relations Board Start to Come True”
NLRB Chairman Miscimarra’s Last Stand – Bye-Bye “Micro Units”
However, Republican-appointed Chairman Phil Miscimarra is making up for all of the labor-friendly opinions during Obama’s administration where he found himself in the minority, left to argue seemingly in vain in some classic dissenting opinions. Now, he’s been leading the majority charge to “right” as many Obama Board “wrongs” as possible before stepping away from the Board on Saturday. Continue reading “NLRB Chairman Miscimarra’s Last Stand – Bye-Bye “Micro Units””
NLRB Kicks Things into Gear – To Benefit Employers!
Led by Chairman Phil Miscimarra (a Republican who unfortunately is stepping down at the end of his term next week), the NLRB has attacked and reversed two critical issues that have plagued employers for the last several years: Continue reading “NLRB Kicks Things into Gear – To Benefit Employers!”