Category: Employment litigation

More Money, More Problems? New Jersey Significantly Expanding Family Leave Benefits

Thomas J. Szymanski

The bill (NJ A3975), revamping the New Jersey Family Leave Act (“NJFLA”) and Family Leave Insurance (“FLI”), was passed in both houses of the New Jersey Legislature on January 31, 2019. Governor Murphy is expected to sign the bill today, with some changes effective immediately.

As a reminder, NJFLA provides job-protected leave for workers at large employers to care for family members. On the other hand, FLI provides wage-replacement benefits to workers during a leave used to care for a family member. FLI applies regardless of the size of the employer and is funded by employee payroll deductions.

Summary of the most significant changes: Continue reading “More Money, More Problems? New Jersey Significantly Expanding Family Leave Benefits”

We Are Hiring: PA Superior Court Upends the Law on “No Hire” Agreements

Scott F. Cooper

Countless companies contract with other companies to provide services and include a “no hire” provision (pursuant to which the parties to the contract agree to not hire employees of the contracting company) in the service contract. The goal of these provisions is to prevent the contractual business partner from raiding the other’s talent—at least not without paying a fee.

In what the Court acknowledged was the first test of this issue in Pennsylvania, earlier this month the Superior Court invalidated a “no hire” agreement between companies—even though they were not competitors. The Court reasoned that companies may enter into agreements barring solicitation of customers, but they cannot agree to “no hire” provisions. Non-compete agreements between employer and employee are still valid, but not via company-to-company “no hire” clauses. Continue reading “We Are Hiring: PA Superior Court Upends the Law on “No Hire” Agreements”

#TakeTheLead: California Employment Laws Boldly Go Where No Legislation Has Gone Before

Emily K. Borman

Unless you’ve been living under the Starship Enterprise, you’ve seen the laundry list of new laws recently passed by the California legislature, which went into effect this year. If you do business in the Golden State, you need a clear and concise understanding of what these new laws mean to your business. To assist, we’re rolling out a series of blog posts to spotlight some of the most far-reaching and significant California legislation to date.

Today, our focus is on #MeToo-inspired legislation, as we examine California’s newest sexual harassment laws and how they affect your business.

Now that we’ve got your attention…Warp Speed Ahead! Continue reading “#TakeTheLead: California Employment Laws Boldly Go Where No Legislation Has Gone Before”

ALERT: New Jersey Raising Minimum Wage to $15

Thomas J. Szymanski

As we reported last week, New Jersey employers need to get ready for minimum wage increasing to $15 per hour. The bill, which passed on party lines last Thursday, was signed into law today by Governor Murphy. It provides the following timetable to raise the minimum wage:

  • $15 per hour by 2024, for most minimum wage earners;
  • $15 per hour by 2026, for minimum wage earners at seasonal businesses and small businesses;
  • $12.50 per hour by 2024, for agricultural minimum wage earners; and
  • $5.13 per hour by 2022, for tipped earners.

Continue reading “ALERT: New Jersey Raising Minimum Wage to $15”

Get Ready New Jersey Employers, $15 Minimum Wage Is Coming!

Thomas J. Szymanski

As we cautioned on November 15, 2018, Governor Phil Murphy’s top legislative priority to increase the minimum wage to $15 per hour is inching closer to a reality. On Monday, January 28, 2019, the New Jersey Assembly and Senate committees approved a bill raising the minimum wage as follows:

  • $15 per hour by 2024, for most minimum wage earners;
  • $15 per hour by 2026, for minimum wage earners at seasonal businesses and small businesses;
  • $12.50 per hour by 2024, for agricultural minimum wage earners; and
  • $5.13 per hour by 2022, for tipped earners.

The bill is scheduled for full votes in both chambers on Thursday, January 31, 2019. If passed, Governor Murphy is expected to sign the wage increases into law on the same day.

Below is a brief summary of the proposed schedules of minimum wage increases for each of the groups affected. Continue reading “Get Ready New Jersey Employers, $15 Minimum Wage Is Coming!”

Philadelphia City Council Passes “Fair Workweek” Bill and Votes to Increase Minimum Wage for City Workers and Contractors

Andrew A. Napier

On December 6, the Philadelphia City Council passed two pieces of legislation that already are being touted as altering the landscape for workers in the city, especially those in the service industry.

“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”

Requesting a Background Check to Make an Employment Decision? Read This First.

Thomas J. Szymanski

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”) provides federally-imposed limitations on all employers who seek information from a Consumer Reporting Agency about an applicant or employee for use in making an employment decision, such as a hiring or promotion. The FCRA contains specific notice, authorization, and reporting requirements related to obtaining a Consumer Report, including credit reports and criminal background checks, and potentially taking an adverse employment action based on that information.

Requirements before you request a Consumer Report: Continue reading “Requesting a Background Check to Make an Employment Decision? Read This First.”

Goodbye Uber Class Action, Hello Individual Arbitration

Natalie Alameddine and Caroline Powell Donelan

Last week, in a significant blow to claims that gig economy workers are entitled to pursue disputes on a class or collective basis, and possibly whether those workers will be able to establish that they are employees and not independent contractors, a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously decertified a class of 240,000 Uber drivers. The decision in O’Conner v. Uber is a victory for the ride-share company, which will now be able to defend claims that it misclassified employees as independent contractors on an individual basis—one arbitration at a time.

For the past five years, there has been an ongoing and contentious dispute over whether Uber drivers (and similarly, Lyft and other ride-share drivers) are independent contractors or employees. If the workers are deemed to be employees, Uber could face hundreds of millions of dollars in alleged California labor code violations and business expense claims. To combat the possibility of having to litigate this issue on a class-wide basis, Uber entered into arbitration agreements with each driver, requiring that any driver’s claims be arbitrated and that each case had to be arbitrated individually (rather than as a class action). Continue reading “Goodbye Uber Class Action, Hello Individual Arbitration”

Too Fat to Work Here?—Not So Fast

Scott F. Cooper

A decision this week from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has further fueled the debate over whether obesity is a protected impairment under federal and state law.

In Casey Taylor et al. v. Burlington Northern Railroad Holdings Inc. et al., Case No. 16-35205 (9th Cir. Sept. 17, 2018), Burlington rejected Taylor’s application to become an electronic technician because his Body Mass Index (“BMI”) placed him in the “severely” or “morbidly” obese category. Complicating this case is that the company’s chief medical officer otherwise found Taylor qualified for the position. The company also was willing to reconsider the application if Taylor undertook additional pre-hire medical screening at his own expense. The Ninth Circuit earlier this year held that shifting pre-hire medical examination costs to an applicant is unlawful.

The Ninth Circuit certified the issue and sent it to the Supreme Court of Washington to determine its application under Washington state law. Pending that ruling, the Ninth Circuit will then resolve the issue under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). How these decisions come out could have sweeping implications for employers who have acted against obese job applicants and employees. Continue reading “Too Fat to Work Here?—Not So Fast”

“De Minimis” May Be Down, but It’s Not Out—And What Does It Mean for Employer Rounding Policies in California?

Laura Reathaford, Caroline Powell Donelan, and Caitlin I. Sanders

On July 26, 2018, the California Supreme Court issued its long-awaited opinion in Troester v. Starbucks Corp., __ P.3d __ (2018). In the days that have followed, legal headlines have lamented the presumed “death” of the de minimis doctrine. But is Troester really that simple? And what does it mean for employer rounding policies?

The issue in Troester was whether the federal Fair Labor Standards Act’s (“FLSA”) de minimis doctrine applies to claims for unpaid wages under certain provisions of the California Labor Code. For the better half of the past century, the de minimis doctrine has been applied in the federal wage and hour context to excuse payment of wages under the FLSA for insubstantial or insignificant periods of time. Continue reading ““De Minimis” May Be Down, but It’s Not Out—And What Does It Mean for Employer Rounding Policies in California?”