Anna Svensson
The Anti-Harassment Law includes both immediate and ongoing implications. Here are some of the highlights: Continue reading “New York Says “#MeToo” as It Enacts Strict Anti-Harassment Measures”
Category: HR compliance and policy design
New Jersey Jumps on the Paid Sick Leave Bandwagon
Asima J. Ahmad
Similar to the paid sick leave laws in other states, New Jersey will mandate that employees accrue one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, up to a maximum of 40 hours. In the alternative, employers can frontload 40 hours of paid sick time on the first day of each benefit year. This can be done through an existing paid time off (“PTO”) policy, so long as the PTO days can be used for any of the reasons permitted under the Act, and are accrued at an equal or greater rate than what the Act requires. The Act states that employers are not required to permit employees to carry over more than 40 hours of paid sick leave from one benefit year to the next, but it appears that carryover is otherwise required. Additionally, employers are not obligated to pay employees for any accrued but unused time upon their separation from the company. Continue reading “New Jersey Jumps on the Paid Sick Leave Bandwagon”
Blank Rome Alert—Gig Economy More Employer-Friendly? Ask Uber!
Wow. Pretty significant progress for the gig economy’s foundational feature—the engagement of workers classified as “independent contractors.” I dare say that, with this decision, the gig economy may have just gotten a little more employer-friendly—at least here in Eastern Pennsylvania and at least as to Uber. Continue reading “Blank Rome Alert—Gig Economy More Employer-Friendly? Ask Uber!”
Employers Should Take Notice of New Jersey’s Expected Equal Pay Law
Thomas J. Szymanski
DOL Gets “Cute” with New Compliance Guidance … Animated Videos
The DOL announced these videos with this selling point: “Tired of poring through regulations and dense text trying to determine your legal responsibilities under federal labor law as an employer? We have a solution.” Well, we’re not sure that’s exactly accurate since they do not provide a comprehensive explanation of the legal responsibilities of covered employers. Continue reading “DOL Gets “Cute” with New Compliance Guidance … Animated Videos”
New York #MeToo Initiatives—It’s No Longer Just an HR Issue
Stephen E. Tisman and Rither Alabre
- The New York County District Attorney’s Office has created a special “Work-Related Sexual Violence Team” of prosecutors to investigate reports of work-related sexual violence.
- The New York Attorney General filed suit, in response to the announcement of the proposed sale of the Weinstein Company, for civil penalties and an order of “restitution” to victims.
These actions make clear that new layers of scrutiny are being imposed to examine how employers handle sexual harassment claims. Importantly, companies and individuals faced with such claims will confront new areas of exposure—outside of traditional human resources procedures and concerns—which must be analyzed and addressed. Continue reading “New York #MeToo Initiatives—It’s No Longer Just an HR Issue”
DOL Bends Slightly More toward Employers—Self-Audits (Via Pilot Program) Are Back!
The DOL’s Wage and Hour Division (“WHD”) has just announced that it will implement a new nationwide pilot program, the Payroll Audit Independent Determination (“PAID”) program, which it says is designed to “facilitate[] resolution of potential overtime and minimum wage violations under the [FLSA].” Continue reading “DOL Bends Slightly More toward Employers—Self-Audits (Via Pilot Program) Are Back!”
Blowing the Whistle Internally Is Not Enough to Be Covered by the Anti-Retaliation Provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act
Yelena Barychev and Brooke T. Iley
On February 21, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a much anticipated decision in Digital Realty Trust, Inc. v. Paul Somers that the anti-retaliation protections of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (the “Dodd-Frank Act”) do not extend to an individual who reports alleged company misconduct only internally without submitting this information to the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”).
Paul Somers worked at Digital Realty Trust, Inc. as a vice president of portfolio management. While employed, he reported possible securities law violations to senior management but never reported this information to the SEC. Mr. Somers’ employment was subsequently terminated. He then sued Digital Realty in federal court accusing the company of violating the Dodd-Frank Act by firing him for complaining internally about alleged violations of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the “Sarbanes-Oxley Act”). Mr. Sommers never sought relief directly under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The district court, and then the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, supported Mr. Somers reliance on the SEC’s broad interpretation of the definition of the term “whistleblower” under the Dodd-Frank Act. The U.S. Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and remanded the case for further proceedings consistent with its opinion. Continue reading “Blowing the Whistle Internally Is Not Enough to Be Covered by the Anti-Retaliation Provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act”
DOL Adopts Employer-Friendly Standard to Assess If Workers Are Interns or Employees
Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) announced the adoption of a new standard to determine who is an “intern” under the FLSA, opting to utilize the “primary beneficiary” analysis already used by several federal appellate courts. Continue reading “DOL Adopts Employer-Friendly Standard to Assess If Workers Are Interns or Employees”
Maryland Jumps on Bandwagon—Adopts Paid Sick and Safe Leave Law
