Sunday, July 5, 2026Labor & Employment Law
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5416 articles on ELINFONET
HR - Whistleblowing
As noted in several recent posts to this blog, the number of whistleblowing claims in the healthcare industry is rapidly rising, and there are a growing number of private and federal initiatives supporting whistleblowing in this field. Nevertheless, a recent case from the U.S. Court of Appeals for t
OSHA - General
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has released its long-awaited proposed rule that sets new workplace permissible exposure limits (PELs) for respirable crystalline silica, and outlines methods to control exposure, conduct medical exams for workers with high silica exposure, tr
Benefits - ACA
The Internal Revenue Service has issued a proposed rule that aims to provide guidance on the small business tax credit under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The ACA added section 45R to the Internal Revenue Code, which offers a tax credit to certain small employers that provide insured health coverag
Affirmative Action - OFCCP
The DOL’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has released an updated version of its Federal Contract Compliance Manual (FCCM). Spanning more than 500 pages and eight chapters, the FCCM provides a general framework for how federal contractor compliance evaluations and complaint in
HR - General
Pursuant to a directive included in the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (FAA Act), the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued a final policy allowing the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to apply and enforce certain safety st
HR - Social Networking Issues
We previously contended that applicants and employees might create “phantom” social media profiles to thwart employer inquiries into their online conduct. In Trapp v. DHS, the tables were turned when a supervisor created a fictitious Facebook profile to investigate allegations that an employee poste
Federal Gov't - DOL
Former professor and union–side lawyer Michael Hayes is the new director of the Department of Labor’s Office of Labor Management Standards (OLMS). Hayes comes to the OLMS from the University of Baltimore, where he has served as a professor since 1998.
FLSA - Overtime, General
On August 16, 2013, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reaffirmed the use of the “fluctuating workweek” method for calculating damages of workers owed overtime pay as a result of misclassification as “exempt” under the FLSA. In Ransom v. M. Patel Enterprises, Inc., the trial court found
Benefits - General
The Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research & Educational Trust (Kaiser/HRET) have released their annual survey of employer-sponsored health benefits. In the survey, Kaiser/HRET analyzes the responses provided by 2,067 public and private employers with three or more employees during the fir
Labor Law - Bargaining Units
On Thursday, August 15, 2013, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit upheld the National Labor Relations Board's decision in Specialty Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center of Mobile,1 affirming that the Board has broad discretion to determine appropriate bargaining units for union represent
Multinational Employers
On August 1, 2013, Brazil enacted Law 12.846, a new anti-corruption law that establishes a comprehensive system of corporate and individual liability for acts of corruption against Brazilian and foreign public officials or governmental bodies.1 The new anti-bribery law becomes effective on January 2
Labor Law - NLRB
Further complicating the beleaguered Agency’s ability to carry out its mission, a federal court has determined that National Labor Relations Board Acting General Counsel (GC) Lafe Solomon was not properly appointed to his position.
Rhode Island
Rhode Island recently passed the Temporary Caregiver Insurance law which amended its Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI) program to provide employees with an additional leave benefit and wage replacement benefits during that leave. The law has two main components. First, all Rhode Island employers
FMLA - General
Of course, this kind of stuff happens while I'm on vacation and away from my computer. Last week, the Wall Street Journal created a bit of an uproar when it reported that the Department of Labor had just issued "regulatory guidance to affirm that same-sex married couples can take a leave from their
California - Labor Law
California's Private Attorneys General Act of 2004 (PAGA) allows an "aggrieved employee" to recover civil penalties for certain violations of the California Labor Code. The amount of recovery in a PAGA action is based on the number of pay periods in which violations of the Labor Code have taken plac
FMLA - General
On June 26, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in United States v. Windsor that federal laws that apply to opposite-sex spouses must apply equally to same-sex spouses. In doing so, the Court invalidated a key provision of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), defining marriage under federal law as a “
Benefits - ACA
On July 2, 2013, in a surprise move, the Department of the Treasury announced that it is delaying the Affordable Care Act (ACA) employer pay-or-play mandate and accompanying employer reporting requirements by one year. Accordingly, employers will not be subject to penalties for failing to offer full
Massachusetts - Wage & Hour
On August 12, 2013, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) ruled that the state Wage Act does not preempt common law claims for unpaid wages. Employers may therefore be liable to employees for unpaid wages for up to six years, under breach of contract or similar theories.
Class Actions - Wage & Hour
An employee may be compelled to arbitrate claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) on an individual basis, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit concluded on Friday. In Sutherland v. Ernst & Young LLP, the Second Circuit reversed the decision of the U.S. District Court for the Sou
FMLA - Medical Certifications
The feedback from last week's blog post on annual FMLA certification came fast and furious. Most of it was complimentary (thank you!), but several of my fellow FMLA nerds raised an interesting issue. They noted that the FMLA regulation covering "annual" certifications does not specifically state tha