Last week, the Department of Labor issued new guidance on whether interns are “employees” covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act’s minimum wage and overtime provisions. In the updated guidance, the DOL has adopted the “primary beneficiary test,” first applied by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in 2015, and used by a growing number of courts in recent years.
Continue Reading DOL Issues New Guidance on Unpaid Internships
New Survey Shows How Questions About Prior Salary Harm Female Job Applicants
One of the key provisions of the new Massachusetts Equal Pay Act (which goes into effect on July 1, 2018) is that it prohibits employers from requiring prospective employees to disclose their salary history. The reasoning behind this provision is as follows: if employers are allowed to ask applicants about their salary history, and base compensation on the answers to those questions, applicants who have been on the receiving end of discriminatory pay practices in the past will continue to be hampered by past pay inequity throughout their careers. If employers cannot base pay on what an applicant made previously, so the thinking goes, employers will have to set pay based on what the job is worth.Continue Reading New Survey Shows How Questions About Prior Salary Harm Female Job Applicants
Winter Weather and Employee Challenges – To Pay or Not to Pay?
The winter season presents employers with many weather related issues ranging from obligations to keep outdoor areas safe to deciding whether to close the business for all or part of the day. Closing the business due to inclement weather raises pay issues – what pay are employees entitled to when the business closes? It depends, in part, whether the employee is considered exempt or non-exempt and whether, the employee is paid on a salary basis.
Continue Reading Winter Weather and Employee Challenges – To Pay or Not to Pay?
Two Weeks Into the Trump Administration: Where are we with Labor and Employment Regulations?
Typically with an incoming administration there is a waiting period of sorts before changes in pending and certainly existing regulations kick in. The current administration, however, appears to be working at an accelerated pace toward upending the status quo. So, it appears time for a quick check-in on where we are and what to expect.
On Inauguration day, White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus Jan. 20 instructed federal agencies to freeze all pending regulations, a move that seems to include a number of labor and employment initiatives that were in the works under the Obama administration.
This type of freeze is not unusual when a new president takes office. An action of this nature does not necessarily mean that significant changes are coming, but given candidate Trump’s campaign promise to roll back regulation on business, we can at least predict that the administration will be in no rush to move on the pending matters.
Continue Reading Two Weeks Into the Trump Administration: Where are we with Labor and Employment Regulations?
Federal Judge Denies $100 Million Class-Action Settlement Between Uber and Drivers
Upon a motion for preliminary approval of the class-action settlement for $100 million, a federal court found that the settlement between Uber and drivers in two states was “not fair, adequate and reasonable” and denied approval. It ordered the parties to confer about
One Step Closer to Closing the Pay Gap? EEOC Proposes Expanding EEO-1 Report
Co-written by: Jacqueline Botchman, a third year law student at the University of New Hampshire School of Law
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on Wednesday, July 13, 2016 publicized a revised proposal to expand pay data collection through the Employer Information Report (EEO-1). The proposed revision would require private employers and federal contractors with
Equal Pay for “Comparable Work” Becomes Law in Massachusetts
In a historic moment, yesterday, Governor Charlie Baker signed into law a comprehensive pay-equity bill aimed at eradicating the wage gap in Massachusetts. With the bill’s passage, Massachusetts has become the first state in the nation to prohibit employers from asking job applicants to provide a salary history during the interview process.
Supporters of the
Equal Pay May Be Coming Your Way: Mass House Votes to Approve Bill to Establish Pay Equity
In a 158-0 vote, the Massachusetts House of Representatives voted to approve the so-called Pay Equity Act. The Act makes it unlawful for any employer to discriminate “in any way on the basis of gender in the payment of wages,” or to pay someone of a different gender less for comparable work. The term “comparable
US DOL Releases Final Rule on FLSA Exemptions
The United States Department of Labor (“DOL”) yesterday released its long awaited final rule which revises the salary test for the “white collar” exemptions to the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). The new rule will be effective December 1, 2016 and is expected to impact some 4.2 million salaried workers based simply on the revision
