Biden Administration

On January 9, 2024, the US Department of Labor (DOL) issued a final rule that provides revised guidance on whether a worker is properly classified as an employee or independent contractor under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Under the FLSA, employees are entitled to minimum wage and overtime pay, while independent contractors are not.… Continue Reading

Under the Biden Administration’s influence, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB or “the Board”) has proposed a new Final Rule for determining joint employer status under the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”). The Final Rule significantly relaxes the standard for two or more companies to be classified as joint employers who share equal liability for unfair labor practices, legal obligations to negotiate with labor unions, and who may be subject to union picketing or protests in the event of a labor dispute.… Continue Reading

On August 25, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board issued its decision in Cemex Construction Materials Pacific LLC (N.L.R.B., Case 28-CA-230115) – upending over fifty years of established law and setting forth a new, union-friendly framework for determining when employers are required to recognize and bargain with unions without a representation election. … Continue Reading

Last week, amid its headline-generating decisions on affirmative action, religious accommodations in the workplace, and LGBTQ rights, the Supreme Court of the United States also issued its decision in Mallory v. Norfolk Southern Railway Co., 600 U.S. _____ (2023) (slip op.), a decision which has the potential to expand a state’s jurisdiction over out-of-state corporations registered to do business there. … Continue Reading

The United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and three other federal agencies issued a joint statement vowing to use existing laws to protect employees and the general public from discrimination and bias arising from the use of artificial intelligence (AI).  The agencies joining the EEOC in the April 25, 2023, statement include the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division (Division), and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).  … Continue Reading

On January 30, 2023, the Biden Administration said that it will end COVID-19 emergency declarations on May 11, 2023.  The federal government has been paying for COVID-19 vaccines, some tests, and certain treatments under the public health emergency declaration. Many of those costs now will be transferred to private insurance and government health plans.… Continue Reading

On December 29, 2022, as part of the Fiscal Year 2023 Omnibus Spending Bill, President Biden signed into law two pieces of legislation that will benefit pregnancy and nursing mothers – the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) and the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act (PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act). … Continue Reading

On October, 11, 2022, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released a proposed rule to update the test for determining whether a worker is an employee under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) or an independent contractor.  The proposal would significantly broaden the classification of workers as employees under the FLSA. … Continue Reading

Yesterday, the NLRB published a proposed rule designed to rescind and replace the Trump-era rule used to determine whether two companies are joint employers under the NLRA. Under the rule adopted during the Trump Administration, an employer can be a joint employer with another entity if it has substantial direct and immediate control over the essential terms and conditions of employment of the other entity’s workers.… Continue Reading

On August 26, 2022, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit narrowed the nationwide injunction of Executive Order 14042, which requires federal contractors and employees who work on or in connection with a covered federal contract, or share a workplace with another employee who works on or in connection with such contracts, to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.… Continue Reading