Meredith S. Dante

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The United States indicted DaVita, Inc., and Kent Thiry, DaVita’s former Chief Executive Officer, last year alleging that they had violated Section 1 of the Sherman Act by engaging in “Conspiracy in Restraint of Trade to Allocate Employees.” The essential elements of the criminal charges were alleged agreements with competitors not to poach each other’s employees.… Continue Reading

Himamauli Das, the Acting Director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”), spoke about the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 (the “Act”)  and FinCEN’s role in its implementation at New York University Law School’s March 25, 2022 Program on Corporate Compliance and Enforcement.  After discussing the Act’s emphasis on modernizing and improving the effectiveness of the general U.S.… Continue Reading

The Department of Labor (“DOL”) announced publication of the Dual Jobs final rule. This rule finalizes the DOL’s proposal to withdraw one portion of the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) tip rule that was finalized in 2020. Employers who employ workers engaged in tipped work, like servers and bartenders, need to consider how this rule impacts their operations and tipped employee pay.… Continue Reading

Below are a number of significant developments related to COVID-19 that impact businesses of all sizes, across industries:

DOJ Says Vaccine Mandates Not Prohibited by EUA

This week, the Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) released to the public, a memo dated July 6, 2021. The memo can be found here and discusses vaccine mandates and the OLC’s position that the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act’s (FDCA) Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) provisions do not prohibit employer vaccine mandates.… Continue Reading

The latest episode of Business Better features a discussion about earned wage access programs. We’ll discuss why the push for on-demand payroll technology has picked-up during the COVID-19 pandemic and outline issues from an employer’s viewpoint as it relates to state wage & hour laws, liabilities, and potential lawsuits.

The discussion features Meredith Dante, a partner who regularly advises clients in a broad variety of employment law matters including whistleblower complaints and retaliation and James Kim, a partner in the firm’s Consumer Financial Practices Group and co-leader of the firm’s Fintech and Payments Team, who advises clients on earned wages access programs.… Continue Reading

Today, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) substantially augmented its technical assistance questions and answers related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the application of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and other federal equal employment opportunity laws. It also released a new document targeted at employees and job applicants that explains how federal anti-discrimination laws apply during the COVID-19 pandemic.… Continue Reading

The United States Department of Labor (DOL) Wage and Hour Division just launched a new initiative called “Essential Workers, Essential Protections” that provides workers with information about the wage and hour laws that apply to them, including instructions on how to contact the DOL with questions or complaints.

In conjunction with this new initiative, the DOL released a set of FAQs regarding pay, hours worked, and job-protected leave during the pandemic.… Continue Reading

The latest episode of Ballard Spahr’s Business Better Podcast features a discussion of the new whistleblower provisions in the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020. We’ll discuss the types of businesses covered, who can be a whistleblower under the Act, the increased incentives now provided, new protections against retaliation, the impact of a whistleblower being involved in the conduct, and practical advice for affected institutions.… Continue Reading

Last Thursday, Judge Anne Thompson found unconstitutional a portion of the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (NJLAD). The ruling specifically addresses the provision in the NJLAD that was added in March 2019, discussed here, which, in effect, voided any employment contract that required an employee to waive his or her right to a jury and to arbitrate a claim of discrimination, retaliation or harassment.… Continue Reading

On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act. At $1.9 trillion, it is the second largest stimulus bill in legislative history. The ARP includes labor-related spending initiatives important to both employers and employees.

Employers should particularly take heed of the increased funding to OSHA for enforcement actions, which could indicate a potential increase in the number of audits and inspections, as well as additional scrutiny of whistleblower claims.… Continue Reading