In a unanimous decision, on May 15, 2024, the New Jersey Supreme Court held that the state’s amendments (Chapter 212) to the Wage Payment Law (WPL) and the Wage and Hour Law (WHL) apply prospectively, and therefore plaintiffs cannot rely on the amendments to recover for any conduct that took place before the amendment’s effective date on August 6, 2019.… Continue Reading
Denise M. Keyser
FTC Webinar Provides Additional Guidance on Final Rule Banning Noncompete Agreements
As we previously reported, here, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) voted to issue a final rule (the “Rule”) that would prevent most employers from enforcing noncompete agreements against workers, with only limited exceptions for existing noncompetes with senior executives and noncompetes made in connection with the bona fide sale of a business.… Continue Reading
FTC Votes to Ban Noncompete Agreements in Employment Contracts
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) voted yesterday to issue a final rule that will prevent most employers from enforcing noncompete agreements against workers, with only limited exceptions for existing noncompetes with senior executives and noncompetes made in connection with the bona fide sale of a business. Employers must review existing and prospective employment agreements and revise them to comply with the new rule, which, unless enjoined by a court, will go into effect 120 days after publication in the Federal Register, expected in the coming days.… Continue Reading
NLRB Regional Director Rules Dartmouth’s Basketball Players are School Employees
On Monday, February 5, a Regional Director of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a ruling that Dartmouth College basketball players are employees of the school, allowing them to vote on unionizing. The NLRB’s Boston Regional Director, Laura Sacks, issued her opinion after all 15 members of the Dartmouth men’s basketball team signed a petition on September 13, 2023 to be represented by the Service Employees International Union, Local 560, a union which already represents some of the school’s employees.… Continue Reading
U.S. Department of Labor Issues Final Rule on Independent Contractor Status Under the FLSA
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
DOL Reinstates Three-Step Process to Determine Prevailing Wage for Construction Workers
On August 8, 2023, the U. S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued a final rule revamping its procedures for determining prevailing wages under the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts (collectively, DBRA). This is the first time in forty years that DOL has revisited this process.
The DBRA requires payment of locally prevailing wages and fringe benefits for various classifications of workers on most federally funded or assisted contracts for the construction, alteration, or repair of public buildings or public works.… Continue Reading
Attestation to Consolidated Appropriations Act’s “Anti-Gag Rules” Due by Year’s End
By December 31, 2023, health plans and insurers must submit an attestation of compliance with the “anti-gag rules” of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (CAA). The rules apply to all agreements entered into on or after the date that the CAA was enacted (December 27, 2020), and the first attestation applies retroactively to that date.… Continue Reading
Fractured SCOTUS Decision Opens Door to Expanded Personal Jurisdiction of Businesses
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
Supreme Court Heightens Standard for Employers to Deny Religious Accommodations
On June 29, 2023, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) issued a unanimous opinion, authored by Justice Alito, in Groff v. DeJoy, Postmaster General, 600 U.S. ___ (2023), in which it “clarified” decades-old precedent regarding an employer’s obligation to accommodate the religious beliefs of its employees. The unanimous Court held that, under Title VII, an employer is required to accommodate an employee’s religious beliefs unless doing so would result in substantial increased costs in relation to the conduct of its particular business.… Continue Reading
NLRB’S INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR TEST SHIFTS BACK TO PRE-TRUMP STANDARD
Last week, the National Labor Relations Board (“Board”) issued a decision changing the legal standard it will use to determine whether workers are “employees” covered by the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”), or independent contractors who are not.
Prior to 2019, the Board’s test for determining whether a worker was a statutory employee or independent contractor weighed a variety of factors, including those outlined in the Restatement (Second) of Agency:
(a) the extent of control which, by the agreement, the employer may exercise over the details of the work;
(b) whether or not the one employed is engaged in a distinct occupation or business;
(c) the kind of occupation, with reference to whether, in the locality, the work is usually done under the direction of the employer or by a specialist without supervision;
d) the skill required in the particular occupation;
e) whether the employer or the worker supplies the instrumentalities, tools, and the place of work for the person doing the work;
(f) the length of time for which the person is employed;
(g) the method of payment, whether by the time or by the job;
(h) whether or not the work is a part of the regular business of the employer;
(i) whether or not the parties believe they are creating the relation of employer and employee; and
(j) whether the principal is or is not in business.… Continue Reading