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Employment Law

When unpaid ‘gap time’ doesn’t violate FLSA

09/26/2014
With collective-action wage-and-hour claims on the rise, employers worry that they may be burned by unpaid work they didn’t even know employees were performing. But a recent appeals court decision provides a rare piece of good news: As long as employees haven’t worked more than 40 hours in any given workweek, so-called “gap time” between hours paid and hours worked doesn’t always mean liability.

House hearings explore how to rein in ‘deeply flawed’ EEOC

09/26/2014
The House Subcommittee on Workforce Protections has begun hearings to explore legislation that would “increase accountability” at the EEOC, an agency that “has spent a great deal of time and resources advancing a deeply flawed enforcement and regulatory agenda,” according to subcommittee Chair Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Mich.

Social media & HR: Know your state privacy law

09/25/2014
The Seyfarth Shaw law firm has created a free report, the Social Media Privacy Legislation Desktop Ref­­er­­ence, that explains each current state law concerning social media and employees’ rights to its use.

Don’t let manager conduct an evaluation if he isn’t familiar with employee’s work

09/22/2014

While it’s best for supervisors familiar with an employee’s work to provide the bulk of the em­­ployee’s evaluation, sometimes that’s not possible because of a resignation, transfer or other circumstance. In such cases, make sure you explain (and document) why the immediate supervisor or someone else who has observed the employee’s work isn’t doing the evaluating.

New OSHA rules require more injury reporting

09/22/2014
If your workplace is prone to injuries, get ready to submit more paperwork to OSHA.

When is telecommuting a reasonable accommodation under the ADA and state law?

09/19/2014
Q. One of my employees was recently injured in a nonwork-related accident. If this employee returns to work and requires an accommodation to perform his duties, can allowing him to telecommute be considered reasonable accommodation?

Employee acting as her own lawyer? That may not be the easy win you hope for

09/19/2014
Lately, courts have landed hard on attorneys who take so-called frivolous cases, hoping to wrestle a quick settlement from ­employers eager to make the case go away. That should theoretically reduce the number of frivolous lawsuits. It probably won’t.

Seek attorney’s help to craft arbitration agreements that will keep you out of court

09/19/2014
A California appeals court has ruled that it’s up to the arbitrator handling a dispute to determine if the arbitration agreement allows class-action arbitration.

Don’t limit your legal options! Beware vague arbitration agreements

09/19/2014
The Court of Appeal of California has held that an employer cannot compel arbitration of a wage claim when the language in the parties’ arbitration agreement excluded wage-and-hour claims.

When undocumented immigrants sue over pay

09/19/2014

Simply put, immigration status isn’t relevant to whether an employer violated the FLSA by paying less than minimum wage or failed to pay proper overtime. However, if the worker is cooperating with the DOL in an FLSA case, the employer may demand to know whether the worker may receive something of value for his testimony.