In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court on Monday held in Encino Motorcars, LLC v. Navarro, et al., that current and former service advisors in a car dealership were not entitled to overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The Court ruled that the service advisors were exempt from overtime under 29 U.S.C. §2113(b)(10)(A),
6th Circuit Court Of Appeals Holds That Telecommuting May Be A Reasonable Accommodation
In a recent decision handed down by the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, Mosby-Meachem v. Memphis Light, Gas & Water Division, No. 17-5483 (6th Cir. 2018), the Court held that in certain circumstances telecommuting may constitute a reasonable accommodation.
Andrea Mosby-Meachem was hired by Memphis Light in 2005 as an in-house
Court Ruling Protects Transgender Employees From Discrimination And Rejects Employers’ Religious Beliefs As a Rationale For Mistreatment
On March 7, 2018, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit determined in a landmark ruling that federal law protects transgender individuals from employment discrimination. The Sixth Circuit also determined that private employers cannot use their religious beliefs to justify discrimination against transgender individuals.
The Sixth Circuit’s decision case in the case
OSHA ALERT: Federal Court Finds That OSHA Has An Unlimited “Look-Back” Period to Search Employer Citation Histories For Issuing Repeat Violations
Thanks to a recent federal appellate court decision, OSHA now has even more leeway to issue costly repeat citations to employers. As many employers know, there are different classifications for civil violations of OSHA regulations, including other-than-serious, serious, repeat, and willful. Penalties, both monetary and non-monetary, increase with higher classification levels. OSHA recently increased the
NLRB Reverts Back to Broad Joint Employer Test
On Monday, the NLRB unanimously vacated its December 2017 Hy-Brand Industrial Contractors decision, marking yet another abrupt reversal in the method for determining whether two employers can be held jointly liable for violations of labor and employment laws committed by either employer. In doing so, the Board effectively reinstated its 2015 Browning-Ferris Industries (“BFI”) decision,
Cole Memo and Other Marijuana-Related Enforcement Guidance Rescinded by the Department of Justice Creating Greater Uncertainty for State-Legal Marijuana Businesses
On January 4, 2018 the Department of Justice rescinded Obama-era guidance to United States Attorneys, including the 2013 memorandum issued by then-Deputy Attorney General James Cole, calling previous guidance “unnecessary” in light of general principles governing federal prosecutorial discretion. Up until this point, the 2013 Cole Memo was widely viewed as the biggest reason
Association Health Plans Get Boost From Labor Department
The Employee Benefits Security Administration of the Department of Labor has just released for public consideration, and published for comment, a significant new interpretation of the term “employer” under ERISA. Under the proposal, small businesses and sole proprietors would have more freedom to band together to provide health coverage for employees in what are
“Ban the Box” Not Always the Safest Policy
On November 21, 2017, the Financial Industry Regulatory Agency (“FINRA”) fined J.P. Morgan Securities, LLC, $1.25 million for HR due diligence failures from 2009 until May of this year. Pursuant to federal securities laws, broker-dealers must fingerprint certain non-registered associated persons to help determine if any of them have been convicted of a disqualifying criminal
Trump’s New NLRB General Counsel Signals Close Scrutiny of Obama-Era Labor Decisions
Fresh off his Senate confirmation two weeks ago, new National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) General Counsel Peter Robb has issued guidance that may portend welcomed changes for employers regarding controversial Obama-era pro-labor decisions.
The guidance comes in the form of a memorandum to the Regional Offices, dated December 1, 2017, in which Mr. Robb introduces
Growing Season is Near
Today, the Ohio Department of Commerce announced the 12 Level I medical marijuana cultivator provisional license recipients (with one recipient having a possibility of choosing from two different locations) and the 12th recipient of the Level II cultivator provisional license.
In awarding the medical marijuana cultivator licenses, the Department appears to have placed a