Author: McKenzie Meade, Attorney, Lehr Middlebrooks Vreeland & Thompson, P.C.

Take Steps to Ensure WARN Act Compliance in the Age of Remote Work

As remote work arrangements proliferate, it’s crucial for employers to remain compliant with legal obligations, including those outlined in federal and state Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) acts. State WARN acts are sometimes called “mini-WARN” laws. Generally, WARN laws require a covered employer to provide substantial notice (60 days for the federal statute) to […]

U.S. Supreme Court to Decide Key Exemption Issue

On June 14, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to decide an important Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) question—namely, whether an employer claiming an exemption from overtime needs to prove it by “clear and convincing” evidence (a very high standard) or by a preponderance of the evidence (a lower, easier standard to meet). The decision is […]

Latest Hiring Trends Show Experience Taking a Back Seat to Potential

For several years now, finding and hiring talent has been top of mind for employers. But the picture is changing. Often, there are still more open jobs than qualified employees to fill them, but at least some studies show a shift in employers’ priorities. With the pandemic largely in the rear view, employers are working […]

Ask the Expert: How Do Employers Navigate FLSA Onboarding Requirements?

Question: What is considered compensable time during the onboarding process under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)—for example, time completing paperwork before the start date as well as time reviewing policies and procedures and completing training? Answer: Employee onboarding involves incorporating new employees into the organization by providing necessary knowledge and skills to succeed. As […]

Finding Your Balance Amid Surge of Pay Transparency Laws

The 2023 and 2024 legislative landscape witnessed a surge in states and cities implementing diverse pay transparency requirements. Despite the progress in recent years in reducing the wage gap, gender pay disparities persist, with current studies indicating that women—particularly women of color—earn only 84 cents for every dollar earned by men. Pay transparency laws aim […]

2024’s Immigration Developments Will Have Impact on Employment

Over the past few years, there have been much higher rates of immigration than had previously been projected. In 2019, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO)—which is tasked with providing independent, nonpartisan analysis of economic and budgetary issues to support the Congressional budget process—estimated that net immigration in 2023 would total one million people. Now that […]

pay transparency

Be Careful You Don’t Inadvertently Violate Other States’ Wage Transparency Laws

Recently, in the first of a series of articles focusing on companies’ online employment recruitment practices, we wrote about a company’s need to consider what states require an employer to include (or prohibit an employer from including) in a job application that is made available online to residents of states other than Massachusetts. Here, we […]

Case Study: Colorado Passes Law to Regulate AI Use in Consequential Decision Making

On May 17, 2024, the Colorado Legislature passed Senate Bill (SB) 24-205 to protect employees and consumers by prohibiting developers of high-risk artificial intelligence (AI) systems from engaging in “algorithmic discrimination” in consequential decision-making. This prohibition also applies to organizations that deploy these high-risk AI systems. Governor Jared Polis signed the bill into law on […]

Ask the Expert: When Does FMLA Allow for Intermittent Parental Leave?

Question: If an employee takes Family Medical and Leave Act (FMLA) leave to bond with his new child, would he be able to take additional bonding time later the same year if he still had FMLA time available? Answer: The FMLA has some restrictions on when an employee can take leave for birth or bonding […]

NLRB in Court: SCOTUS Revises Injunction Standards, Other Standards Under Review

In a ruling widely considered a victory for employers, the Supreme Court ruled 8-1 that the standards for assessing an application by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) for a 10(j) injunction should be the same as used in other civil injunction applications. Although widely anticipated as bringing harmony to an area with numerous “circuit […]