Tag: Employment law

The FLSA Exemption Question Everyone Is Asking About This Is Us

Warning: Contains This Is Us spoilers. The Pearson couple, Beth and Randall, from This Is Us is one of my top two favorite married TV couples (the other being Tami and Eric Taylor from Friday Night Lights). The Pearsons are relatable to me—Randall’s character specifically—for several reasons: Like the Pearsons, the Reeds are an African-American […]

payment

There’s Nothing Regular About Calculating an Employee’s ‘Regular Rate of Pay’

In October 2018, the Trump administration unveiled its Fall 2018 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions. The agenda emphasizes regulatory restraint and underscores the administration’s commitment to a more business-friendly regulatory framework, noting that “in general, the [U.S. Department of Labor (DOL)] will work to assist employees and employers to meet their needs in […]

Wait, I Can’t Do That? Top 5 Obscure Legal Protections for Employers

Many states, like Massachusetts, are “at-will” states, which means employers are free to terminate employees for any reason or no reason, with or without cause or advance notice. But there’s a critical exception to the employment-at-will rule: an employee may not be terminated for any reason that’s forbidden by law.

Equal Pay: 4 Steps to Define Comparable Work in Your Company

If Massachusetts’ new Equal Pay Act legislation is any indication, sweeping changes are coming, and the crux of forthcoming reforms will be determining comparable work and fair compensation. Companies can get a jump on this by defining and examining comparable work within their own organization to mitigate pay gaps and establish a fair work environment.

Firing Drummer Was a Protected Act of Free Expression

We are often asked whether being an “at-will” employer means a company can terminate somebody for a discriminatory reason—for example, because she is a woman or a person of color. The answer is no. The at-will-employment doctrine does not protect employers from the consequences of discriminatory job actions. But the 2nd District Court of Appeal […]

U.S. Women’s Soccer Team Proceeds with Equal Pay Fight

On March 8, 2019, all 28 players on the women’s national team initiated a proposed class and collective action in federal court against the U.S. Soccer Federation. Their action alleged discrimination based on sex in violation of the Equal Pay Act (EPA) and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended (Title […]

H-1B Season Is Upon Us

It’s that time of year again when employers that want to hire recent college graduates and other professionals prepare to file H-1B visa petitions. Because U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will accept petitions up to six months before the employee’s start date, and the first possible start date is the first day of the […]

FLSA

Proposed OT Rule Calls for Fresh Look at Worker Classification

Now that the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has proposed a new rule affecting overtime eligibility—a rule that is more likely to be implemented than the department’s previous attempt—it’s time for employers to begin studying how they classify their employees so they’ll know whether pay raises or classification changes will be in order when a […]