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Agency Activity

Two Important Wage-Related Updates

By on March 8, 2019 in Agency Activity, Legal Developments, Legislative Developments, Wage & Hour

This has been an action-packed week on the wage and hour frontier.  Two important decisions at the federal level are expected to significantly impact most employers going forward. Revised Overtime Rule First, on Thursday evening, the Department of Labor (DOL) announced its long-awaited proposed rule to update the salary exemption threshold under the Fair Labor […]

Department of Labor Rescinds 80/20 Tip Rule

By on December 7, 2018 in Agency Activity, Wage & Hour

Employers in the restaurant industry are probably familiar with the tip credit, which, in general terms, allows an employer to claim a “credit” between what it pays tipped employees and the minimum wage.  The tips that such employees earn, and form the basis for the “credit,” are thought to make up for this gap. However, […]

NLRB Union Protests Board Chair and GC

By on November 12, 2018 in Agency Activity, NLRB, Union Activity

The National Labor Relations Board, we are told, is supposed to be the neutral government agency that addresses workplace issues between unions and employers.   And I saw a pink unicorn on the way to work this morning.   It is not unusual to hear employers sometimes suggest they are skeptical of the Board’s supposed “neutral” stance.  […]

NLRB’s Office of General Counsel Issues More Advice Memoranda

By on October 11, 2018 in Agency Activity, Labor Law

On September 14, 2018, the NLRB’s Office of General Counsel (OGC) issued a handful of advice memos, several of which are summarized here: The misclassification of employees as independent contractors violates the NLRA because misclassification has and will operate as a restraint on, and interference with, the individuals’ exercise of their Section 7 rights.   Telemundo […]

SSA To Resume Sending “No-Match” Letters

By on September 20, 2018 in Agency Activity, Immigration

Beginning in 2019, the Social Security Administration (SSA) will resume sending “no-match” letters to employers when information submitted on tax forms does not match SSA records. Typically, the name and social security number reported by a worker on Form W-4 does not match the information in SSA databases.  The practice was ended by the Obama administration […]

OSHA Signals The End Of The New Electronic Reporting Requirements

By on August 22, 2018 in Agency Activity, Workplace Safety

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to rescind the majority of its contentious electronic reporting requirements. You may recall, back in May 2016, OSHA issued a final rule requiring employers with 250 or more employees to submit electronically Forms 300 (Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses), 300A (Summary […]

NLRB Seeks Input on Non-Work Related Use of Company Email Systems

By on August 8, 2018 in Agency Activity, Labor Law

As some readers may be aware, last year, the National Labor Relations Board (the Board) reversed several Obama-era precedent setting cases bearing standards generally considered favorable to employees.  This included The Boeing Company, 365 NLRB No. 154 (2017) (overruling the Lutheran Heritage standard); PCC Structurals, Inc., 365 NLRB No. 160 (2017) (overruling the Specialty Healthcare […]

NLRB: Solo Strike May Be Protected Activity

By on July 6, 2018 in Agency Activity, Labor Law

The National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) Division of Advice recently published an advice memorandum clarifying that the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) can protect employees who engage in a solo strike. The memorandum centered on a former employee who was terminated from a Papa John’s restaurant in South Carolina after taking part in an August […]