Practically Dealing With The December 1st Overtime Regulations—Five Months Out After much angst, the Department of Labor’s newest and most onerous overtime regulations become effective December 1st, right in time for the holidays. Goody! As of that date, if employers are not ready, haven’t revised pay procedures, and put in new accounting processes, well, “TB”—and some might add another letter in there. The “too bad” means that the DOL can, at 12:00 a.m. on 12/01/2016,…
Christmas in July: Avoiding the Grinch
Why the Ninth Circuit’s “Password Sharing” Decision is Relevant for All Employers
Last week, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals handed down an important decision for employers under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) in U.S. v. Nosal. While Nosal was a criminal case initiated by the U.S. government against a former private-sector employee, the 2-1 decision may be applied in the civil context due to the CFAA’s joint civil-criminal application. The case centered around the activities of Nosal and other former employees of Korn/Ferry International,…
A SLIPPERY AREA FOR EMPLOYERS: “SHOES FOR CREWS”
Mike Logan and Alexandra Easley discuss recent cases concerning the popular “Shoes for Crews” program utilized by many restaurants. These new cases could have major implications on the use of this program by hospitality companies. Read the article here.
TEXAS SUPREME COURT PROVIDES GUIDANCE ON HOW BEST TO PROTECT TRADE SECRETS DURING AN INJUNCTION PROCEEDING
On May 20, 2016, the Texas Supreme Court issued an opinion providing guidance on how courts should handle injunction actions involving claims related to theft of trade secrets. The case involves two competitors that provide solid-control equipment and services to the oil and gas industry, M-I L.L.C. d/b/a M-I Swaco (“M-I”) and National Oilwell Varco, L.P. (“NOV”). NOV hired, Jeff Russo (“Russo”), a former M-I employee. M-I claims that Russo entered into a non-compete agreement…
Potential relief for Employers being sued under federal statutes after U.S. Supreme Court ruling on consumer class actions.
The Supreme Court of the United States’ May 18, 2016 ruling in Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins has potentially far-reaching impacts on lawsuits brought under federal statutes—in this case, the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”)—that may curtail creative plaintiffs from “no-harm” class actions. This is a potentially significant victory for employers seeking to limit their exposure to massive class action lawsuits brought by employees under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”) and other federal statutes…
DOL Publishes Final Overtime Rule
After proposing its Final Rule on July 6, 2015 and receiving over 270,000 comments, the Department of Labor has published the Final Rule implementing significant changes to overtime regulations. The changes will go into effect December 1, 2016. Here is a summary of the significant changes: Under the executive, administrative, and professional exemptions, the salary that must be paid to the employee was increased from $23,660/yr. to $47,476/yr. (which the DOL says is the 40th percentile…
The Power of Arbitration Agreements and Class Action Waivers
The most significant exposure an employer faces in employment litigation is a class action lawsuit. Whether it is a class asserting claims for discrimination, harassment, or overtime, the potential damages can quickly escalate when there are multiple employees all asserting the same claim. Matters only get worse when those claims are decided by juries, which will generally be predisposed to side with the employee. One of the best ways an employer can combat this exposure…
Dewan – Game-changing Overtime Case for Energy Industry
AJ Johnson discusses the Dewan decision in her post on the Energy Law Today blog.aj
Can a Blind Person Read Your Website?
If not, you may have a problem. Many retailers, restaurants, and other places of public accommodation are familiar with their obligations to provide disabled patrons equal access to their brick-and-mortar places of business. A lesser known fact is that “places of business” can also include websites as well, and that equal access to those websites must also be provided. This misunderstanding is underscored by the fact that lawsuits filed alleging website violations of Title III of the…
THE EEOC ANNOUNCES NEW PAY DATA PROPOSAL AND CREATES MORE BURDENS FOR EMPLOYERS
On January 29, 2016, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) announced proposed, controversial changes to the pay data currently required to be submitted by large employers (defined as employers with more than 100 employees) and federal contractors. Large employers are currently required to complete annual Employer Information Reports (“EEO-1”) identifying employees’ race, ethnicity and gender within various job categories. The proposed new rule would also require employers to disclose pay ranges and hours worked by…