1. This Employment Law This Week® Monthly Rundown discusses the most important developments for employers heading into June 2019. The episode includes:

    1. Worker Classification in the Gig Economy

    There is a bit more clarity about the gig-economy workforce, thanks to state and federal regulators. The Texas Workforce Commission last month adopted a broad administrative rule under which most gig-economy workers in Texas will be independent contractors. Meanwhile, on the federal level, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “Board”) General Counsel’s office released an advice memo finding that drivers for a ride-share company are independent contractors and not employees. And the Department of Labor separately issued an opinion letter on the classification of certain gig workers under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The letter said workers providing services to customers referred to them through an unidentified virtual marketplace were properly classified as independent contractors.

    Learn more here: ebglaw.com/eltw141-mm

    2. NLRB Announces Rulemaking Agenda

    Looking ahead, the NLRB has announced its new rulemaking priorities. In addition to indicating that it intends to move forward with its proposed joint-employer rule, the Board plans to engage in rulemaking to revise the Obama-era expedited election and representation-case procedures and its standards concerning employee access to an employer’s private property for organizing and other union activity, among other priorities. According to Board Chairman John Ring, “The Agenda reflects the Board majority’s strong interest in continued rulemaking.” Stay tuned.

    Learn more here: ebglaw.com/eltw141-mm2

    3. National Backlash Builds Against Non-Compete Agreements

    Despite an easing of pressure at the federal level, the national backlash against non-compete agreements continues to build momentum. Several states have passed legislation restricting these agreements, which temporarily prohibit departing employees from taking jobs with competitors. That new legislation, along with pending legislation and the judicial climate, has led employers to explore alternatives.

    “Employers are very aware of the hostile environment towards non-competes, so what they’ve been doing is exploring alternatives, such as garden leave agreements, paid non-compete periods, and moving towards non-solicitation agreements.” – Peter Steinmeyer, Member of the Firm, Epstein Becker Green

    4. Tip of the Week

    Anthony Campanelli, of Deloitte Financial Advisory Services, shares some tips for assessing compliance with New Jersey’s Equal Pay Act.

    “New Jersey’s Equal Pay Act has been in effect for nearly a year, and, in this past year, we’ve seen an uptick in litigation of companies potentially violating this new law. I’m going to share with you five tips for conducting a proactive self-assessment. The first tip: you want to put together the right team. And this is a team of not just human resource professionals but also your legal labor employment attorneys, your forensic analytics specialists, and, of course, the business. The second tip: you want to execute a risk assessment. You want to understand the policies and procedures that your company has in place. You also want to think about what locations, segments, and roles may be prone to potential risk. The third tip: you need to obtain the data for the analysis. And this includes both the quantitative data, as well as the qualitative data. Fourth: you want to utilize forensic analytic specialists—specialists that are able to interrogate the data to identify outliers. And finally, the fifth tip: you need to investigate those results. You need to understand those employees that could be above or below the median.” – Anthony Campanelli, Deloitte Financial Advisory Services LLP

    As Anthony mentioned, an important aspect of assessing compliance with equal pay laws is using the right team. Epstein Becker Green’s strategic alliance with Deloitte Legal brings together a multidisciplinary team of business and legal professionals, allowing for global pay equity studies to be conducted under privilege. Learn more at ebglaw.com/workforce.

    Visit EmploymentLawThisWeek.com.

    These materials have been provided for informational purposes only and are not intended and should not be construed to constitute legal advice. The “Tip of the Week” offers one perspective on possible human resource ideas or business practices. It presents the perspective of an individual not affiliated with Epstein Becker Green and should not be considered legal advice. The content of these materials is copyrighted to Epstein Becker & Green, P.C. EMPLOYMENT LAW THIS WEEK® is a registered trademark of Epstein Becker & Green, P.C. ATTORNEY ADVERTISING.

    # vimeo.com/339657307 Uploaded 12 Views 0 Comments
  2. A Trending News interview from Employment Law This Week®, featuring attorney Peter Steinmeyer, Member of the Firm:

    Several states have passed legislation restricting non-compete agreements that temporarily prohibit departing employees from taking jobs with competitors.That legislation, along with the judicial climate, has led employers to explore alternatives, such as non-solicitation agreements.

    We invite you to view Employment Law This Week® – tracking the latest developments that could impact you and your workforce. The series features three components: Trending News, Deep Dives, and Monthly Rundowns.

    Watch the series and subscribe for email notifications: EmploymentLawThisWeek.com.

    These materials have been provided for informational purposes only and are not intended and should not be construed to constitute legal advice. The content of these materials is copyrighted to Epstein Becker & Green, P.C. EMPLOYMENT LAW THIS WEEK® is a registered trademark of Epstein Becker & Green, P.C. ATTORNEY ADVERTISING.

    # vimeo.com/338290494 Uploaded 3 Views 0 Comments
  3. A Trending News interview from Employment Law This Week®, featuring attorney Kevin Vozzo, Member of the Firm:

    The Department of Labor (DOL) recently issued an opinion letter that said workers providing services to customers referred to them through an unidentified virtual marketplace are properly classified as independent contractors under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

    We invite you to view Employment Law This Week® – tracking the latest developments that could impact you and your workforce. The series features three components: Trending News, Deep Dives, and Monthly Rundowns.

    Watch the series and subscribe for email notifications: EmploymentLawThisWeek.com.

    These materials have been provided for informational purposes only and are not intended and should not be construed to constitute legal advice. The content of these materials is copyrighted to Epstein Becker & Green, P.C. EMPLOYMENT LAW THIS WEEK® is a registered trademark of Epstein Becker & Green, P.C. ATTORNEY ADVERTISING.

    # vimeo.com/336677847 Uploaded 3 Views 0 Comments
  4. This Employment Law This Week® Monthly Rundown discusses the most important developments for employers heading into May 2019. The episode includes:

    1. EEOC Pay Data Deadline Set for September 30

    The confusion is over for employers. EEO-1 pay data does not need to be submitted to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) by the end of the month. In what may be the final chapter of the EEO-1 pay data reporting issue, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., ruled that the deadline would be postponed until September 30, 2019.

    “You have the gender and race, ethnicity data that everybody is used to reporting, and then you have all of this new pay data trying to be overlaid over that existing framework. In addition, you have to provide hours worked for each of your employees. So, you have 80,000 employers, tens of millions of employees, and now you have to not only provide them with pay data in the aggregate based on these categories, you also have to do hours worked.” – Robert O'Hara, Member of the Firm, Epstein Becker Green

    The EEOC has decided that employers must file both 2017 and 2018 pay and hours-worked data by September 30, 2019. The agency will begin accepting this new data in mid-July.

    2. Supreme Court Rules Class Arbitration Requires Explicit Authorization

    Heading into May, we have more clarity on class arbitration. The U.S. Supreme Court recently found in Lamps Plus, Inc. v. Varela that an employee could assert only individual, and not class action, claims in arbitration because the arbitration agreement did not explicitly authorize class claims. Reversing a decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, the Supreme Court found that an obligation to engage in class arbitration is not implicit in an arbitration agreement under the Federal Arbitration Act, and that explicit authorization is required to compel a company to arbitrate on a classwide, rather than individual, basis.

    3. Supreme Court to Decide Scope of Title VII for LGBTQ+ Status

    The Supreme Court has agreed to hear three cases in its October 2019 term that address whether the prohibition against sex discrimination in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”) extends to discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. Two courts—the Second and Seventh Circuits—have held that Title VII covers sexual orientation, while the Eleventh Circuit found the opposite. Separately, the Supreme Court will decide whether Title VII prohibits discrimination against transgender people. Oral arguments are set for fall 2019, with decisions expected in 2020.

    4. NYC Set to Become First City to Ban Pre-Employment Marijuana Drug Testing

    With a growing number of jurisdictions legalizing the medical and adult recreational use of marijuana, it’s no surprise to see the emergence of additional employment-related laws. The New York City Council recently passed a bill that would prohibit marijuana drug testing for prospective employees as a condition of employment. The Council passed the bill on April 9, and employers will have to comply beginning one year from the date it becomes law. The law would restrict employer use of tests for marijuana and tetrahydrocannabinol (also known as “THC”). This bill is the first of its kind, and we may see more of the same in jurisdictions across the country. We’ll keep you updated on developments in this area.

    5. House Appropriations Committee Holds Hearing on “Wage Theft”

    The U.S. House Appropriations Committee heard testimony last month in a hearing entitled, “Combatting Wage Theft: The Critical Role of Wage and Hour Enforcement.” Epstein Becker Green’s Paul DeCamp testified at the hearing to provide insight on the concept of “wage theft” and the state of wage and hour enforcement, as well as how these issues affect employers and workers.

    “It is fundamentally unfair to impose criminal or quasi-criminal punishment where an employer was not on clear notice of what the law requires and did not act with criminal intent. In my experience, all but a small percentage fall into this non-willful category. By all means, protect workers and make them whole, but do not treat unintentional FLSA violators like felons.” – Paul DeCamp, Member of the Firm, Epstein Becker Green

    Visit EmploymentLawThisWeek.com.

    These materials have been provided for informational purposes only and are not intended and should not be construed to constitute legal advice. The “Tip of the Week” offers one perspective on possible human resource ideas or business practices. It presents the perspective of an individual not affiliated with Epstein Becker Green and should not be considered legal advice. The content of these materials is copyrighted to Epstein Becker & Green, P.C. EMPLOYMENT LAW THIS WEEK® is a registered trademark of Epstein Becker & Green, P.C. ATTORNEY ADVERTISING.

    # vimeo.com/334071617 Uploaded 11 Views 0 Comments
  5. A trending news interview from Employment Law This Week®, featuring attorney Robert O'Hara of Epstein Becker Green:

    On April 3, 2019, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) proposed moving the deadline for Component 2 pay data reporting from May 31, 2019, to September 30, 2019, in order for the agency to prepare for processing of the new information. Component 1 demographic data is still due by May 31, 2019.

    We invite you to view Employment Law This Week® – tracking the latest developments that could impact you and your workforce. The series features three components: Trending News, Deep Dives, and Monthly Rundowns.

    Watch the series and subscribe for email notifications: EmploymentLawThisWeek.com.

    These materials have been provided for informational purposes only and are not intended and should not be construed to constitute legal advice. The content of these materials is copyrighted to Epstein Becker & Green, P.C. EMPLOYMENT LAW THIS WEEK® is a registered trademark of Epstein Becker & Green, P.C. ATTORNEY ADVERTISING.

    # vimeo.com/329677183 Uploaded 3 Views 0 Comments

Employment Law This Week®

Epstein Becker Green

Employment Law This Week® tracks the top developments in employment and labor law and workforce management in a matter of minutes every #WorkforceWednesday. Presented by law firm Epstein Becker Green. Learn more at http://www.ebglaw.com/employment-law-this-week/

Browse This Channel

Channels are a simple, beautiful way to showcase and watch videos. Browse more Channels.