1. Welcome to Employment Law This Week®! Subscribe to our channel for new episodes every Monday!

    (1) D.C. Policy Update from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce

    Our top story: A progress report on labor and employment policy from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Marc Freedman is the Executive Director of Labor Law Policy for the Chamber. We caught up with him at Epstein Becker Green’s Annual Workforce Management Briefing to find out how things are shaping up at the Department of Labor (DOL), the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) under the new administration:

    (2) DOL Wage and Hour Division Administrator Nominated

    President Trump has nominated Cheryl Stanton as the new Administrator of the DOL’s Wage and Hour Division, a position that has been vacant since the President took office in January. Stanton is currently Executive Director of the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce, and, during her tenure, the Department reportedly paid off a debt of nearly $1 billion to the federal government. Before that, she was an employment lawyer with Ogletree, a position she returned to after serving as Associate White House Counsel under President George W. Bush.

    (3) Ninth Circuit: DOL's 80/20 Rule Does Not Deserve Deference

    The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit found that the DOL is not entitled to deference on a tip-credit policy. The Ninth Circuit ruled on nine consolidated cases in which employees claimed that a tip credit was improperly applied to times during which they performed non-tipped work. The plaintiffs relied on the Wage and Hour Division’s Field Operations Handbook, which interprets a Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) regulation on “dual jobs.” The guidance stated that employees must be paid full minimum wage for non-tipped work if that work exceeds more than 20 percent of their hours in a workweek. Creating a split with the Eighth Circuit, the Ninth Circuit found that the DOL's 80/20 rule is an attempt to “create a de facto new regulation” and does not deserve deference.

    (5) Tip of the Week

    Nausheen Rokerya, Associate General Counsel, Labor & Employment, for Visiting Nurse Service of New York, offers some advice on what to do in light of recent employee arbitration agreement decisions. This includes most recently the Gold decision in New York, which found class action waivers to be unenforceable:

    “New York employers sitting in Manhattan and the Bronx are bound by the Gold decision, and so they should carefully consider the likely impact it will have on litigation strategy of plaintiffs' attorneys. First, plaintiffs' lawyers are unlikely to file FLSA complaints in federal court, where Second Circuit precedent finding class action waivers enforceable is still binding. At the same time, we do expect to see an uptick in state court filings, where plaintiffs' lawyers are likely to seek to nullify class action waivers, making it nearly impossible for employers to then rely on those waivers to defeat class certification. While the Gold decision is current law in Manhattan and the Bronx, the U.S. Supreme Court is actually scheduled to hear oral argument on this very issue on October 2. We do expect the [Supreme] Court's decision to resolve the current split among the federal courts sometime in early 2018.”

    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.

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  2. New pay data collection requirements are put on hold. A division of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has issued an immediate stay on new EEO-1 reporting requirements announced in 2016 under the previous administration. Under the rule, federal contractors and private employers with 100 or more employees would have been required to gather information on employee pay and hours worked by race, ethnicity, and sex, and grouped by occupational category. Susan Gross Sholinsky, from Epstein Becker Green, has more:

    “The revised EEO-1 report is not actually rescinded. However, it will be stayed until the [Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)] submits a new information collection package. It's unlikely, though, that that will happen, because Acting EEOC Chair Victoria Lipnic has actually opposed the revised EEO-1 report from the beginning. And she recently said publicly that she hopes the OMB's decision prompts discussions of more effective ways to encourage employers to review compensation practices in order to ensure equal pay and to close the wage gap. The filing deadline, which used to be September 30th, is now March 31st, and the window for selecting a representative pay period used to be between July 1st and September 30th. It's now between October 1st and December 31st, as had been suggested in the revised EEO-1 report.”

    For more, click here: http://bit.ly/2gONNwE

    This is a "Tip of the Week" segment from Employment Law This Week® (Episode 86: Week of September 12, 2017), an online series by Epstein Becker Green. youtu.be/8S-_h0F-q0w

    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 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.

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  3. Jil Galloway, Senior Vice President and Chief Administration Officer at Mitsubishi International Corporation, provides some advice on shifting your pay incentive structure.

    This is a "Tip of the Week" segment from Employment Law This Week® (Episode 86: Week of September 12, 2017), an online series by Epstein Becker Green. youtu.be/8S-_h0F-q0w

    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.

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  4. Welcome to Employment Law This Week®! Subscribe to our channel for new episodes every Monday!

    (1) OMB Suspends EEOC Pay Data Collection Requirement

    Our top story: New pay data collection requirements are put on hold. A division of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has issued an immediate stay on new EEO-1 reporting requirements announced in 2016 under the previous administration. Under the rule, federal contractors and private employers with 100 or more employees would have been required to gather information on employee pay and hours worked by race, ethnicity, and sex, and grouped by occupational category. Susan Gross Sholinsky, from Epstein Becker Green, has more:

    “The revised EEO-1 report is not actually rescinded. However, it will be stayed until the [Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)] submits a new information collection package. It's unlikely, though, that that will happen, because Acting EEOC Chair Victoria Lipnic has actually opposed the revised EEO-1 report from the beginning. And she recently said publicly that she hopes the OMB's decision prompts discussions of more effective ways to encourage employers to review compensation practices in order to ensure equal pay and to close the wage gap. The filing deadline, which used to be September 30th, is now March 31st, and the window for selecting a representative pay period used to be between July 1st and September 30th. It's now between October 1st and December 31st, as had been suggested in the revised EEO-1 report.”

    For more, click here: http://bit.ly/2gONNwE

    (2) Judge Stays DOL Overtime Rule

    The Department of Labor (DOL) exceeded its authority with its amended overtime rule. That’s the conclusion reached by the same Texas federal judge who stayed the Obama-era rule just before it took effect in 2016. The rule introduced a new minimum salary level for the overtime exemption that was more than double the current minimum. The court found that the rule made overtime status depend predominantly on salary level and was inconsistent with the language of the Fair Labor Standards Act, which refers only to job duties. In the wake of this ruling, the DOL has withdrawn its Fifth Circuit appeal of the judge’s earlier injunction, signaling that the agency intends to abandon the rule. The DOL has published an RFI for new proposed regulations, with the comment period ending September 25.

    For more, click here: http://bit.ly/2wf5pHz

    (3) EEOC Files Suit Over Parental Leave Policies

    The EEOC has filed its first lawsuit alleging sex discrimination in parental leave policies. This the latest indication that the EEOC is scrutinizing parental leave policies where men and women are treated differently. The EEOC filed suit against Estee Lauder, alleging that the beauty products company discriminated against a male employee when he was denied the same amount of paid leave offered to biological mothers following the birth of a child. The company policy provides six weeks of parental leave to primary caregivers, typically mothers, and two weeks to non-primary caregivers, most typically fathers.

    (4) NY Tax Officials Publish Guidance on Paid Family Leave Program

    New York State’s new paid family leave program takes effect in January. Now, state officials have made clear how the benefits will be taxed. Benefit payments will be treated as taxable non-wage income. Withholding will not be automatic, but employees can request that employers withhold taxes from benefit payments. New York’s paid family leave program is the most comprehensive in the country, ultimately providing up to 12 weeks of paid protected leave for bonding with a new child, caring for a close relative, or dealing with pressures surrounding a family member’s call to active duty in the military.

    (5) Tip of the Week

    Jil Galloway, Senior Vice President and Chief Administration Officer at Mitsubishi International Corporation, provides some advice on shifting your pay incentive structure:

    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.

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  5. Vacancies at the Department of Labor (“DOL”) are delaying policy changes under the new administration. Nearly half of the leadership positions at the DOL are still vacant, and Labor Secretary Acosta was not confirmed until late April. Neither the Wage Hour Division nor OSHA has a permanent Administrator. The DOL has taken some action, like rescinding guidance on misclassification of employees as independent contractors, but little progress has been made toward new overtime regulations or expanded use of the E-Verify system. Paul DeCamp is a former Administrator of the DOL’s Wage and Hour Division and current Member of the Firm at Epstein Becker Green. Here, he provides some context on the delays.

    This is an extended interview from Employment Law This Week® (Episode 85: Week of August 28th, 2017), an online series by Epstein Becker Green. youtube.com/watch?v=G6nqKtUkMgg

    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 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.

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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/

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