By Kelline R. Linton, Associate. The Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued guidance today that clarified the independent contractor versus employee issue. The 15-page memorandum advised that most workers qualify as employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act’s (“FLSA”) expansive definition of employment, which defines employment as “to suffer or […]
Labor & Employment
52 posts
By Linda H. Evans, Senior Associate. It was announced last week that the Obama administration plans to raise the wage requirement used by companies that exempts millions of executive, administrative, and professional workers from overtime and minimum wage. This “white collar” exemption currently applies to those workers who earn […]
By Linda H. Evans, Senior Associate. Six staffing agencies have been investigated and are working on an agreement with the Department of Labor (“DOL”) to pay $3.5 million in back wages to about 3,000 workers. The workers were employed to work on projects in the Gulf coast area and […]
By Kelline R. Linton, Associate. Texas businesses reporting employee crime are protected from defamation suits The Texas Supreme Court recently issued a long-anticipated opinion that protects companies forced to report their employees to authorities for criminal activities. In Shell Oil Co. v. Writt, the Court held that an […]
By Kelline R. Linton, Associate. Both the NLRB and OSHA recently published guidelines for employer policies that tackle two hot topics in the workplace. Social Media Policy Since 2011, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) has focused on the propriety of employer policies that address employees’ use […]
By Linda H. Evans, Senior Associate. Last summer, the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC), in conjunction with the Federal Unemployment Tax Act, adopted a new rule that it quietly put into place without most of us noticing. Like many states, Texas normally will correct an employer’s unemployment account if the […]
By Kelline R. Linton, Associate. EEOC’s Duty to Conciliate Last week, a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court held that courts have the authority to review whether the EEOC satisfies its pre-suit obligation to attempt conciliation. (Mach Mining, LLC v. EEOC, No. 13-1019 (April 29, 2015)). Under federal law, the […]
By Linda H. Evans, Senior Associate. Earlier this week, Home Depot agreed to pay at least $1.8 million to resolve a putative class action lawsuit which accused the store of violating the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) by using flawed job application background check forms. This is not the […]
By Linda H. Evans, Senior Associate. A Houston-based global technology and engineering firm has to pay a $130,000 fine to the SEC for an alleged violation of whistleblower protection rules. The problem stemmed from the restrictive language which was part of the confidentiality agreement that employees were required to […]
By Linda H. Evans, Senior Associate. Earlier this week, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that vague provisions in union contracts should not automatically be interpreted to favor workers. A chemical plant in W. Virginia had a contract with the steelworkers from the 1990’s which provided lifetime health care benefits […]