Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Equality Act, a bill that would amend federal law (including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964) to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.
On May 6, 2019, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York denied summary judgment on a Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) retaliatory transfer claim. The court found that the employer’s explanation for eliminating the plaintiff’s position while she was on leave, the timing of the decision, and remarks made during the plaintiff’s FMLA absence raised a triable issue of fact as to whether the plaintiff’s transfer was in retaliation for her exercise of FMLA rights.
In two recent companion cases, Andryeyeva v. New York Health Care, Inc. and Moreno v. Future Care Health Services, Inc., the New York Court of Appeals upheld the New York State Department of Labor’s (NYSDOL) 13-hour rule for the payment of home health aides working 24-hour shifts. Under this rule, an employer may pay home health aides for only 13 hours of a 24-hour shift if the aides receive at least 3 hours of meal break time and at least 8 hours of sleep (at least 5 of which must be uninterrupted).
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has agreed to stay the termination of temporary protected status (TPS) for Honduras and Nepal pending the outcome of Ramos v. Nielsen. In addition to the stay, DHS has also agreed to extend the validity of employment authorization documents for TPS beneficiaries from Nepal through March 24, 2020.
On May 17, 2019, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that 880 individual cases of measles had been confirmed in 23 states across the country in 2019. According to the CDC, the current outbreak of measles represents the greatest number of cases reported in the United States since 1994 and since the disease was declared eliminated in 2000.
On May 8, 2019, Washington State Governor Jay Inslee signed new restrictions on noncompetition covenants for Washington employees. The new restrictions are effective January 1, 2020.
On May 16, 2019, President Donald Trump outlined, in broad strokes, his new immigration plan. The proposal delineates two primary goals: securing the U.S. border and protecting American workers. Most notably, the plan includes the introduction of a new “Build America” visa that would replace existing green card preference categories and limit family-based immigration in favor of a merit-based points system.
The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) and EU supervisory authorities have reported that they have received a large number of complaints during the first six months following the effective date of the GDPR. For example, the EDPB reported that it had received more than 42,000 complaints since May 25, 2018. The French Supervisory Authority (CNIL) reported a 20 percent increase in complaints filed during the first six months the GDPR was effective compared to the same period in 2017. Similarly, the Irish Supervisory Authority reported a 50 percent increase in data breach reports and a 65 percent increase in data protection complaints over the same period. The Irish Data Protection Commissioner also stated that several investigations of multijurisdictional complaints against large companies are being completed and that she expects major GDPR fines to be issued in 2019.
After a tumultuous filing period for the second half of fiscal year (FY) 2019, employers that rely on H-2B seasonal workers received some good news. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has agreed to issue up to 30,000 additional H-2B visas for the second half of FY 2019, which runs through September 30, 2019.
On May 9, 2019, Washington State governor Jay Inslee signed House Bill 1696, “an act relating to wage and salary information.” The new law is similar to legislation being promulgated throughout the country, including by Washington’s neighbor to the south, Oregon. This law will become effective on July 28, 2019.
As we previously reported, the New York City Council recently passed a bill to prohibit most pre-employment screening for marijuana by public and private employers.
As the 2019 regular session of the Minnesota Legislature draws to a close, lawmakers in St. Paul are deadlocked on the budget bill. As a result, many of the bills we reported on in our previous articles are stalled in committee or unlikely to see final action this year. The legislature must end its regular session on Monday, May 20, 2019, and it’s unclear whether there will be a special session.
The Beltway Buzz is a weekly update summarizing labor and employment news from inside the Beltway and clarifying how what’s happening in Washington, D.C. could impact your business.
Employers frequently wonder when to pay bonuses to employees on leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Do employees who do not meet certain goals due to leave qualify for such bonuses?
The Florida Legislature concluded its annual legislative session on Saturday, May 4, 2019. Over 20 employment-related bills were introduced, covering subjects such as E-Verify, criminal background screening, discrimination and harassment, sexual misconduct reporting in health care, local regulation of employment conditions, minimum wage, vaping, paid leave, internship tax credits, restraints of trade or commerce (noncompete agreements), drug-free workplaces, and unemployment compensation claims. Although only two of these bills survived, many of the bills that did not pass could resurface and impact employers in the near future.
Scott A. Mugno, President Trump’s nominee to be Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, withdrew his name from consideration in a letter submitted on May 14, 2019, to the White House and to Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta.
The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina has issued a nationwide preliminary injunction halting the enforcement of the Trump administration’s August 2018 policy memorandum that changed when “unlawful presence” accrues for foreign students and exchange visitors.
In Gaylor v. Mnuchin, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that a tax code exemption for religious housing of ministers does not violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The decision has a direct impact on religious employers and their ministerial employees as well as a potential impact on secular employers that provide housing allowances for their employees.
After a seven-year hiatus, the Social Security Administration (SSA) has resumed the practice of sending no-match letters (officially called Employer Correction Request notices). These letters notify employers when the SSA has found a discrepancy between SSA records and the information provided on the employer’s W-2 form.
Here is the latest information on the Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave Act (PFML) requirements since our last report on April 17, 2019. As the date for issuing final regulations and starting employer contributions draws near, the Department of Family and Medical Leave (DFML) continues to publish updates.
President Donald Trump has nominated Mark Morgan to serve as the new director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Morgan spent 20 years in the Federal Bureau of Investigation before being appointed chief of U.S. Customs and Border Protection during the final months of the Obama administration.
Maine is one step closer to requiring that private employers with 10 or more employees provide “earned paid leave” that employees can take for any reason.
On May 8, 2019, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) issued a unanimous opinion holding that salespeople who are paid solely on draws and commissions are entitled to separate and additional overtime and Sunday pay under Massachusetts law. The decision has far-reaching implications for most retailers, which have long relied on opinion letters from the Massachusetts Department of Labor Standards (DLS) suggesting that commissioned employees are not entitled to such additional compensation.
The Beltway Buzz is a weekly update summarizing labor and employment news from inside the Beltway and clarifying how what’s happening in Washington, D.C. could impact your business.
On May 8, 2019, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) went live with a new Compliance Checks webpage. Similar to the recent Section 503 focused reviews landing page, the Compliance Checks webpage offers federal contractors a variety of resources that will assist in preparing for and responding to a compliance check review.
The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, applying de novo review due to California’s discretionary clause ban, ruled that an employee of Apple, Inc. was not entitled to long-term disability benefits because he did not satisfy the burden of proving that he was disabled.
The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) held its quarterly stakeholder call on May 2, 2019. MSHA began the discussion by reviewing the five fatalities that occurred in the first quarter of 2019. The agency then discussed best practices to prevent injuries in the event of a mobile equipment fire and reviewed upcoming training opportunities.
After only five months in office, President López Obrador—who won by a landslide during the last presidential election and whose political party holds the majority of Congress—amended the Mexican Federal Labor Law and other applicable laws on May 1, 2019.
A divided Oklahoma Supreme Court recently invalidated the $350,000 noneconomic damages cap on pain and suffering in personal injury lawsuits.
In the latest chapter of the Minneapolis Sick and Safe time ordinance saga, the Minnesota Court of Appeals has ended an injunction issued by a lower court that limited the ordinance to employers located within the city of Minneapolis.
