On September 11, 2015, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) issued a final rule that prevents government contractors from having pay secrecy or confidentiality policies. Specifically, the rule prohibits discharging or otherwise discriminating against an employee or applicant because the employee or applicant inquired about, discussed, or disclosed the compensation of the employee or any other employee. But the rule allows contractors to require human resources personnel (who have access to employee compensation information as part of their job responsibilities) to keep such compensation information confidential.
Sexual orientation discrimination goes to Supreme Court second time
Update on Bostock and Zarda: On April 22, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court granted writs of certiorari for both of these cases. That means that the Supreme Court will give both cases a “full” appeal. We anticipate the court will issue a decision later th
New Overtime Rule 2.0 (2019)
On March 7, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced a proposed rule that would make more than a million American workers potentially eligible for overtime. This eligibility would come about by changing the threshold for salaries that trigg
Alabama law about firearms in the workplace
A business recently asked us about the Alabama firearms-in-the-workplace law, found at § 13A-11-90 of the Code of Alabama 1975. Concern about firearms in the workplace is certainly rational because of recent shootings at workplaces, as well as at pla
No size requirement for local governments to be sued for age discrimination
Today, the United States Supreme Court issued a ruling in Mount Lemmon Fire District v. Guido, a case we have been tracking over the last year. The ruling expands the scope of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) to allow claims against lo
OFCCP has changed its approach to compensation discrimination
On August 24, 2018, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) changed its approach to investigating compensation discrimination. The OFCCP issued Directive 2018-05 entitled “Analysis of Contractor Compensation Practices During a Comp
Oct
12
Oct
05
Just in case you don’t think the U.S. Department of Labor is serious about going after misclassification of workers:
Sep
01
In an effort to attract and retain valuable employees, several large national companies are implementing updated leave policies to provide paid time off for employees who welcome a new child. The most recent news comes from Netflix, which announced its new policy of allowing full-time salaried employees in Netflix’s streaming division unlimited paid leave for a year following the birth or adoption of a child. Netflix’s announcement last month comes on the heels of several other companies who are providing paid time off to new parents.
Aug
27
On July 6, 2015, the Federal Register published extremely significant proposed changes to the rules governing overtime under the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). This is the first step in the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) changing the rules and is primarily directed toward decreasing the number of executive, administrative, and professional (EAP) employees who are exempt from the requirement that employers pay them time-and-a-half (1.5 times) their hourly rate for any time worked over 40 hours during a 7-day period. Put another way, this proposed change is likely to increase the number of people who get paid overtime by raising the threshold “salary basis” for those in traditionally white-collar positions.
Jul
27
In a recent decision about an appeal from the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) left no question it views sexual orientation discrimination as falling within the protections of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The EEOC stated its intent to treat all sexual orientation discrimination as sex discrimination, actionable under Title VII.