Preparing for the DOL's Final Rule on FSLA's 'White-Collar' Exemptions
The salary level proposed in the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) published in the Federal Register in July 2015 would more than double the current salary level for "white-collar" employees to be exempt from the FLSA's overtime requirements. Such an increase in the salary level would have wide-reaching implications for employers and employees alike.
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Employers, Watch Out
Since the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2010, employers have grappled with the law's web of rules and requirements. However, many employers are not as familiar with the Act's whistleblower protections ' an additional source of risk for the unwary.
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Case Notes
U.S. Judge Tosses Qui Tam Action Against Lockheed Martin A federal judge has dismissed a qui tam case in which would-be whistleblowers raised allegations that aerospace giant Lockheed Martin billed the government for cost overruns and failed to disclose shoddy work. U.S. District Judge Kim R. Gibson of the Western District of Pennsylvania gave one of the two relators leave to file an amended complaint, leaving the door open for further action in the case. …
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Problems with the New Test for Joint-Employer Status
This past summer, the NLRB reversed over 30 years of precedent and adopted a new, more expansive and ambiguous standard for determining joint employer status. The new standard promises to entangle businesses with only tenuous links to another employer's workforce in a morass of collective-bargaining obligations and unfair labor practice liability for workforces over which they exercise no actual control.
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Mobile Mayhem: Smartphones and Security (Or the Lack Thereof)
BYOD implementation can come in a wide variety of different formulations, but it essentially means that employees are choosing their own hardware and, to one degree or another, mixing personal and business use on a device. This means personal devices with no control from employers other than perhaps some unmonitored, unenforced, and mostly unread policy guidance.
Wage and Hour Red Flags
Last month, we discussed the fact that many California employers, despite their best intentions, are frequently hit with costly wage and hour claims and lawsuits by their employees, as well as the Labor Commissioner's own enforcement agency. We conclude herein with points 9 through 16.
Protecting Your Company's Data from Security Breaches
This article explores some steps counsel can take to protect their organizations from a data breach, and how counsel can proactively help to mitigate any adverse impact in the unfortunate event a data breach occurs.
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<b><i>Online Extra:</b></i> Florida: Uber Drivers Are Contractors, Not Employees
Uber drivers in Florida will be considered independent contractors rather than employees, the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity determined on Dec. 3 in a victory for the app-based ridesharing company.
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Wage and Hour Red Flags
Many California employers are hit with costly wage and hour claims and lawsuits by their employees, as well as the Labor Commissioner's own enforcement agency. Some of these claims are legitimate, some are not, but employers must defend against all such claims, often incurring hefty attorneys' fees in the process.
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Employee-Related Litigation
Business bankruptcy filings are down significantly from their high point during the Great Recession. What appears to have replaced foreclosures and institutional debt issues as the straw that breaks the camel's back is litigation. In many cases seen locally (in the Central District of California), the nature of litigation that pushes a company over the line comes in the form of employee-related causes of action.
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