As we reported in our July and November 2016 newsletters, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) previously released regulations which would significantly impact employers’ responsibility to pay overtime wages by requiring employers to pay overtime to employees who earn less than $913 week. The regulations were scheduled to take effect […]

By: Maital Savin, Associate In our July 2016 newsletter, we advised you that Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently published a new rule regarding workplace injury reporting, the first phase of which was originally scheduled to take effect on 8/10/16.  Shortly thereafter, a number of employers and employer groups […]

By: Storrs Downey While it is not the only factor a court looks at, where an employer has a written history of ongoing disciplinary reports on an employee, this can be quite helpful in potentially defeating a claim of discrimination. In  Simpson v. Franciscan Alliance, Inc., 2016 WL 3536669 (7th […]

By: Storrs Downey & Maital Savin With an increasing number of misclassification suits filed against high profile companies such as Uber and FedEx, many businesses are concerned that they will be the next to make headlines. Every business that uses independent contractors has potential exposure for worker misclassification litigation. Worker […]

By: Jim McConkey, Of Counsel A recent study conducted by the Center for WorkLife Law at the University of California Hastings College of the Law provides eye-opening statistics of which employers in all industries should be aware. The study, “Caregivers in the Workplace: Family Responsibilities Discrimination Litigation Update 2016,” details […]

By: Maital Savin, Associate Last month, Uber settled two class action lawsuits with its drivers in California and Massachusetts for $100 million, allowing Uber to continue treating those drivers as independent contractors. Of course, the settlement left the million-dollar-question (or more accurately, the billion-dollar-question) of whether its drivers are employees or […]

By: Maital Savin, Associate On 5/26/16, in Lewis v. Epic Systems Corp., 15-cv-02997, the Seventh Circuit held that class action waivers in arbitration agreements are unenforceable, creating a circuit split. In Lewis v. Epic, the arbitration agreement at issue provided that employees waived “the right to participate in or receive […]

By: Storrs Downey, Capital Member Keeping employment issues out of courts and administrative agencies is certainly something employers should strive for. The following are effective ways to reduce litigation and minimize exposure once a suit or claim has been filed. 1/Early Intervention Once you learn of an employee complaint of […]

By: Maital Savin, Associate On 1/20/16, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued guidance on joint employment under the Fair Labor Standard Act (FLSA) and the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (MSPA). This new guidance aggressively expanded the definition of employment to include arrangements that employers may not […]

By: Storrs Downey, Capital Member Two recent jury verdicts involving workers who claimed retaliatory discharge remind us of the costly exposure employers might face when they terminate an employee who was injured at work. In January 2016, a Cook County jury awarded an injured worker $2.6 million, including $2.5 million […]