Robert Turk

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Change To Salary Test For Exempt Employees:  Everything We Know Is Now Wrong!

Ver la versión en español aquí. As we all know, earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Labor instituted a final rule revising the salary test for executive, administrative and professional employee exemptions from overtime. The rule took effect in two steps.  The first step took effect on July 1, 2024 when the salary threshold for … Continue Reading

How Managers Can Curb Invisible Off-The-Clock Work Claims

Ver la versión en español aquí. We published a shorter version on this topic in a previous blog post. You can also find this article published on Law360.com. In the last few months, there has been a rash of federal court lawsuits across the country in which nonexempt employees have alleged that their employers have … Continue Reading

Must an employee making more than $200k still be paid overtime? Definitely, maybe.

Ver la versión en español aquí. It is hard to imagine an employee earning over $200,000 per year and still being eligible for overtime pay. Yet, this is exactly what the U.S. Supreme Court held when it decided Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. v. Hewitt, last week. Michael Hewitt worked for Helix Energy (and a … Continue Reading

The Overwhelmed Employee and the Clueless Employer–A Tale of the Hidden Costs of Off-the-Clock Work

Ver la versión en español aquí. In the last few months, a number of employers have reported being flabbergasted to discover non-exempt employees working very early mornings, late nights or weekends “off the clock” (after working 40 hours on-the-clock).  Apparently, no one in management asked or knew that off-the-clock work had occurred.  How does this … Continue Reading

Bet You Didn’t Know What I Learned This Month!

Ver la versión en español aquí. You learn something new every day in the field of employment law. As we close out January 2023, here are five interesting things that I’ve learned this month in no particular order: 1) THE EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION (“EEOC”) IS ON FIREOver the years, there have been a number … Continue Reading

I Took a Short Vacation and All I Got Was Changes to Federal Employment Laws

Ver la versión en español aquí. Earlier this week, I returned from a short vacation to find the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) took action against three companies requiring them to invalidate their noncompete agreements with employees. Then yesterday, the FTC rolled out a proposed rule which, if enacted, would turn many state laws on the … Continue Reading

REGISTER NOW! Annual Labor & Employment Law Seminars

Ver la versión en español aquí. After a two-year hiatus, we are thrilled to be back in person! This year’s theme is “When Really Bad Things Happen to Really Good Employers…” Our annual seminars draw hundreds of human resource professionals, in-house counsel and senior executives from Florida’s top businesses. And for good reason! No one … Continue Reading

Wake Up: What Every Florida Employer Needs to Know About the “Stop WOKE Act”

Ver la versión en español aquí. We also discussed this in our Labor & Employment client alert here. On March 10, 2022, the Florida legislature passed House Bill 7 (“HB 7”), the Stop the Wrongs to Our Kids and Employees (W.O.K.E.) Act, officially named “Individual Freedom,” but also known as the “Stop WOKE Act.”  The bill … Continue Reading

And the OSHA Vax or Test Rule is Off (Again)

Today, the U.S. Supreme Court put the brakes on OSHA’s mandatory vaccination and testing rules for private employers with at least 100 employees.  The Court ruled that OSHA exceeded its authority when issuing its Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) requiring either mandatory vaccination or weekly testing and face masks. The Court noted that OSHA is charged … Continue Reading

SURPRISE, SURPRISE, SURPRISE! OSHA’s Vaccinate or Test Rule is Back (at least for now).

On Friday night, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals gave OSHA’s Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) on COVID vaccination new life.  As you may remember, OSHA issued an ETS requiring employers with 100 or more employees to adopt a vaccination policy that either made vaccination mandatory, or gave employees a choice between vaccination or weekly testing.  … Continue Reading

OSHA’s COVID Vaccination Rules – What You Need To Know

Ver la versión en español aquí. We also discussed this in our Labor & Employment client alert here. After much anticipation, OSHA finally issued its rule for mandatory COVID-19 vaccination and testing for certain employers. It is referred to as an emergency temporary standard (“ETS”). While the ETS will be challenged in the courts, employers must still prepare now … Continue Reading

Top Takeaways from “Breaking Through the Noise: Labor & Employment Issues Post-Pandemic”

Thank you to our clients and friends who have watched ”Breaking Through the Noise: Labor & Employment Issues Post-Pandemic” so far! We hope you enjoyed it and were provided with timely, relevant and valuable insight. If you have not tuned in yet, the program is available on demand to watch at your leisure. CLICK HERE TO WATCH! Below … Continue Reading

Ready to watch? Breaking Through The Noise AVAILABLE NOW!

IT’S SHOW TIME!   Breaking Through the Noise, our much anticipated 2.5 hour “TV News” program addressing employment issues that you will need to know about in a post-pandemic business environment, is available NOW. CLICK TO WATCH! Block off some time on your calendar now through Sunday, June 20th at 11:59pm ET to enjoy the program!  … Continue Reading

SAVE THE DATES – Breaking Through The Noise: Labor & Employment Issues Post-Pandemic

LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION!   We are excited to announce the air date for Breaking through the Noise, our much anticipated 2.5 hour “TV News” program addressing employment issues that you will need to know about in a post-pandemic business environment. The program will be available to view on our website at your leisure from Wednesday, June … Continue Reading

Coming Soon in June to a Screen Near You!

For the last 30 years, we have put on a live, all-day conference attended by hundreds of our clients and friends across Florida.  Unfortunately, due to COVID, the seminar was cancelled again this year.  As we know almost everyone is Zoom-ed and webinar-ed out, we thought we’d do something different this year – a two-hour … Continue Reading

Some Things in Life are Free: EEOC’s Miami ADR Mediation Unit Upcoming Zoom Presentation

Accompanying most U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charges of employment discrimination is an inquiry from the EEOC’s Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) unit regarding whether an employer would like an opportunity through mediation to resolve the charge with its former or current employee. If both the employer and employee agree, the EEOC ADR unit will … Continue Reading

The 2021 Florida Legislative Session – The Graveyard for Employment-Related Proposals?

Ver la versión en español aquí Each year Florida legislators meet for just 60 days to propose and pass new laws. The Legislature is now in session through the end of April 2021.  A number of employment-related bills have already been introduced – many are first proposed to lay the groundwork for possible passage years … Continue Reading

Families First Coronavirus Response Act: We Hardly Knew Ye!

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”) became federal law on April 1, 2020. (For a detailed discussion on FFCRA coverage see our blog post dated March 20, 2020). The FFCRA was the first federal legislation mandating nationwide paid leave for employees. Unlike many other federal employment laws, the FFCRA contained a “use by” date … Continue Reading

Florida’s 2021 Minimum Wage: Will We Have One Or Two Increases?

As many of you know, I have a crystal ball on my desk.  This past August, I was asked to predict Florida’s minimum wage increase starting in January 2021.  The crystal ball revealed that Florida would experience either an 8¢ or 9¢ increase from its current $8.56 minimum wage.  Late last month, Florida announced a … Continue Reading

Top Takeaways from Our Back to Work Virtual Chat

Earlier this week, we hosted a “Back to Work Virtual Chat.” As businesses begin to re-open and adjust to the “new normal”, we hoped to provide employers, big or small, with guidance to help navigate through these unprecedented times. Our goal was to provide practical information (not legal advice)  to help organizations address the various … Continue Reading

Register Now for Our Back to Work Virtual Chat – June 1

Trying to juggle work and home? Wish you had a crystal ball to see the future “new normal” workplace? Wouldn’t you welcome some guidance on return to work issues? Problem solved – we know how to juggle and we have a crystal ball! We also can provide guidance on important workplace issues that HR and … Continue Reading

POSTPONED: Annual Labor & Employment Law Seminars

Dear Clients and Friends, These words just came out of my mouth, “I have extra toilet paper I can trade for some rice.”  Yesterday, I wore gloves, a face mask and carried homemade alcohol wipes in order to go food shopping. How the world has changed in one month! So this will not come as … Continue Reading

DOL Issues New FFCRA Poster and Further Guidance

Yesterday, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued the much-anticipated “Employee Rights” poster or notice concerning the Paid Sick Leave and Expanded Family and Medical Leave components of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA).  Click here to access the poster. Along with the poster, the DOL provided some much needed guidance on various aspects of … Continue Reading
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