Ver la versión en español aquí The recently passed tax act promises to have wide ranging impacts on businesses which go beyond the accounting department. There have been attempts by other agencies such as the SEC, EEOC, DOL and NLRB to limit the confidentiality of settlements. The new tax act follows suit by including a provision … Continue Reading
Ver la versión en español aquí Florida and federal law allow restaurants and hotels to pay tipped employees minimum wage, less a credit of $3.02 per hour against tips received. Tips can be pooled and then redistributed to those who are in traditionally tipped positions. However, if an employer wrongly allows non-tipped employees to share … Continue Reading
Ver la versión en español aquí As we all know, Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria severely impacted parts of Texas, the southeastern United States and Puerto Rico causing billions of dollars of damage. To help victims recover, Congress, the IRS, and the Department of Labor have issued special retirement plan relief for employers and participants … Continue Reading
Ver la versión en español aquí Employers can breathe a sigh of relief: The EEOC’s initiative to collect summary pay and hours worked data in the new EEO-1 form has ended … for now, at least. Just last year, on September 26, 2016, the EEOC announced that the annual EEO-1 reporting process would change for … Continue Reading
Ver la versión en español aquí Wow, this has been one crazy roller coaster ride. Season 1 of this overtime soap opera kicked-off with President Obama directing the Secretary of Labor to “modernize and streamline” the “white collar” FLSA exemptions. In May 2016, the DOL published revised regulations that increased the exempt salary threshold from … Continue Reading
Ver la versión en español aquí As many of you by now, on September 18, 2017, employers must start using the new Form I-9 that USCIS released on July 17. You can identify the new Form I-9 by the designation “Form I-9 07/17/17 N” in the lower left corner of the page. You can find … Continue Reading
Ver la versión en español aquí This is an exciting time for the Firm, our Labor & Employment Law Department and our clients. We are pleased to welcome two new members to our group and to expand our footprint in Tampa. Janet Goldberg McEnery and Andrew W. McLaughlin each brings a wealth of knowledge and … Continue Reading
Ver la versión en español aquí On November 22, 2016, many of you breathed a (big) sigh of relief. Why? Because a Texas federal judge issued a nationwide temporary injunction precluding the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) 2016 overtime regulations from going into effect on December 1, 2016. These regulations would have significantly increased the … Continue Reading
Ver la versión en español aquí Is your organization a “public accommodation” under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)? Does your organization have a website? If so, can that website be navigated with a keyboard (instead of a mouse) and with screen reader software? Is the audio content on the website captioned? … Continue Reading
Ver la versión en español aquí Poll in-house counsel about the things that keep them up at night. The contents of a wage statement (commonly known as a “pay stub”) would be way down that list. After all, the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and Florida state law do not require any specific information … Continue Reading
Ver la versión en español aquí Earlier this month, the EEOC and Orion Energy Systems settled a case pending in a Wisconsin federal court in which the EEOC alleged that the company’s wellness plan violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This case goes back to the spring of 2009 when an employee was forced … Continue Reading
I cannot believe another year has come and gone! We are quickly approaching our 27th Annual Labor & Employment Law Seminar. Join us Friday, May 19th from 8am-4pm at the JW Marriott Marquis Miami as we “Predict the Future” and discuss what awaits employers in 2017. Mark your calendars now because this year’s seminar is not to … Continue Reading
Ver la versión en español aquí It’s Friday, nearly 5 o’clock and you’re getting ready to go home. A stranger appears at your office waiving a copy of the Florida Public Records Act, demanding to see your company’s records. You explain that “this is a private company and not subject to the Public Records Act”. … Continue Reading
Ver la versión en español aquí Finally. The wait is almost over. The U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether an employer may enforce a mandatory arbitration agreement that contains a class action or collective action waiver. Last Friday, the Supreme Court agreed to hear 3 cases stemming from the NLRB’s 2012 decision in D.R. Horton, … Continue Reading
Ver la versión en español aquí SunTrust Banks learned an expensive lesson about COBRA compliance recently. It was sued for failure to send proper COBRA election notices after employees terminated employment. SunTrust’s agent for COBRA notice purposes, Xerox HR Solutions, actually sent timely COBRA notices to the former employees. But two former employees/plaintiffs claimed that … Continue Reading
The Florida Medical Marijuana Legislative Initiative (also known as Amendment 2), passed with 71% of the popular vote on November 8, 2016. Amendment 2 allows the medical use of marijuana for individuals with certain debilitating medical conditions as determined by a licensed Florida physician. Because Amendment 2 is silent as to its effective date, under … Continue Reading
Ver la versión en español aquí We all love factoids-right? So if you are heading out to a New Year’s Eve Party this weekend and need a few icebreakers to get the conversation going, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) has come to the rescue. The EEOC recently provided a brief review of its fiscal year … Continue Reading
Late yesterday, a Texas federal Judge issued a nationwide temporary injunction halting the Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) new overtime regulations, which were set to significantly increase the minimum salary required for the executive, administrative and professional overtime exemptions (known as the white collar exemptions). This unexpected ruling prevents the DOL from implementing the new regulations, … Continue Reading
Ver la versión en español aquí Last October, my wife and I took a short vacation to Scotland. While visiting, I asked a British labor lawyer what was the British national minimum wage. It was £6.70. At the time £1= $1.54. That meant that the British minimum wage was equal to $10.32 per hour in … Continue Reading
Ver la versión en español aquí Florida’s minimum wage is going up. Starting January 1, 2017, Florida’s current minimum wage of $8.05 will increase five cents to $8.10 per hour. For a full-time Florida employee (working 2080 hours), the increase equates to $104 more in wages per year. The five cent increase was based on … Continue Reading
Ver la versión en español aquí The “Cat’s Paw” doctrine describes the situation where an employer may be liable for employment decisions based on the discriminatory animus of an employee who influenced — but who did not make — an employment decision. The phrase comes from an Aesop fable where a conniving monkey convinces a … Continue Reading
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently published two updated workplace posters: Federal Minimum Wage poster, and Employee Polygraph Protection Act (EPPA) poster. (Note: Federal, state or local governments are exempt from the EPPA so no poster is required for these employers) The posters have been visually redesigned and includes a QR Code, which when … Continue Reading
Your employee, Debbie Deadbeat, doesn’t pay her debts and gets slapped with a judgment. Before you know it, a process server comes to your office and serves you with a continuing writ of garnishment of Debbie’s salary and wages. First: What is a Writ? Second: What should you do about it? A Writ is essentially … Continue Reading
Ver la versión en español aquí With over 400 attendees from more than 200 employers, our 26th Annual Labor & Employment Law Seminar was a huge success! Thank you for allowing us to keep you “on Track”. For the first time this year, following our morning sessions, attendees were able to choose from our “high-speed” track designed for … Continue Reading
