COVID-19 infections are on the rise, and this week, the CDC and the FDA approved a new booster, recommending that all eligible people get the new COVID vaccine (as well as a flu shot) this Fall. Are we heading back to mask mandates and quarantines? No. But with the recent uptick in infections, perhaps now is a good time to refresh your employees’ recollection on COVID-19 protocols as more employees are likely to become sick in the coming months – clearly COVID-19 is not going away. So here are some reminders summarized from the Department of Labor’s recent guidance for its employees.
Florida’s minimum wage is currently $11 per hour. This is just a friendly reminder that on September 30, 2023, Florida’s minimum wage increases to $12 per hour. The new overtime wage rate will increase in tandem to $18 per hour.
Prior to 2020, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) took a three-pronged approach to analyzing whether vulgar, threatening, or offensive speech by employees fell inside or outside of the protections of section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). As we discussed at our recent breakfast seminar, depending on the context in which the vulgar or offensive speech was made, the NLRB would apply a different standard to determine its protection – the three scenarios the NLRB was prepared to address were speech towards management in the course of negotiations, speech on social media and among employees, and speech on the picket line.
The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (“PWFA”) goes into effect today! For those of you who attended Stearns Weaver Miller’s Labor & Employment Law Breakfast Seminar on June 2, 2023, I discussed two new laws that were passed as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 signed by President Biden on December 29, 2022 – the PWFA and the PUMP Act (which stands for Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act).
If you were not able to attend, here is the cliff-notes version:
This is your reminder — always have counsel review and revise every agreement before offering it to an employee. A number of new decisions and laws have made many standard employment agreements, restrictive covenant agreements, separation agreements, and settlement agreements completely unenforceable. Below are a few examples…
If the folks on the news are talking about el Niño, it must be hurricane season. Last year, Hurricane Ian reminded us how devastating a storm can be. However, even fewer menacing storms can disrupt our lives and businesses. With that in mind, we once again offer tips on how to prepare your business for the new hurricane season.
On Monday, we posted a blog on SB 1718, which requires private employers of twenty-five or more employees in Florida to use the E-Verify system for new hires, effective July 1, 2023. Governor DeSantis signed SB 1718 into law early on Wednesday. Although several groups have announced the intent to challenge the law, those legal challenges may not focus on the E-Verify portions of the law. We will continue to post on the issue.
Last week, the Florida Legislature passed SB 1718, which, among other things, requires private employers of twenty-five or more employees to start using E-Verify for any employee hired on or after July 1, 2023. Governor DeSantis has not yet received SB 1718 from the Legislature. He must sign or veto the bill within 15 days of transmittal, or it becomes law without being signed.
You may recall that I posted about SB 1718 on our blog on April 3, 2023. The SB 1718 bill that passed the Legislature is very different from the bill I wrote about last month. The earlier version of the bill imposed no E-Verify requirement.
The SB 1718 that the Legislature passed amends two existing Florida statutes governing unauthorized employment of foreign nationals. Florida Statutes Section 448.09 makes it unlawful for an employer to knowingly employ in the State of Florida an alien who is not authorized to work in the United States. The statute empowers the Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) to place a violating employer on probation for a year and require quarterly reporting of the employer’s compliance. If an employer violates the statute twice in two years, the DEO can suspend or revoke all of the licenses of the violating employer.
In lieu of our annual seminar, we will be hosting a two-part breakfast series in our Miami office. In Part 1, we will analyze rapid changes in employment law and provide suggestions on how to navigate the multiverse of employment problems now facing HR. Stay tuned for details on Part 2 later in the year!
Stearns Weaver Miller Miami Office | 150 W Flagler Street, Suite 2200, Miami, FL 33130
Space is limited to the first 100 registrants. Pending HRCI Credits, SHRM Credits and The Florida Bar CLE Credits. This is a live presentation/no webcast will be available.
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 failed to pay them and their co-workers for off-the-clock work. These employees have sought overtime pay for work performed in addition to their weekly 40 hours of on-the-clock work. Recent court cases that have alleged employer knowledge of off-the-clock work include companies such as Michaels Stores Inc., Peloton Interactive Inc., Wells Fargo Bank NA, BOK Financial Corp, NCR Corp. and Liberty Mutual Group Inc., just to name a few.[1]
Employers are often flabbergasted to discover their nonexempt employees have been working very early mornings, during meal breaks, late nights or weekends off-the-clock. Apparently, no one in management asked or knew that off-the-clock work had occurred.
Here are a few scenarios:
Employees were told not to work more than 40 hours per week, but also understood they had to complete all their work by the end of their shift;
Employees clocked out for an extended meal period, but continued to read emails, take phone calls, send texts or work while on break;
Incompetent employees were not able to complete their tasks in 40 hours but did not want anyone to know, so they worked extra hours off the clock before others arrived at work or after everyone was gone for the day;
Without telling anyone, employees worked weekends and/or nights at home; or
Employees loved their employer and thought they were helping to make the company better by donating extra hours to get the job done.
