Ver la versión en español aquí Women may not yet have achieved equality in the corporate boardroom, but women have broken through the glass ceiling to take-on the CEO position in a handful of the largest U.S. companies, including General Motors (Mary Barra), Xerox (Ursula Burns), Yahoo! (Marissa Mayer), Hewlett-Packard (Meg Whitman), PepsiCo (Indra Nooyi), … Continue Reading
Ver la versión en español aquí Yesterday, employers gained an important victory in the ongoing wave of litigation over what time is or is not considered compensable work time under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that employers are not required to pay employees for the time spent waiting to clear … Continue Reading
Ver la versión en español aquí Effective January 1, 2015, Florida’s minimum wage will increase from the current rate of $7.93 to $8.05 per hour. Each year, the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity must recalculate Florida’s minimum wage based upon the increase in the federal Consumer Price Index for Urban Earners and Clerical Workers in … Continue Reading
The rules on the Affordable Care Act keep pouring out of Washington. Reporting for “pay or play” compliance requires a huge recordkeeping burden on employers. This seminar covers everything you need to know as we head into the first year of “pay or play” compliance and what to expect down the road. Join us in … Continue Reading
Ver la versión en español aquí Surveys are conducted periodically to compile lists of “best employee benefits.” Those lists have included items such as: free lunch (yes, there is such a thing for some lucky employees); fully-paid insurance premiums; gym membership and fitness classes; flexible schedules, including 4-day workweeks; telecommuting options; transportation subsidies; paid maternity … Continue Reading
Ver la versión en español aquí Last month, I wrote a post about one company’s new “Mail on Holiday” program where emails are automatically deleted during an employee’s vacation. What if, in combination with such a program, an employee could have unlimited vacation time? For most employees, it’s a dream. But if you work for … Continue Reading
Ver la versión en español aquí Over the last several months, President Obama has continued his push to revamp the nation’s minimum wage and overtime laws. He has faced an uphill battle. In a Presidential Memorandum dated March 13, 2014, President Obama directed the Department of Labor to “propose revisions to modernize and streamline the … Continue Reading
Many companies tout themselves as a “flexible workplace.” But what exactly does that mean? Does the company permit employees to have a regular telecommuting schedule or just work from home occasionally? Does the company offer modified start and stop times or compressed workweeks? All of these options and more can be components of a flexible … Continue Reading
CareerBuilder.com has released its “Mother’s Day Survey” comparing working moms and dads in categories such as salary, title, and job satisfaction. The conclusion: “While salary data indicates that female breadwinners may have a tougher time making ends meet, working moms in general tend to be happier in their jobs.” The study was conducted between February … Continue Reading
(in other words, do as Steve Miller says) I think most would agree that loyalty is right up there among the most desirable employee traits (and if you disagree, please don’t stop reading . . . I spent a precious weekend writing this blog). Assessing employee loyalty can be difficult. Don’t expect an employee to … Continue Reading
On Tuesday, a federal court judge in New York ruled that Fox Searchlight Pictures violated federal and state wage laws by not paying production interns. The production interns, Eric Glatt and Alexander Footman, worked on the psychological thriller “Black Swan” performing work such as reconciling purchase orders and invoices, drafting cover letters, filing, making copies, arranging … Continue Reading
It is that time of year again and time for the obligatory “get ready for hurricane season” blog posting. Fortunately, it has been a while since we had to run through the hurricane drill. Let’s hope our string of good fortune continues and there is no need to gas up the generators or empty the shelves … Continue Reading
In August 2011, we blogged about the amendments to the unemployment compensation statutes, which included a new definition of misconduct (see Florida Employers Get Immediate Unemployment Compensation Relief). The definition of misconduct is: A violation of an employer’s rule, unless the claimant can demonstrate that: He or she did not know, and could not reasonably … Continue Reading
The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed dismissal of a lawsuit under the Fair Labor Standards Act brought by an employee who failed to follow her employer’s policy for reporting uncompensated work time. In Margaret White v. Baptist Mem’l Health Care Corp., the employer, Baptist Memorial Health Care Corp. (“Baptist”), automatically … Continue Reading
For over 30 years, the federal courts in Florida (and in other states) have required that settlements of minimum wage and overtime claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) be reviewed and approved either by a court or the US Department of Labor. Now, one court, the Fifth Circuit Court Of Appeals, the federal … Continue Reading
The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, which has jurisdiction over Florida, recently ruled that DHL was not liable for overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) for hours worked by independent drivers it had hired through a third-party contractor. In the case, Layton v. DHL Express (USA), Inc., DHL Express (USA) Inc. contracted with a separate … Continue Reading
The U.S. Supreme Court handed the pharmaceutical industry a huge victory in the battle over whether pharmaceutical sales representatives are entitled to overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). The pharmaceutical industry took the position that its sales representatives were exempt from the FLSA’s overtime requirements as exempt outside salespeople. The sales representatives argued … Continue Reading
A recent case from Florida’s Third District Court of Appeal, Ocean Reef Club, Inc. v. Wilczewski, highlights the importance of employers reporting workplace injuries and illnesses to their workers’ compensation carrier. Although the Third District Court of Appeal has jurisdiction over only Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties, employers throughout the State should take notice. The plaintiffs in … Continue Reading
In the third of three recent wage and hour class actions brought by unpaid interns against media and entertainment companies (Wang v. The Hearst Corp. and Glatt and Footman v. Fox Searchlight Pictures, Inc.), a former unpaid intern for the “The Charlie Rose Show” has sued Charles Rose and his production company on behalf of all interns … Continue Reading
On January 3, 2012, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruled in D.R. Horton, Inc., that requiring employees, as a condition of employment, to sign an arbitration agreement prohibiting them from filing collective or class actions for employment-related claims violates the law. The decision involved an overtime case brought by Michael Cuda against his employer, … Continue Reading
We have all heard the riddle of whether a tree that falls in a forest with no one present makes a noise. A federal appellate court sitting in Indiana faced a similar question regarding a former employee’s claim for overtime compensation under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). In the case of Kellar v. Summit … Continue Reading
On September 20, we posted, Was Dionne The FLSA Magic Bullet We Thought?, which discussed recent cases under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) where the employer tried to moot the lawsuit by tendering the back pay and liquidated damages claimed by the former employee. As a refresher, in Dionne v. Floormasters Enterprises, Inc., the … Continue Reading
Has the Eleventh Circuit Court Appeals provided employers with a means to resolve a Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) lawsuit quickly and avoid paying attorneys’ fees or has the plaintiffs bar already revised its litigation strategy? The federal appeals court with jurisdiction over Florida, Georgia, and Alabama recently denied attorneys’ fees to a plaintiff suing … Continue Reading
Florida’s unemployment compensation law was substantially changed this summer. This is good news for Florida employers. So what are the changes employers should cheer? (1) Misconduct has been redefined. It is harder for terminated employees to get unemployment compensation. Under the new law, misconduct is now defined as any action that demonstrates “conscious disregard of an … Continue Reading
