And The Saga Continues… EEO-1 Pay Data Likely Due September 30, 2019
4/26/19
By: Brad Adler and Brent Bean As we have previously reported, in 2016, the EEOC adopted additional EEO-1 pay data collection requirements commanding employers to report employee wages and hours worked by race, ethnicity and sex. By way of background, companies with 100 or more employees, along with federal contractors who employ 50 or more…
FMG Client Headed to Supreme Court in Landmark Title VII Case to Resolve LGBT Employment Standards
4/23/19
The Supreme Court yesterday agreed to review two federal circuit court decisions that reached differing conclusions as to whether Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 covers sexual orientation. For approximately 40 years, the EEOC and the federal circuit courts have unanimously held that Title VII does not encompass sexual orientation. The EEOC…
New Rule, Who Dis? DOL Proposes Changes to Joint Employment Regulations
4/8/19
By: Will Collins On April 1, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) announced notice of proposed rulemaking, amending the DOL regulations addressing joint employers under the federal wage and hour law (i.e. the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”)) and providing guidance and clarification long sought by employers. The proposed changes announced last week mark…
City of Cincinnati Joins Growing Number of States and Local Governments To Adopt Salary History Ban
4/1/19
By: Bill Buechner, Jr. On March 13, 2019, the City of Cincinnati, Ohio adopted an ordinance prohibiting employers within the City of Cincinnati with 15 or more employees from inquiring about an applicant’s salary history (current or prior wage, benefits or other compensation) either on an application or during an interview. The ordinance also prohibits…
3/26/19
By: Tim Boughey Last week, in Lewis v. City of Union City, Ga. et al., No. 15-11362 (11th Cir. March 21, 2019) (en banc), the Eleventh Circuit issued an important decision addressing the proper comparator analysis applied to circumstantial claims of intentional discrimination (whether under Title VII, Equal Protection, or Section 1981). At the core…
EEO-1 Pay and Hours Data Requirement In Limbo
3/21/19
By: Brent Bean Whether and when covered businesses have to comply with revised EEO-1 requirements for pay and hours worked data remains uncertain as the reporting period opens. Companies with 100 or more employees, along with federal contractors who employ 50 or more employees, are required to submit to the EEOC annual Employer Information Reports,…
DOL Guidance Says Employers Cannot Exhaust Paid Leave Prior to Beginning Employee’s FMLA Leave
3/18/19
By: Brent Bean The U.S. Department of Labor issued an opinion letter on March 14, 2019, re-affirming its view that employers must start the clock on an employee’s FMLA leave when the employer first learns the absence qualifies as a serious health condition under the FMLA. The Opinion Letter specifically addressed the question of whether…
Employers Should Consider "Prevailing Party" Language In Arbitration Clauses
3/13/19
By: Ken Menendez Employers seeking to discourage frivolous claims by employees may wish to consider utilizing a “prevailing party” clause as part of their agreement to arbitrate. Many employers utilize arbitration as a means of avoiding the generally greater cost and uncertainty of litigation in employment cases. Agreements to arbitrate are even more prevalent in…
Department of Labor Unveils Its Long-Awaited Proposed Overtime Rule
3/11/19
By: Brad Adler On March 7, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released its long-awaited proposed rule that would revise the white collar overtime exemption regulations. In its proposed rule, the DOL proposed raising the minimum annual salary for exempt status from $23,360 to $35,308 (an increase in the weekly rate from $455 to…
EEO-1 Reporting Is Coming and There Are Some Things You Should Know
3/11/19
By: Hillary Freesmeier Employers with 100 or more employees are no stranger to the EEO-1 Report. The EEO-1 Report requires all employers with 100 or more employees, or federal contractors with 50 or more employees awarded a contract of $50,000 or more, to report employee demographics by gender, race, and ethnicity each year. Typically, the…
NLRB Decisions are Trending Pro-Employer
2/27/19
By: Amy C. Bender The National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) under the Trump administration is showing a return to more conservative, employer-friendly interpretations of the laws regarding employees’ rights to engage in concerted activity to improve wages and working conditions. As a reminder, these protections apply to almost all private-sector employees, regardless of whether they belong…
7/23/18
By: Bill Buechner In Bostock v. Clayton Co. Bd of Comm’rs, 723 F. App’x 964 (11th Cir. 2018), the Eleventh Circuit again held that Title VII does not prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. In doing so, the panel relied on prior circuit precedent in Evans v. Ga. Reg’l Hosp., 850 F.3d 1248…