
New York Newspapers Have Major Legislative Success
After a more than two-year battle, the New York News Publishers’ Association (NYNPA) and its members have succeeded in passing legislation to make it much easier to prove the independent contractor status of newspaper carriers under the State’s unemployment, workers’ compensation, and wage and hour laws. The impetus for legislative action was the New York Department of Labor’s aggressive position against independent contractor status in the unemployment benefit and tax arena.

Reacting to the Injunction on the U.S. Department of Labor’s Overtime Rule
Question – Though our Company learned of the U.S. District Court of Texas’ emergency injunction on November 22, 2016, we had already announced to the employees the changes that would be made in anticipation of the U.S. Department of Labor Overtime Rule’s December 1, 2016 implementation. What are our options now that the Rule is enjoined nationwide? Answer – Many of this writers clients had fully prepared for the December 1, 2016 implementation of the U.S. Department of Labor

U.S. Department of Labor Overtime Rule Enjoined on a Nationwide Basis
On November 22, 2016, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas issued a nationwide injunction, halting the planned December 1, 2016 effective date of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Overtime Rule. The Court’s first step was to interpret Section 213(a)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act, which provides that “any employee employed in a bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacity… as such terms are defined and delimited from time by regulations

A Republican President Can Reassert Management Rights
The election of a Republican President on November 8, 2016 should have warmed the hearts of Management advocates everywhere. A Republican President will have the ability to impact several key federal government agencies, including the National Labor Relations Board and the U.S. Department of Labor. NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD Employers have suffered greatly under the Obama Board, led by NLRB Chairman Mark Gaston Pearce. An unabashed pro-union partisan, Chairman Pearce push