Court of Appeals Reverses NLRB on Handbook Policies
In recent years, the National Labor Relations Board has relentlessly attacked common sense policies found in many employee handbooks. This writer has been hoping that the U.S. Court of Appeals would correct these egregious decisions. I am delighted to report that, on July 25, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit issued an opinion in a case involving T-Mobile that did just that. By way of introduction, the Court stated that the NLRB must give a workplace rule a
Latest Updates on North Carolina Legislative Presumption
As previously reported, North Carolina newspapers have been fighting to maintain the tremendous advantage they have enjoyed in Workers’ Compensation legislation for the last 20 years, in the form of a legislative presumption of independent contractor status for newspaper carriers. At the very end of the legislative session on June 28, 2017, a modified version of H.B. 205 passed in both Houses. This bill would have removed the legislative presumption. Fortunately, on July 17,
The San Diego Union-Tribune Case: Espejo v. San Diego Union-Tribune
The California Court of Appeal, affirming a 2013 Supreme Court ruling, ruled on July 7, 2017 that newspaper carriers at the San Diego Union-Tribune from January 2005 through June 2007 were employees for purposes of California’s state labor laws. The lower court had certified the case as a class action. This case has had wide publicity and I have received many questions about it. These independent contractor cases all rise and fall on particular facts. I will share with you so
U.S. DOL Overtime Rule Update
On July 25, 2017, the U.S. Department of Labor issued a formal Request for Information in preparation for drafting a Proposed Rule on salary levels for the white-collar overtime exemptions. The Request for Information notes that the pending order of the U.S. District Court in Texas called into question the DOL’s authority to utilize a salary level test in determining the exempt status of executive, administrative, and professional employees. The DOL is appealing that part of
