Labor & Employment Law Updates
Colorado employers should prepare for an increase in the state minimum wage from $11.10 to $12.00 per hour, and from $8.08 to $8.98 per hour for tipped employees, effective January 1, 2020. The 2020 increase is the final currently-planned wage increase under Amendment 70 of the Colorado Constitution. After 2020, the state minimum wage will be adjusted annually for cost of living increases.
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An employer did not violate the Americans With Disabilities Act (“ADA”) by refusing to hire an obese applicant based on the belief his weight created a high risk he would develop medical conditions in the future, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled.
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The National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) recently held that workplace rules restricting employees from (1) divulging confidential client and vendor lists, and (2) responding to media inquiries on behalf of a company are lawful under the National Labor Relations Act (“Act”).
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California has banned employers from including “no-rehire” provisions in employment dispute-related settlement agreements with its employees. No-rehire provisions prohibit the employee from applying for a job with that company in the future as a condition of the settlement.
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The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit recently held that employers engaged in commercial cannabis activities must comply with wage and hour requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”).
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The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced a proposed tip-pooling rule that would give certain employers more flexibility in distributing pooled tips. Under the proposed rule, employers who do not take a tip credit and pay employees the full minimum wage may include employees who are not customarily and regularly tipped employees, such as back-of-house employees like dishwashers and cooks, in a mandatory tip pool.
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A Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals panel rejected McDonald’s franchise employees’ attempt to hold McDonald’s Corp. liable as a joint employer for alleged wage and hour violations, reasoning that the franchisee alone exerted control over the employees.
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The U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) announced its final overtime rule which updates the earnings thresholds necessary to exempt executive, administrative, or professional employees (“white collar exemptions”) from the Fair Labor Standards Act’s (“FLSA”) minimum wage and overtime pay requirements.
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California employers must compensate employees for all regularly occurring but difficult to track, pre-shift and post-shift tasks that take just a few minutes to complete, under a recent Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision.
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This summer, California and New York became the first states to ban discrimination in employment based on natural hairstyles. The California and New York legislation, both titled the CROWN Act (“Create a Respectful and Open Workplace for Natural Hair”), amend California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) and the New York Human Rights Law (NYHRL) by…
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Although misclassifying employees as independent contractors exposes companies to damages, steep penalties, and other liability, misclassification alone is not an Unfair Labor Practice under the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”), the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) has held.
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An African-American woman who described her employment as “satisfying” and a “great experience” in her resignation letter could not prove a hostile work environment/constructive charge claim (that is, that workplace harassment was so severe, based on her race, that she was forced to quit), the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled.
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A restaurant acted lawfully when it required its employees to sign mandatory arbitration agreements directly in response to their opting into a wage and hour collective action lawsuit, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) has held.
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The Colorado Court of Appeals recently held that an employer’s refusal to pay a terminated employee’s accrued but unused vacation time did not violate the Colorado Wage Claim Act (“CWCA”).
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The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (“DOL”) has set forth new guidelines for compensating long-haul truck drivers for off-duty time spent in sleeper berths. Under a recent DOL opinion letter, employers need not pay drivers for time they are relieved of all duties and permitted to sleep in adequate sleeping facilities such as a sleeper berth.
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On or before September 30, 2019, private employers with at least 100 employees must must submit data regarding employees’ W-2 compensation information and hours worked (which the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) refers to as a “Component 2” EEO-1) for years 2017 and 2018, the EEOC has announced.
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Starting August 2, 2019, Colorado businesses that require or administer tip pools for employees must comply with new notice requirements. Colorado businesses that pool tips previously were required to post a conspicuous notice on a printed card stating that tips given to employees belonged to the employer, rather than the employee.
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A thirteen-member task force appointed by Colorado’s Governor and legislative leaders has begun efforts to study the implementation of a paid family and medical leave program in Colorado. Stacey Campbell of Campbell Litigation sits on the Family and Medical Leave Task Force and will serve as Vice-Chair.
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Employers who have evidence that a majority of their workers no longer support their union now have greater leeway to suspend bargaining and withdraw recognition of the union after a collective bargaining agreement (“CBA”) expires, under a recent National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) decision.
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