Perspectives on Labor, Employment & OSHA: Litigation

ArentFox Schiff is pleased to announce that 93 attorneys and 21 practices have been ranked by The Legal 500 United States 2023 guide, a nationwide analysis of law firms that provide cutting-edge and innovative advice.

Similar to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), California law requires an employer to pay overtime based on an employee’s “regular rate of pay.” That rate may not be just an employee’s hourly wage, or straight time, rate.

While neutral rounding policies have historically been approved by California courts, the Sixth District California Court of Appeal recently held that employers who utilize timekeeping systems that can capture each minute worked by employees must fully compensate those employees for all time worked.

On November 16, 2022, the US House of Representatives passed the Speak Out Act, after the US Senate unanimously passed the Act in September 2022. The Act will head next to President Biden’s desk, where he is expected to sign it into law.

ArentFox Schiff has been recognized with 53 top rankings in the 2023 edition of US News – Best Lawyers® “Best Law Firms.”

Does anyone feel like they’ve seen this movie before? On September 6, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or “the Board”) announced a notice of proposed rulemaking that dramatically changed the joint employer analysis under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA or “the Act”).

A Ninth Circuit panel that previously upheld a California law prohibiting mandatory employment arbitration agreements in the workplace withdrew its decision and ordered the matter to be resubmitted for a panel rehearing. 

Most of California’s Industrial Welfare Commission (IWC) wage orders mandate that employees “shall be provided with suitable seats when the nature of the work reasonably permits the use of seats.

On July 26, 2022, Massachusetts joined seventeen other states which prohibit race discrimination based on natural hairstyles when Governor Charlie Baker signed the Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair (“Crown”) Act, which bans discrimination based on hairstyles at work and school.

Sometimes, a wage and hour decision touches upon several noteworthy issues, either addressing them for the first time, in new contexts, or serving as a good reminder on topics.

In a recently issued 8 to 1 Decision in Viking River Cruises, Inc. v. Moriana, the United States Supreme Court held that individual claims based on the “only in California” Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) may be compelled to arbitration.

The US Supreme Court has held that airline cargo loaders who load and unload cargo from planes that travel across state lines are exempt from the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) because they belong to a “class of workers engaged in foreign or interstate commerce.”

Medical marijuana has been legal, in the District of Columbia, since 2010. And since 2015, the City has permitted adults to use marijuana recreationally. Earlier this month, the City Council went further by unanimously passing a bill to protect many marijuana users against adverse job actions.

Over two decades ago, in Brown v. Brody, 199 F.3d 446, 457 (DC Cir. 1999), the DC Circuit held that an employer that discriminatorily denies or forces an employee to accept a job transfer violates Title VII only if the employee suffers “objectively tangible harm,” like reduced pay or benefits. 

In a unanimous decision authored by Justice Elena Kagan, the US Supreme Court ruled that in determining whether a party has waived its right to enforce an arbitration agreement, the party asserting waiver does not have to show that it was prejudiced.

This week, in a memorandum addressed to all Regional Directors, Officers-in-Charge, and Resident Officers, the Board’s Office of the General Counsel announced a new protocol designed to advance immigrant worker protections to freely exercise their NLRA rights and safely participate.

Jane Cummings is blind and deaf, and she chiefly communicates using American Sign Language. When Cummings sought physical therapy from Premier Rehab Keller, P.L.L.C., she asked it to provide an American Sign Language interpreter at her appointments.

The New York City Council approved a bill requiring employers with four or more employees to include, in internal and external job postings, the minimum and maximum salary offered for any position within New York City. The requirement also applies to promotions and internal transfer positions.

Beth Reuter was terminated from her employment with the City of Methuen. On her termination date, the City failed to pay Ms. Reuter for her accrued, unused vacation time, as required by the Massachusetts Wage Act. Instead, the City waited three weeks after her termination to make the payment.

Implementation of the District of Columbia’s Ban on Non-Compete Agreements Amendment Act of 2020 (the “Act”) has now been officially delayed until October 1, 2022. The Act had been scheduled to take effect on April 1, 2022.

Following House approval of H.R. 4445 with overwhelming support (335 Yeas to 97 Nays) on February 7, 2022, the Senate approved the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021 by voice vote on February 10, 2022.

Crain’s Chicago Business

Fifty-three Arent Fox LLP attorneys have been rated as leaders in their profession by The Best Lawyers in America 2021.

What Does This Mean For Legal Proceedings in New York State?

Schiff Hardin LLP has been recognized on the BTI Litigation Outlook 2020 Honor Roll in three areas of litigation, including Complex Employment Litigation and Complex Commercial Litigation.