January 2017 E-Update

Fourth Circuit Expands Joint Employer Definition Under the Fair Labor Standards Act

On January 25, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (which covers Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and the Carolinas) announced a new and expansive standard for determining if two legally separate entities are joint employers For…Read More

Fourth Circuit Applies New Joint Employer Standard to Independent Contractors

In a decision issued the same day as Salinas v. Commercial Interiors, Inc.in which the U.S. Court of Appeals articulated a new and expansive standard for establishing joint…Read More

NLRB, EEOC and DOL Issue Joint Fact Sheet on Retaliation

The National Labor Relations Board, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the Department of Labor (along with two of its sub-agencies – the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration)…Read More

OSHA Releases Anti-Retaliation Guidance

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced that it was issuing a guidance document, “Recommended Practices for Anti-Retaliation Programs,” intended to assist employers with creating workplaces free from retaliation. OSHA’s…Read More

D.C. – New Law Banning Credit Inquiries.  The District of Columbia Council has passed a law that bans employers from inquiring into, request or using an applicant’s or employee’s credit information, or from taking employment action based on such…Read More

DOL – Increased Penalties.  Less than six months after the Department of Labor increased the civil money penalties that can be imposed for violations of the laws that it enforces, it has announced additional increases. As we previously reported in our July E-Update,…Read More

FLSA – Emotional Distress Damages.  The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit concluded that the Fair Labor Standards Act allows an employee to recover damages for emotional distress due to retaliation. The damages provision of the FLSA permits…Read More

FMLA – Posting Violation.  A Maryland federal court held that employees cannot sue their employer for failing to post the required Family and Medical Leave Act notice.  Employers who are covered by the FMLA are required to display…Read More

FCRA – Disclosure Requirements.  A recent case reminds employers of the importance of complying with the Fair Credit Reporting Act’s very technical disclosure requirements. As we previously discussed in our January 2016 E-Update’s Top Tip, the FCRA applies…Read More

ADEA – “Subgroup” Disparate Impact Claim.  The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit found that the Age Discrimination in Employment Act permits a “subgroup” of employees to bring a claim that others in the ADEA-protected group of employees age…Read More

All too often, an employer becomes frustrated with an employee’s continuing poor performance or conduct and wants to terminate – but lacks the documentation to establish the performance and conduct issues and to demonstrate that the employee…Read More