January 2022 E-Update

On February 1, 2022, the National Labor Relations Board’s General Counsel, Jennifer Abruzzo, announced an initiative to seek injunctive relief where workers have been subject to threats or other coercive conduct during an organizing campaign. According to the GC, “threats or other coercive conduct needs to be enjoined promptly, not […]

Many employers are interested in having employees sign collective action waivers as part of employment agreements, including severance agreements. Such waivers mean that the employees agree that they will not bring or participate in a lawsuit as part of a group. And the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second […]

Click here to view entire E-Update as a PDF RECENT DEVELOPMENTS NLRB Poised to Reverse Course on Work Rules, Joint Employer Status and Mandatory Arbitration Agreements As we discussed in our August 13, 2021 E-lert, the first official memo issued by General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo for the National Labor Relations […]

This is the question currently being litigated between a bridal designer and her former employer, a bridal gown company, and the case highlights the need for employers to make sure that they address this issue clearly in any employment agreement. In JLM Couture, Inc. v. Gutman, the company and the […]

Although the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s attempt to issue a general workplace COVID standard was unsuccessful, employers should not assume that they are off the hook with regard to COVID preventative measures, as one company recently learned. The U.S. Department of Labor recently issued a press release to announce […]

The Department of Labor has announced its annual penalty increases. Due to the passage of the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015, federal agencies must issue regulations annually to adjust for inflation the maximum civil penalties that they can impose. The DOL’s announced increases, effective January 15, […]

At this time, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ interim final rule requiring Medicaid and Medicare-certified healthcare providers to mandate vaccination against COVID-19 for all applicable staff (as discussed in our November 8, 2021 E-lert) is now in effect in all states. However, according to CMS, the enforcement deadlines […]

On January 21, 2022, the U.S. Secretary of Labor announced the “Good Jobs” initiative, ostensibly intended to improve job quality. The pro-union nature of this initiative, however, is clear from the press release, in which the DOL asserts that it will “create access to good union jobs – free from discrimination and […]

As of January 15, 2022, employer-sponsored group health plans (as well as insurance companies) are required to fully cover eight over-the-counter at-home tests per covered individual per month, as explained in DOL guidance. These tests must be for personal, and not employment, purposes. If ordered or administered by a health […]

The National Labor Relations Board and Department of Labor have announced an agreement to facilitate information sharing, referrals, joint investigations, and enforcement. The agencies assert that, “The partnership will help ensure that employers pay workers their rightful wages and that workers can take collective action to improve their working conditions […]