June 2020 E-Update

Click here to view entire E-Update as a PDF RECENT DEVELOPMENTS DOL Offers COVID-19 Guidance on Enforcement Action Damages, Summer Jobs for Teens, and Summer Camp Closures The Department of Labor issued several field bulletins this month on issues related to COVID-19 and school children, as well as damages in […]

Although the federal minimum wage rate remains the same at $7.25, several local jurisdictions in the mid-Atlantic region will see an increase in the minimum wage rate on July 1, 2020. District of Columbia – The minimum wage rate will increase to $15.00 per hour for all employees, regardless of […]

A recent case warns employers that there may be non-compete implications when employees are transferred to a new job after a position elimination – an issue of particular relevance in the current economic climate. In Russomano v. Novo Nordisk, Inc., an employee had a non-compete agreement that prohibited him from […]

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit addressed for the first time the use of the fluctuating workweek (FWW) method, upholding the employer’s calculation of overtime pursuant to that approach. The fluctuating workweek (FWW) method of computing overtime is an alternative method of computing overtime for non-exempt salaried […]

In a case that exemplifies the importance of word selection, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit found that an employee did not invoke his right to union representation at a disciplinary meeting by reciting facts about his past communication with the union, absent a clear assertion of […]

In rejecting a female plumber’s sex discrimination claim arising from her non-selection for several positions, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit reiterated that the employer may decide who is best qualified to fill the positions in question. In Gibson v. MGM Grand Detroit, LLC, a female plumber […]

In Verizon Wireless, the National Labor Relations Board held that employer rules authorizing the monitoring of company electronic devices and searches of employee property, including cars, were lawful. First, the Board noted that, under existing precedent, employers lawfully may monitor its employees’ company-issued computers and devices for legitimate management reasons, […]

A recent case reiterates the obvious but important principle that, in order to sustain a harassment claim, the complaining employee must show that they were, in fact, offended by the alleged harassment. In Gibson v. Concrete Equipment Co., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit rejected a female […]

The National Labor Relations Board overruled its own precedent in finding that an employee who encourages another employee to vote for a union has engaged in solicitation that may lawfully be prohibited during their working time. Long-standing precedent permits employers to prohibit “solicitation” during an employee’s working time. In the […]

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit stated that the exemption of “transitory and minor” impairments from the protections of the Americans with Disabilities Act requires an employer to establish that the impairment in question is both transitory and minor. The Americans with Disabilities Act sets forth a […]