October 2017 E-Update

Click here to view entire E-Update as a PDF RECENT DEVELOPMENTS Baltimore City Enacts Displaced Service Workers Protection Ordinance The Baltimore City Council recently passed a bill that grants broad protections to service employees working on contracts that are taken over by a new company…..Read More. Trump Administration Reverses Course […]

An employer’s creative attempt to avoid payment for break time by recasting it as “flexible time“ was rejected by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit. Although the Fair Labor Standards Act does not require employers to provide breaks, if breaks are provided, FLSA regulations require employers to […]

While a draw against future commissions is lawful, requiring a salesperson to pay back outstanding draws constitutes a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act, according to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit. In Stein v. HHGregg, Inc., the court confirmed that, with regard to commissioned sales […]

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has issued a new document in its “What You Should Know” series for employees: “What to Do if You Believe You Have Been Harassed at Work.” The document instructs the employee first to ask the harasser to stop. If the employee is uncomfortable doing so […]

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 a retaliation victim to receive “legal or equitable relief,” including “employment, reinstatement, promotion, the payment […]

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 information. “Credit information” is defined as “any written, oral, or other communication of information bearing on an employee’s […]

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued a final rule that reaffirms the requirement for employers to make records of workplace injuries and maintain such records for five years following the injury. This longstanding recordkeeping requirement had been called into question by a 2012 federal case, AKM LLC […]