Labor & Employment Law Update

On July 1, 2016, the DOL issued an interim final rule that significantly increases the penalty amounts that may be imposed on plan sponsors for certain ERISA violations. The final rule ups the penalties for certain failures including failure to file an annual Form 5500 and failure to provide the Summary of Benefits and Coverage, as required by the Affordable Care Act.

These increases are the result of the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 whereby federal agencies were directed to adjust their civil monetary penalties for inflation each year ...

Fall is around the corner, and with it comes student interns bolstering their resumes. Interns can benefit companies by cutting down some of the workload; however, employers need to be aware that wage and hour laws can apply to interns.

The federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) mandates that nearly all employees be paid minimum wage and overtime for hours worked over 40 in a week. One FLSA exemption is for bona fide interns.

The U.S. DOL applies a fact-specific inquiry to determine whether an internship may be unpaid because “no employment relationship exists.”

• The ...

Last month, an EEOC Task Force issued a lengthy report on harassment in the workplace.  The report begins with mention of the prevalence of harassment claims, which appear in almost a full third of the employment discrimination charges that the EEOC received in 2015. Given this, the report recommends that employers reboot their anti-harassment measures. Among other helpful research and advice, the report discusses risk factors that make a workplace more susceptible to harassment, many of which are discussed below:

• Workforce comprised of many young workers. Those in their ...

In a 3-1 decision the National Labor Relations Board made it easier to organize a company with a contingent workforce. Today’s Board decision returned to the rule established in M.B. Sturgis, Inc., 331 NLRB 1298 (2000) (“Sturgis”), reversing Oakwood Care Center, 343 NLRB 659 (2004) (“Oakwood”) thereby holding that employer consent is not necessary for units that combine jointly employed and solely employed employees of a single user employer.

So what does this mean?

Under the newly resurrected Sturgis standard temporary employees can once again be included in a single ...