Employment

Introduction

On 10 May, the Department for Business and Trade (the “DBT”) released the regulatory reform update “Smarter Regulation to Grow the Economy” – the first in a series of updates on how the government intends to reform regulations to support economic growth.  This first package of updates addresses employment regulations…

2023 will likely see employment lawyers and HR professionals (in the UK and further afield) grappling with a number of key employment-related legal and policy developments. In this alert we highlight some of the most important ones.

  1. Brexit: The Employment Law Fallout

When the UK left the European Union on 31 December 2020, a “snapshot”…

Mandatory gender pay gap reporting is new to Ireland and is likely to attract media attention and potential comparisons, particularly for multinational and higher profile companies.  Deciding how best to communicate the gender pay gap – if it exists – will be important in averting any particular anxieties which may arise for employees and their…

Governor Newsom has signed Senate Bill (SB) 1383 to significantly expand the California Family Rights Act (CFRA).  The CFRA is California’s counterpart to the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and provides unpaid family and medical leave of up to 12 weeks for eligible employees.  The new law’s key revisions are summarized below and take effect on January 1, 2021.
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Continue Reading New Law Expands California Family Rights Act

In view of the coronavirus crisis, employers are faced with numerous questions of employment law, ranging from the question of compulsory employment and possible release of employees in the event of illness or closure of the business, through remuneration issues in the event of a lack of childcare, to the currently extended options for receiving…

The U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) has published a final rule, which takes effect on March 16, 2020, outlining the new four-factor approach DOL will use to determine whether, under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), a business is a “joint employer” of another company’s employees and thus jointly and severally liable for wage and hour obligations.  The new rule comes as good news for employers because it establishes a concrete and narrow standard for determining joint employer status and is expected to provide clearer guidance to federal courts making joint employer determinations.

The final rule represents the first time in 60 years that DOL has issued a joint employer rule, although over the decades it has issued guidance both expanding and contracting the scope of the definition and potential liability.  Furthermore, the rule is consistent with a series of actions that DOL, under the Trump administration, has taken to rescind the previously broader definition of “joint employer” under the Obama administration (including its June 7, 2017 withdrawal of employee-friendly Administrator’s Interpretation guidance documents from 2015 and 2016).…

Continue Reading DOL Issues Final “Joint Employer” Rule

A recent Supreme Court decision, Perez v. Mortgage Bankers Ass’n, highlights two important points about the authority of the U.S. Department of Labor, IRS, and other administrative agencies to interpret rules:

  1. U.S. courts will generally follow administrative interpretations of statutes and an agency’s regulations, except in rare circumstances. This deference extends to “sub-regulatory” guidance, like opinion letters, rulings, notices, amicus briefs, and probably even FAQs posted on a website; and
  2. Agencies have wide latitude to change their minds on interpretive guidance, without any obligation to consult with the public.

The decision illustrates the practical importance of getting involved in the regulatory process, and advocating for important clarifications before regulations are finalized. Although agencies may change interpretive guidance unilaterally, unambiguous regulations generally cannot be changed without advance notice and an opportunity to comment.

Background.  This case involved whether mortgage-loan officers are eligible for overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Continue Reading Supreme Court Ruling on Agency Flip-Flopping Affects Rules for Benefit Plans