On Tuesday, Sept. 24, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released the long-anticipated final rule for overtime exemptions, which alters the salary thresholds for several of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) exemptions. Under the final rule, the salary threshold levels for the white-collar exemptions and the highly compensated employee exemption were increased, making it more difficult for an employee to be classified as exempt under the FLSA. As a result, an estimated additional 1 ...
A recent ruling of the Finnish Supreme Court is a great reminder for employers what is to be taken into consideration when entering into termination agreements with employees. In general, the employer and the employee may, at any time during the employment relationship, mutually agree to terminate the employment relationship. Freedom of contract applies and a mutual termination agreement is, per se, a valid and legally binding agreement, if the agreement in concluded appropriately ...
The U.S. Department of Labor has announced its Final Rule increasing the minimum salary level employees need to be paid in order to be deemed an exempt white collar employee, provided the employees otherwise meet the applicable duties and salary basis tests. The rule has been long-awaited since the predecessor Obama administration-era rule was enjoined by a Texas federal court in 2016 ...
An Update in the World of Workplace Safety MSHA Civil Penalties On August 16, 2019, the United States Department of Labor Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) issued a report on MSHA’s civil monetary penalties (“CMP”) program ...
On Sept. 10, 2019, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued the MV Transportation decision and adopted the contract coverage standard in evaluating whether an employer’s unilateral action concerning terms and conditions of employment violates the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) duty to bargain ...
As seen on BankDirector.com: Even with a lack of legal clarity, banks can take steps to prepare for work-from-home accommodation requests from employees with disabilities. Technology now allows banks’ employees to be connected with coworkers and customers nearly anywhere in the world via email, chat, calls or video conferencing. Many banks use work from home, or telecommuting, as a perk to attract and retain talent ...
On Monday, Sept. 9, 2019, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued its decision in The Boeing Company and International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, adopting a three part test for determining whether a bargaining unit is appropriate under the analysis set forth in PCC Structurals, Inc., 365 NLRB 160 (2017) ...
On August 16, 2019, the Ninth Circuit ruled in O'Rourke v. Northern California Electrical Workers Pension Plan, et al. that the board of trustees for an ERISA-covered multiemployer pension plan did not abuse its discretion by broadly interpreting the plan's ambiguous trade-based suspension of benefits provision to preclude a participant’s claim for early retirement benefits ...
In its decision of June 26, 2019 (ref. 5 AZR 452/18), the 5th Senate of the Federal Labor Court (BAG) dealt with the requirements and limitations of overtime lump sum remuneration clauses in works agreements. So far, the decision is only available as a press release. FACTS OF THE CASE The plaintiff is a union secretary at the ver.di trade union. The parties have agreed a weekly working time of 35 hours and "trust-based working hours" ...
BAG of March 19 2019 - 9 AZR 495/17 The employer may reduce the vacation entitlement of a worker on parental leave by one twelfth for each full calendar month. If he does not exercise his right to reduce or if he can not prove the declaration of reduction, vacation entitlement does not expire during parental leave in accordance with Sec. 7 para. 3 BUrlG [German federal vacation law] at the end of the vacation year or the transfer period (31 March of each year) ...
LAG Schleswig-Holstein of February 26 2019 - 2 TaBV 14/18 The works council has no entitlement to the Provision or Inspection of Personnel Turnover Statistics or Appendices thereto, if the Employer only uses these for Statistical Purposes and for Internal Controlling. The personnel turnover statistics in this case are not an instrument for personnel planning ...
The prohibition of discrimination against fixed-term employees has already been the subject of a large number of decisions by both the ECJ and the BAG [German Federal Labor Court]. According to these decisions, fixed-term workers may not receive poorer terms of employment compared to comparable permanent employees simply because of their fixed-term employment status. Rather, such would require substantive justification ...
The German Federal Labor Court (BAG) ruled by judgment of January 31, 2019 (ref. no. 2 AZR 426/18) that, under certain circumstances, the employer may lawfully review data on an employee's work computer even if there is no suspicion based on factual evidence of a breach of duty. This applies to minor encroachments on personal rights, for example, in the case of actions carried out openly and restricted to files that are not marked as "private" ...
In its decision of 9 April 2019 (ref. no.: 1 ABR 51/17), the German Federal Labor Court (BAG) took position on the right of the works council to request information from the employer according to Section 80 (2) of the German Works Constitution Act (BetrVG) and clarified what data protection restrictions such a request is subject to ...
MCA UPDATE – JULY 2019 What When Summary 1. Notification of Ministry of Corporate Affairs (“MCA”) with regards to filing / verification of KYC details of the directors 25.07.2019 The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (“MCA”) has notified the Companies (Appointment and Qualification of Directors) Third Amendment Rules, 2019 ...
What When Summary 1. Online reporting for filing of Annual Return on Foreign Liabilities and Assets (FLA Return) by Indian Companies 28.06 ...
In an opinion letter issued Aug. 8, 2019, the Wage and Hour Division of the United States Department of Labor (DOL) concluded an employee may take leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to attend meetings to discuss the Individualized Education Plan (IEP) of the employee’s child with a qualifying serious health condition. BACKGROUND The employee has two children with qualifying serious health conditions under FMLA ...
As of July 1, 2019, registration officially opened for CalSavers, California's new retirement savings program, formerly known as Secure Choice. CalSavers is a mandatory state-sponsored program for private sector and nonprofit workers whose employers do not offer a retirement plan. Under CalSavers, eligible employers with five or more employees must register with the California State Treasurer’s office as a participating employer in CalSavers ...
The Ministry of Health has published a new public consultation process regarding proposed modifications to the Preliminary Titles; II "Food"; XXVII "Of Alcoholic Beverages, Fruit and Vegetable Juices and Bottled Waters"; and XXIX “Of the Food Supplements and Foods for Athletes” of Decree No. 977/1997 that establishes the Sanitary Regulations for Foods (hereinafter, “ RSA ”) ...
By way of advance notice, please note that the window to apply for the 2020 foreign employee quota will open in September 2019. Organizations employing or intending to employ foreign employees in 2020 are required to apply for a foreign employee quota from the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training (“MLVT”) ...
CalPERS Announces New Administrative Fees for Section 218 Agreements The California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS), the California State Social Security Administrator (SSSA), announced in July that it will begin charging new administrative fees to public agencies for Section 218 Agreements to pay the cost of administering the SSSA program ...
The “good faith” requirement of a light-duty offer was just examined by the 10th District Court of Appeals and the Ohio Supreme Court with a somewhat surprising result. Light-duty job offers can be a good way for employers to minimize the payment of temporary total disability compensation and bring injured workers back to the workforce. However, these job offers must conform to very specific requirements under the Ohio Administrative Code ...
On August 14, 2019, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued its Supplemental Decision, Order, and Notice to Show Cause in Cordúa Restaurants, Inc. and Steven Ramirez Rogelio Morales and Shearone Lewis, 368 NLRB No. 43 (2019). The decision resolves several important issues of first impression involving mandatory arbitration agreements following the U.S. Supreme Court’s opinion in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis, 84 U.S. __, 138 S.Ct. 1612 (2018) ...
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed comprehensive legislation on Aug. 9 aimed to prevent sexual harassment and discrimination in the workplace. This omnibus legislation, which will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2020, imposes significant new responsibilities on employers. Workplace Transparency Act One of the new laws created in this legislation is the Workplace Transparency Act (WTA) ...
