Florida Minimum Wage Remains at $8.05 for 2016
Under the Florida Minimum Wage Act, the Department of Economic Opportunity is required to calculate an adjusted state minimum wage rate by increasing the state’s minimum wage, when applicable, by the rate of inflation for the 12 months prior to September 1. In calculating the adjusted state minimum wage, the Department of Economic Opportunity uses…
U.S. Supreme Court Validates Class Action Waivers in Arbitration Agreements
The United States Supreme Court, in a 6-3 decision favoring DirecTV over its customers, has once again affirmed its long standing support for the enforcement of arbitration agreements. In the latest case, decided on December 14, the Supreme Court reversed California state courts’ interpretation of its own state laws, finding that the Federal Arbitration Act…
New Overtime Rule Not Coming Until Late 2016
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) will not release its final rule re-defining which employees are and are not exempt from the right to be paid overtime until late 2016, Solicitor of Labor Patricia Smith has announced. The announcement regarding the timing of the expected changes to the “white collar” exemption for executive, administrative, and…
OSHA Publishes Comprehensive New Guide to its Training Standards for Private Sector Employers
Under the federal Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) of 1970, private sector employers are responsible for providing a safe and healthful workplace for their employees. Those duties include providing proper training for employees on how to perform their jobs safely. Now the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the federal government agency that sets…
“Economic Realities” Test Applies to Independent Contractor vs. Employee Relationship
For employers classifying providers of personal services as “independent contractors” rather than employees, the United States Department of Labor (DOL) has just issued a warning: In its view, “most” American workers are really employees. The Department’s Wage and Hour Division issued a 15-page interpretative “guidance” memorandum on July 15, seeking to clarify the sometimes difficult…
The Obama Workplace Revolution: Employers Need to Update Employees’ Overtime Classifications
While President Obama has not been able so far to obtain necessary Congressional support for increasing the federal minimum wage, he is moving expeditiously to increase the number of American employees eligible for overtime pay. This he can do by himself through executive action — without Congressional legislation. Under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act…
Uber Gets Rear-Ended Trying to Classify its Drivers as Independent Contractors Without Benefits
Any first year lawyer could have told Uber management that classifying their drivers as independent contractors – rather than employees — was an extremely risky business gamble. Now Uber (Uber Technologies, Inc., a Delaware corporation) is having to face the consequences of its calculated bet thanks to an unfavorable decision by the California Labor Commissioner.…
Careful before you fire an openly racist employee – the feds may come after you
A company that fired an employee for violating its workplace anti-harassment policies by making racist remarks on a picket line has been ordered to give him his job back with back pay plus interest. The fired employee, who was a member of the United Steelworkers union, had made the racist statements in 2012 while on…
U.S. Labor Department Updates FMLA Forms, Now good through May 31, 2018
The Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor, which is responsible for administering and enforcing the Family Medical Leave Act for most employees, has published new FMLA forms on its web site. The revisions are not very dramatic, notably including references to the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA). The revised…
Retaliation Claims in the Workplace: A growing threat for employers
In 2014, 3,261 claims of workplace retaliation were filed against employers in Florida with the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The EEOC concluded that fully 63% of them had no basis, and yet employers were forced to spend considerable amounts of time and money in defending them. Texas, Florida, and California were the…
