Posts by: Alex Mitchell

Phase Two of New York Legislative Response to #MeToo: State Passes Comprehensive Anti-Discrimination Expansion Bill

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Major changes are in store for New York employers under a new bill passed in the waning hours of the 2019 legislative session. As part of an ongoing, multi-year effort to address sexual harassment and other discrimination and harassment issues, the New York legislature on June 19, 2019 passed Assembly Bill 8421 (“AB 8421”), a compendium bill that introduces new and refined employee protections against harassment, retaliation, and discrimination in the workplace. AB 8421 amends the New York State Human Rights Law (“NYSHRL”) to usher in new affirmative protections and procedural mandates that will significantly affect employer liability under state law. Building on protections previously enacted under the 2018 state budget, AB 8421 will expand prohibitions on nondisclosure agreements and arbitration agreements to categories of discrimination and harassment beyond sexual harassment. Key elements of AB 8421 are described below. READ MORE →

Tip-ping the Scales: New Challenge to the DOL’s Revised Tip Credit Rule

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As was reported late last year, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) in 2018 published an Opinion Letter (FLSA2018-27), effectively rescinding the agency’s 80/20 tip credit rule. In general, the tip credit rule permits employers in tip-producing industries, such as the restaurant industry, to compensate employees at a minimum rate of $2.13 per hour, and to take a credit against the tips an employee receives. An employer is additionally responsible for the remainder of an employee’s wages, if any, between what the employee earned in wages and tips combined, and the federal minimum wage. READ MORE →

(Tip) Credit Where (Tip) Credit Is Due: DOL Reverses Course on Treatment of Tipped Employees

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On November 8, 2018, the Department of Labor published an Opinion Letter (FLSA2018-27) reissuing its January 16, 2009 guidance (Opinion Letter FLSA2009-23) and reversing the agency’s Obama-era position on the 20% tip credit rule. The letter marks another significant shift in Department of Labor policy, and among the first major changes in federal tip credit policy over the last decade. READ MORE →

Texas Two-Step: Overtime Ruling Does Not Completely End the Obama Rule Dance

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On August 31, 2017, Judge Amos Mazzant of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, issued an order invalidating the Obama-era overtime rules. Finding that the Department of Labor rule exceeded its statutory authority under the Fair Labor Standards Act, the district court appeared to end the saga that had employers furiously determining whether they were going to adjust the pay of a wide swath of their workforces last Fall. However, the decision does not close the books on whether changes to the FLSA white collar exemptions are on the horizon. READ MORE →

Marrying Sex and Sexuality under Title VII

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Several recent cases are poised to set a major tonal shift in the realm of LGBT employee rights following the Supreme Court’s 2015 landmark decision in Obergefell v. Hodges. As part of its ongoing coverage of LGBT employment issues, Orrick offers its insights and predictions as courts continue to contemplate where sexual identity fits within this changing landscape of protected statuses. READ MORE →

Sobering Reflections on OSHA’s New Drug Testing Policy

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In May 2016, the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (“OSHA”) announced its final rule to “improve tracking of workplace injuries and illnesses.” Effective December 1, 2016, the rule targets retaliation against employees for reporting workplace accidents, including disciplinary actions that are likely to impair or discourage future reporting efforts. In its recent guidance, the agency suggests that blanket, mandatory post-accident drug testing can itself be a form of unlawful discipline where the employer lacks what OSHA terms a “reasonable basis” for suspecting drug or alcohol impairment. The “reasonable basis” language, which has so far received no further clarification, introduces ample uncertainty as to what conduct may be subject to an agency citation and how citations for drug testing fit within the agency’s existing penalty framework. READ MORE →