On December 9, 2014, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) announced that it had achieved $4.5 million dollars in settlements from private employers as a result of a two year investigation into contractors working in the Marcellus Shale region of…
Yearly Archives: 2014
Department of Labor Targeting Oil and Gas Contractors
Tagged with: Department of Labor, DOL, exempt, off-the-clock, overtime, salary exemption
Posted in Discrimination, Federal Government, Labor & Employment, Wage and Hour
Posted in Discrimination, Federal Government, Labor & Employment, Wage and Hour
The Secularization of the Holidays
Employers are under increased pressure to secularize religious holidays like Christmas. No one wants to be the Grinch, but at the same time, many companies are concerned that they will being perceived as favoring Christian holidays over Muslim or Jewish…
Posted in Discrimination, Labor & Employment
Election Brings New Wave of Minimum Wage Increases
Election day 2014 brought more than just a wave of new Republican politicians, it also brought a wave of minimum wage increases across the country. For employers with operations in multiple states, payroll just got more complicated. Five states approved…
Posted in Uncategorized
Can State Medical Marijuana Laws Trump Employer Rights?
Currently, 23 states and the District of Columbia have medical marijuana laws which allow a lawful level of marijuana use. One question which comes up often in such states is whether an employer can lawfully terminate an employee who fails…
Tagged with: Department of Labor, EEOC, Unemployment benefits
Posted in Discrimination, Labor & Employment, Wage and Hour
Posted in Discrimination, Labor & Employment, Wage and Hour
Halloween Parties Could Mean HR Issues
I was recently interviewed for an article in Inside Counsel Magazine on the HR issues associated with office Halloween parties. The article is a fun read and can be found here. About The Author
Tagged with: holiday parties, human resources, social media
Posted in Discrimination, Labor & Employment
Posted in Discrimination, Labor & Employment
Reminder – Cozen O’Connor Seminar: How Not to Be the EEOC’s Next Press Release
Tomorrow, the Houston office of Cozen O’Connor will be sponsoring an informative seminar, which will include guest speaker Joe Bontke from the EEOC. Joe is the Outreach Manager and Ombudsman for the Houston EEOC office and is an excellent speaker.…
Posted in Labor & Employment, Wage and Hour
Texas Supreme Court Draws Distinction Between Loyalty Agreement and Non-Compete
In many industries, it is common to pay incentives in the form of restricted stock options payable in the future if certain conditions are satisfied. In Exxon-Mobil v. Drennen, decided on August 29, 2014, the Texas Supreme Court reviewed the…
President Obama Keeps Adding New Labor Regulations for Federal Contractors
It has been a busy year for executive orders, especially if you are a federal contractor. Although the President cannot unilaterally implement new employment laws affecting private employers, there has been no shortage of new labor requirements for those doing…
Can Employees be Disciplined for Using the Bathroom?
Employees at a Chicago plant are picketing over a new employer policy to time unscheduled bathroom breaks and discipline employees who exceed what the company deems as a reasonable amount of time. The company even went so far as to…
Supreme Court Says Obama Overstepped Authority with Three NLRB Recess Appointments
Today, the Supreme Court issued a long-awaited decision addressing the question of whether three recess appointees to the NLRB passed Constitutional muster. These three NLRB members were appointed by President Obama during a three-day recess in the middle of a…
