In an opinion letter published this week, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (“DOL”) clarified how employers should calculate an employee’s Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) leave entitlement when the leave is taken during a week that includes a holiday.
The FMLA regulations are clear that when an employee takes a
The General Counsel for the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) issued a landmark memorandum yesterday broadly opining that most non-compete agreements violate Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”) and directing the NLRB’s various regions to make challenging overbroad non-compete agreements an enforcement priority. After the NLRB’s sweeping decision this February in McLaren
As the 2023 Virginia legislative session comes to a close, Governor Glenn Youngkin signed into law two new pieces of legislation that will expand the Commonwealth’s existing restriction on employee confidentiality agreements and restrict how employers may use employee social security numbers. Both new laws go into effect July 1, 2023.
Expanded prohibition on confidentiality
On February 21, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board issued a landmark decision in McLaren Macomb that has the potential to seismically change how employers approach and manage employee separations that include severance packages. In response to this landmark decision and the impact it will have on many employers, Reed Smith’s Labor & Employment team
On February 21, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board issued a landmark decision in McLaren Macomb that has the potential to seismically change how employers approach and manage employee separations that include severance packages. Overturning well-settled precedent, the Board held in a stunning decision that severance agreements containing non-disparagement and confidentiality provisions are unlawful under
On December 7, 2022, President Biden signed into law the much-heralded “Speak Out Act.” As the name suggests, the Act is designed to “empower survivors [of sexual harassment and sexual assault] to come forward” and “hold perpetrators accountable for abuse” while improving the safety and productivity of the workplace. The Act notes that “nondisclosure and
On Wednesday, March 23, 2022, official revocation of Virginia’s COVID-19 permanent workplace safety standard became effective upon publication in the Richmond Times-Dispatch. That action followed a vote by the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry’s (DOLI’s) Safety and Health Codes Board (Board) earlier this week.
The Board initiated steps in February to end the standard
On Wednesday, February 16, 2022, the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry’s (DOLI’s) Safety and Health Codes Board (Board) convened and voted to recommend revoking the Commonwealth’s COVID-19 permanent workplace safety standard. This action comes after newly-elected Governor Glenn Youngkin issued Executive Order 6 directing the Board to convene an emergency meeting to consider
On December 7, 2021, a federal court in Georgia issued a nationwide injunction prohibiting the federal government from enforcing Executive Order 14042 – the vaccine mandate for federal contractors and subcontractors. The federal contractor mandate applies to roughly one-quarter of the U.S. workforce and affects companies that do business with the federal government.
The States of Georgia, Alabama, Idaho, Kansas, South Carolina, Utah and West Virginia, various state agencies and certain other employers brought the action alleging that President Biden’s Executive Order exceeded his authority and requesting a preliminary injunction.
Judge R. Stan Baker agreed, stating that he was “unconvinced” that the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act authorized President Biden to direct the type of broad and unprecedented administrative actions contained in Executive Order 14042, adding that such action likely requires Congressional authorization. The court found that the plaintiffs had a likelihood of proving that Executive Order 14042 went beyond mere administration and management of procurement and contracting, and did not fall within the authority actually granted to the President by Congress. Instead, the Court reasoned, Executive Order 14042 works as a “regulation of public health. Judge Baker also rejected the government’s argument that enjoining Executive Order 14042 would permit the continued spread of COVID-19, finding that it would merely maintain the status quo.
Continue Reading Federal contractor vaccine mandate temporarily halted nationwide
On August 26, 2021, the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry’s (DOLI’s) Safety and Health Codes Board (Board) voted 8 to 5 to update and continue its COVID-19 permanent workplace safety standard. That vote came despite the fact that the bulk of COVID-19 business requirements issued by Virginia Governor Ralph Northam ended on May