In May 2016, North Carolina governor Pat McCrory signed into law a bill (HB2) that required transgender people to use restrooms corresponding to their biological sex. On May 13, 2016, the Obama administration’s Justice Department and the Department of Education responded by sending letters to U.S. public school districts directing them to allow students to
New Year, New Laws
Happy New Year! The new year frequently marks new changes in the law, and this year is no exception. There are several important changes that went into effect on January 1st. Here are some of the major changes that went into effect on January 1, 2017:
- Minimum Wage Change: On January 1
University Student Assistants Are Employees Under NLRA
On August 23, 2016, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a decision in The Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York and Graduate Workers of Columbia-GWC, UAW. The NLRB decided that graduate and undergraduate student assistants are common law “employees” within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).
Happy New Year (to California Employees)
The year-end holidays tend to be a time when employers and employees are either winding down for the year or making one last big push to close the year strongly. California employers should make time this week, though, to ensure they are ready for the new laws which will take effect in California this Friday
Former Uber Driver Gets a Lyft from the Labor Commissioner
A California Labor Commissioner has ruled that one of San Francisco-based Uber’s drivers, Barbara Ann Berwick, is an employee, not an independent contractor. The Labor Commissioner awarded Berwick just over $4,000 for incurred but un-reimbursed business expenses and interest. On a positive note, the Commissioner denied Berwick’s request for wages, liquidated damages, and waiting time penalties.
Traditionally, it is the “right to control” the means and manner of work that is the primary element of the independent contractor test. Here, though, the Labor Commissioner did not rely on the right to control. Instead, she noted that the absence of such control is not necessarily dispositive where the actual details of the work required little or no supervision.
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