New Legislation and Regulations

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Steve Jobs has passed away, leaving many iMourners beside themselves today. His legacy has touched many aspects of everyone’s lives, from the way they now conduct business on a tablet, to the way they remember what groceries to get, to the amount of overtime people are owed ….WHAT!?! How did that last bit get in there?

Our blog is not just satisfied mentioning Jobs passing, finding a candle app on our iPad and holding it above our heads. We must look at the lasting impact the iphone, ipad, and other electronic devices have on wage & hour law in the workplace.

As a harsh reminder of the impact technology is having on wage & hour law, recently Chicago police Sgt. Jeffrey Allen filed a class action against the City of Chicago claiming iOT. Allen is suing the City of Chicago on behalf of himself and others, seeking pay for time spent dealing with work-related phone calls, voice mails, emails, text messages and work orders via BlackBerry devices and similar “personal digital assistants.” The officer alleges these activities entitle the group to overtime compensation under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).Continue Reading Bits and Bytes

By: Lizbeth (“Beth”) West, Esq.

Given the state of the economy and the desperation felt by many employees regarding the security of their job (and the anger felt by disgruntled former employees regarding the loss of their job), violence remains a real and serious threat in the workplace. Recognizing this fact, on September 8, 2011, the Department of Labor – OSHA Division – issued a new Directive aimed at providing compliance officers guidance for investigating and responding to allegations and incidents of workplace violence.  OSHA has also launched a new webpage focused on preventing workplace violence. 

In the Directive, OSHA points out the alarming statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) show that an average of 590 homicides occurred each year during the years 2000 through 2009. In fact, homicides remain one of the four most frequent work-related fatal injuries, and remained the number one cause of workplace death for women in 2009. Several studies have shown that prevention programs can reduce incidents of workplace violence.  According to OSHA, by assessing their worksites, employers can identify methods for reducing the likelihood of incidents occurring.  OSHA believes that a well written and implemented Workplace Violence Prevention Program, combined with engineering controls, administrative controls and training can reduce the incidence of workplace violence in both the private sector and in governmental workplaces.Continue Reading OSHA Issues New Directive Focused On Preventing Workplace Violence;Employers Are Advised to Evaluate Their Workplace to Ensure Compliance

By: Meagan Christiansen

Just this week, the Department of Labor (DOL) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced they are joining together to prevent employers from misclassifying employees as independent contractors. On September 19, 2011, Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis hosted a ceremony at the DOL headquarters in Washington to sign a memorandum of …

By: James Kachmar

On September 14, 2011, the California Legislature enrolled Senate Bill 459 and presented it to Governor Jerry Brown for signature. (As of the time of this post, the Governor has still not acted on SB 459.)

SB 459 was introduced by Senator Ellen Corbett to address the issue of misclassification of employees as independent contractors. Under California law, there is extensive statutory provisions that address the employee/employer relationship and provide numerous protections to employees in areas such as minimum wage, overtime and working conditions. SB 459 was introduced to prevent the misclassification of employees as independent contractors so that “true” employees could receive the protections of these statutes. SB 459 would subject employers to civil penalties of up to $25,000 per violation in the event that an employer willfully misclassifies an employee as an independent contractor. SB 459 also provides employees with a private cause of action if they suffer actual harm.Continue Reading Legislative Alert: Employee Misclassification Bill Sent to Governor

By: Chuck Post

Over the last year, Weintraub Genshlea Chediak Tobin & Tobin has tripled the size of its employment law department. In addition to enhancing the services we can provide to our clients, this growth has allowed us to continue presenting our quality seminars and maintaining our Labor and Employment Law Blog. Our results…