In a compromise between the City of San Antonio and a coalition of local San Antonio employers that sued to block the implementation of the new paid sick leave ordinance, the City agreed to postpone the effective date of the ordinance from August 1, 2019 until December 1, 2019. The state district judge hearing
City of Dallas Paid Sick Leave Ordinance Scheduled to Take Effect August 1, 2019
The City of Dallas passed a paid sick leave ordinance requiring private employers to provide up to 64 hours of paid sick leave to employees working in the City. Barring court intervention, the law will take effect August 1, 2019. Here are the highlights of the ordinance:
- Requires employers with 15 or more employees to
Employers in Dallas and San Antonio Prepare for Paid Sick Leave
The Texas Legislature ended its session last week without passing a bill that preempts municipalities from passing laws requiring private employers to provide paid sick leave to employees. Consequently, employers in Dallas and San Antonio must prepare for the implementation of the local paid sick leave laws that take effect August 1, 2019.
Dallas, San
U.S. Supreme Court Invalidates Arbitration Agreements of Interstate Truck Drivers
Earlier this year, the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated the arbitration agreements that an interstate trucking company had with its independent contractor drivers. That case arose in the context of a class action wage and hour lawsuit brought by a group of independent contractor interstate truck drivers alleging that they were not properly paid. The company
Supreme Court Enforces Arbitration Agreement that Prohibits Class Action Arbitration
I’m traveling for work this week but today’s Supreme Court opinion is one I have been waiting for all term. In Epic Systems v. Lewis, the Court held that arbitration agreements between employees and employers that require mandatory arbitration of disputes can also require that all disputes be arbitrated individually and not as a
Department of Labor Rolls Out Pilot Program for Employers to Correct Inadvertent Wage and Hour Violations
One of the biggest criticisms I have of the FLSA is that it provides no safe harbor or protection for an employer, who having realized it made a wage and hour mistake, to voluntarily self-report and correct its mistake. Instead, it can encourage employers who learn of a potential FLSA violation that has not otherwise been discovered to continue its current practice hoping that the violation will not be discovered. This week the U.S. Department of Labor announced its Payroll Audit Independent Determination (PAID) program that takes a step in providing employers with an incentive to voluntarily identify and self-correct wage and hour violations. The stated purpose of the program is to
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U.S. Department of Labor Revises and Clarifies Unpaid Intern Test
The U.S. Department of Labor recently abandoned its six-factor internship test in favor of the seven-factor primary beneficiary test utilized by most Courts. The primary benefit test adopts a temporal limitation for the internship that was not in the old six-factor test and incorporates two elements linking eligibility to the intern’s education programs and academic
Employers Using Fluctuating Workweek Method of Overtime Compensation Should Memorialize Understandings in Writing
In Texas, an employer can satisfy its overtime obligation to nonexempt employees whose hours fluctuate from week-to-week and are paid on a salary basis, by using the fluctuating workweek (FWW) method of overtime compensation. Under the FWW, a nonexempt employee who has hours of work which fluctuate from week to week may be paid a
Fifth Circuit Holds Nonemployee Lacks Claim but Employee Can Recover Emotional Distress Damages in FLSA Retaliation Suit
The Fifth Circuit recently held that a plaintiff-employee in an FLSA retaliation claim can recover damages for emotional distress but that the statute does not provide a retaliation cause of action for a nonemployee spouse. In Pineda v. JTCH Apartments, LLC, an employee of the apartment complex who did maintenance work around the property
EEOC to Target Companies Using Non-traditional Working Relationships
Yesterday, the EEOC published its four-year Strategic Enforcement Plan for fiscal years 2017 through 2021. The Plan is the Commission’s list of areas of priority where it intends to focus its resources in the next four years. The purpose of the Plan is to identify those areas the Commission believes are likely to have a