Compliance Stuff

  When winter storms strike, businesses often face the challenging decision of whether to shut down operations to ensure the safety of their employees—bringing a host of wage and hour issues to the forefront. During unexpected closures, employers face considerations such as whether employees are entitled to be paid under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) . Here’s an overview of some of employers’ basic legal obligations during work disruptions caused by the weather. Quick Hits Generally, under the FLSA, employers must pay exempt employees their guaranteed salary during business closures caused by inclement weather, as deductions for employer-caused absences are not permitted . Employers are typically required to pay nonexempt employees for all hours worked, but if they cannot work remotely due to the nature of their jobs during a weather-related closure, employers are not required to pay them. Connectivity problems during inclement weather affect wage and hour obligations similar...

A high-tech company just announced that it will expand its deployment of smart glasses equipped with cameras, sensors, and internet connectivity to even more federal safety inspectors in 2025 so they have ability for real-time documentation, augmented reality features, and instant communication with outside personnel. Although details of OSHA’s intended use of the Vuzix M400™ smart glasses are limited,  the December 2 announcement  raised eyebrows in the employer community. After all, the continuous use of cameras and recording features raises significant questions about whether their use might violate constitutional protections and even OSHA’s own policies concerning the use of recording devices during inspections and interviews. What do you need to know about this development and what steps can you take now to protect your organization and your employees? What are Smart Glasses? Smart glasses are wearable devices equipped with cameras that can record video and audio, take p...

  Every once in awhile, the U.S. Department of Labor rattles its saber, warning employers that it’s readying itself for aggressive enforcement investigations reviewing alleged FMLA violations. For instance, two years ago, the DOL  announced  that it would ramp up FMLA audits (as well as wage and hour audits generally) those employers in the warehouse and logistics industries. Well, they’re back again. Based on information provided informally during DOL investigations in which we have been involved, we have learned that the DOL is directing investigators to insist on production of additional information from employers particularly with respect to payroll practices. This is potentially a big deal. If you’ve been involved in a DOL investigation over the past year, you’ve noticed a new format for the long-itemized list of information DOL seeks in an FMLA investigation. Take, for example, this laundry list of requests I received from DOL earlier this year in an F-M-L-A investi...

  Changes align construction industry with general industry standards WASHINGTON -  The U.S. Department of Labor announced that its Occupational Safety and Health Administration has finalized a revision to the personal protective equipment standard for construction. The  final rule explicitly requires the equipment to properly fit  any construction worker who needs it, improving protections from hazardous conditions. “I’ve talked to workers in construction, particularly women, who have spoken of personal protective equipment that didn’t fit or was simply unavailable at the jobsite in their size,” said Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health Doug Parker. “PPE must fit properly to work. I’m proud of the broad support from both employers and unions for OSHA’s efforts to make clear that employers must provide the right PPE for each worker who needs it.” The revision to the standard adds specific language requiring that employers provide PPE that properly f...

  The incoming administration will likely take a more light-handed approach to AI regulation than the current administration. Many of the Biden administration’s AI executive actions and agency actions will be rolled back. AI legislation will continue to proliferate at the state level. Employers should prioritize transparency measures and self-regulatory efforts as attainable goals to managing inherent risk of bias in in AI tools. Because the United States has so far adopted a light-handed and decentralized approach to regulating artificial intelligence (AI) in the workplace, the reelection of President Donald Trump is unlikely to have as dramatic an impact on AI regulations as it may on other labor and employment matters. Nevertheless, the second Trump administration will have significant influence on issues related to AI from January 2025 to January 2029, a critical time for the rapidly evolving AI regulatory environment. Overall, the incoming administration is likely to take a mo...

  Beginning Jan. 1, 2025, all private-sector employers in New York must provide eligible employees 20 hours of paid prenatal leave. The New York State Department of Labor released  FAQs  providing employers with guidance on the new law. According to the FAQs, paid prenatal leave is a separate entitlement from any other leave policies. As you prepare your policies in advance of the Jan. 1 effective date, you can read more about the important considerations included in the FAQs here:  NYS Paid Prenatal Leave: Employers Must Manage a New Entitlement in the New Year – Jackson Lewis . Source(s): Disability, Leave & Health Management Blog (Jackson Lewis, PC) , received on December 10, 2024.

  It’s no secret that President-elect Donald Trump intends to carry out what he has called the largest mass deportation in U.S. history shortly after taking office. U.S. employers—particularly those in the manufacturing, food processing, agricultural, construction, and hospitality industries with a relatively unskilled workforce—should immediately prepare for ramped-up government immigration enforcement in the workplace. Employers should get ready to endure a painful process, a sudden loss of workers, and administrative and criminal penalties. Many employers with a substantial nonprofessional workforce have accumulated workers who may be unauthorized to be in the U.S., whether they entered the country undocumented or overstayed. Employers have been required since 1986 to check the documents of new hires to confirm their identity and work authorization in completing Form I-9, but those documents are easily faked. A rising number of employers have opted or been required to use the g...