Compliance Stuff

In assessing whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor, the Eleventh Circuit recently re-confirmed that it “does not care about the label put on the relationship by the parties.”  Galarza v. One Call Claims, LLC  involved three insurance adjusters who worked for Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA). TWIA engaged the services of One Call Claims, LLC (OCC), a business that staffed insurance companies with adjusters. The plaintiffs, who had all entered into written independent contractor agreements with OCC, sued, alleging that both companies had misclassified them and failed to pay them overtime wages they were entitled to as “employees” under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The plaintiffs handled claims for TWIA on a full-time basis for approximately two years. During that time, they could not work for other carriers without terminating their contractual relationship with TWIA. They used their own phones and cars, and maintained their own profes...

Federal funding lapse could slow filings and hearings as US courts shift schedules and staffing. As of October 20, 2025, the federal judiciary’s funding lapse is now disrupting day-to-day court operations. After exhausting fee balances and other non-appropriated funds, several US trial-level courts began reducing activity on Fridays — and in some instances closing courthouses entirely for the day. The changes underscore a new phase of constrained court-by-court decision-making that will shape how filings, hearings, and staffing are handled in the coming weeks. For example, the  Eastern and Southern District Courts of California and the District of Arizona  have designated all staff as essential in order to manage heavy caseloads and minimize disruptions to court operations. By comparison, the District Court of Rhode Island has instituted a four-day workweek, which will necessarily slow cases. Similarly, the  Middle District of Alabama  has closed its courthouses on F...

Cybersecurity Awareness Month was established to provide resources to organizations and their employees to help them stay safer and more secure online. It is an opportunity to focus on four key behaviors: creating strong passwords and using a password manager, enabling multi-factor authentication, updating software, and recognizing and reporting scams . Each of these key behaviors are necessary to help keep organizations, their clients, and their employees secure. Safeguarding Digital Assets by Identifying, Avoiding, and Reporting Phishing Attempts Cyber criminals deploy scams to try to convince people to give their passwords, information, or money. Malicious emails are one of the primary methods for these cyber scams, and remain one of the top risks facing organizations, especially as advances in artificial intelligence give cyber criminals the ability to craft highly sophisticated and hard-to-identify phishing emails. No email filter can detect and catch all malicious emails, so some...

Zoe Waldman, Intern, contributed to this client alert. What Changed and Why? The FAR Council Issues a Rule to Amend FAR Thresholds for Inflation Every Five Years Pursuant to a Statute. Effective October 1, 2025, the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Council issued a final rule to amend FAR thresholds applied in federal procurements . By statute, these thresholds are required to be updated for inflation every five years,  using the Consumer Price Index . The threshold changes do not apply to the Construction Wage Rate Requirements statute, the Service Contract Labor Standards statute, performance and payment bonds, and trade agreements thresholds . What Are the Key  Changes ?  1. Micro-Purchase Threshold (MPT):  The MPT is the threshold below which government purchases can be made without soliciting competitive bids, simplifying procurement procedures to expedite small transactions. Standard MPT : Increased from $10,000 → $15,000 Contingency Operations :  U.S...

B usiness owners, executives, and managers need to pay attention to wage and hour compliance or risk personal liability. In a recent ruling under federal and New Jersey wage and hour law, a managing director with some ownership interests in several pawn shops was held personally liable for upwards of $2 million for wage violations. H ere’s what business leaders can learn from this class-action lawsuit, and six ways to shield yourself and your company. Manager Found Personally Liable This class-action lawsuit involved 18 former employees alleging wage violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the New Jersey Wage Hour Law (NJWHL). US District Judge William J. Martini held t hat the managing director of the Perfect Pawn was an “employer” within the meaning of the FLSA and NJWHL. The court also found that the director violated federal and state wage and hour laws by: knowingly misclassifying employees; lowering their salaries without notice; failing to pay them minimum hou...

The power of AI is creating new and evolving cyber risks. This article explores those risks, the legal landscape and consequences for organizations in the UK and US that fail to implement sufficient cyber protections, and the steps that legal departments should be taking to protect their organizations. AI cyber risk – both an internal and external challenge From an internal cyber defense perspective, AI as a technology is not substantially more risky than other new and novel IT systems. The internal risk stems from the rapid adoption of new technologies creating new attack avenues. AI is fueling a boom in new AI companies and the integration of AI into existing platforms. The speed of this change means the new technology may be less well tested and, accordingly, comes with heightened risks of undetected or unpatched vulnerabilities.  It also introduces change risk as new technology is onboarded. This often requires bringing new systems onto an existing IT estate or new connection...

Following California’s  2023 expansion  of job-protected, unpaid family medical leave and paid sick and safe time and its  2025 expansion  of job-protected, unpaid leave for victims of violence to include use for a “designated person,” Governor Gavin Newsom signed  SB 590  on October 13, 2025, which broadens eligibility for the state’s Paid Family Leave (PFL) law.  As a result of the change, PFL wage replacement benefits claims filed on or after July 1, 2028 will be available for employees who take time off work to care for a “designated person” with a serious illness, which the law defines as any care recipient related by blood or whose association with the individual is the equivalent of a family relationship. Employees will have to identify their “designated person” at the time they request benefits and attest under penalty of perjury to either: (1) how the individual is related by blood to the designated person; or (2) how the individual’s associ...

Senate Bill (SB) 513, now law, quietly but significantly expands what California employers must track in personnel files and share with employees. What’s New Under SB 513? SB 513 amends Labor Code Section 1198.5 to make education and training records explicitly part of the “personnel records” that current and former employees (or their authorized representatives) have the right to inspect and copy.  Employers that maintain education or training records should follow these guidelines: What Your Training Records Must Show  Employers must ensure training or education records contain: Employee’s name Trainer’s name Date and duration of training Core competencies of training, including skills in equipment or software Any resulting certification or qualification Timely Access Still Applies The 30-day rule remains. Employers must respond to written requests for inspection or copies within 30 calendar days , unless both parties agree in writing to extend up to 35 days from the date th...