Compliance Stuff

On July 9, 2025, North Carolina Governor Josh Stein signed legislation ( Senate Bill (SB) 311 ,  Session Law 2025-71 ) that expands the state’s Workplace Violence Prevention Act’s (WVPA) definition of “unlawful conduct” to address certain forms of mass picketing. Employers may now seek civil no-contact orders not only on behalf of individual employees, but also on behalf of the business itself, when the conduct in question affects the workplace. The law took effect immediately. Quick Hits North Carolina’s Workplace Violence Prevention Act (WVPA) permits employers to seek civil no-contact orders to protect employees from “unlawful conduct,” including threats or acts of physical violence, and protects employees from retaliation for absences due to domestic violence or harassment. Senate Bill 311 amended the WVPA to allow employers to request civil no-contact orders on behalf of the business itself—not just individual employees. Peaceful demonstrations and labor activities protected u...

The exclusivity provision of the  North Carolina Workers’ Compensation Act (the “Act” ) normally prevents an employee from suing his employer in civil court for work injuries.  The employee is normally relegated to filing a workers’ compensation claim with the  North Carolina Industrial Commission .  However, the North Carolina Supreme Court has allowed an exception to the Act’s exclusivity provision in certain circumstances.   Woodson v. Rowland , 329 N.C. 330, 407 S.E.2d 222 (1991).   That narrow exception allows an employee to sue his employer in civil court if “an employer intentionally engages in misconduct knowing it is substantially certain to cause serious injury or death to employees and an employee is injured or killed by that misconduct . . .”    Woodson , 329 N.C. at 340-41, 407 S.E.2d at 228.  This exception has historically been strictly interpreted and very few, if any cases have ever met the  Woodson  standar...

What is E-Verify? E-Verify is a federal employment verification internet-based system that employers may use to electronically confirm the employment eligibility of new hires. The E-Verify system compares an employee’s information on their I-9 form with the records at the Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration. All employees must complete a form I-9 by their first day of employment to verify their eligibility to work in the United States. But not all employers are required to use the E-Verify system.   Who Must Use E-Verify? Federal contractors with qualifying contracts must use E-Verify to confirm the employment eligibility status of employees. Nine states currently require private employers to use E-Verify: Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Utah. The requirements for private employers vary from state to state. Some states that require the use of E-Verify apply the law to all private empl...

  The U.S. Supreme Court recently issued an interesting employment law decision,   E.M.D. Sales, Inc., et al. v. Carrera . As with the California Wage Orders and Labor Code, the FLSA contains several overtime exemptions. It is the employer’s burden to prove an employee falls under one of these exemptions. The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals was split with other federal appellate courts as to what evidentiary standard applies to FLSA claims, so the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case.  In  E.M.D. Sales,   employees sued their employer for unpaid overtime . The company argued that the employees were exempt from overtime under the FLSA’s outside sales exemption . The federal district court and the Fourth Circuit applied the “clear and convincing evidence” standard . The Supreme Court rejected this approach and ruled that the lower, more employer-friendly “preponderance of the evidence” standard applies. This standard is essentially “ 50% plus a feather ,” and muc...

  Whether a claim is compensable may depend on what type of injury/disease is alleged.  The four major types of workers’ compensation claims are: Injuries to body parts other than the back. Injuries to the back. Occupational Diseases Death This article addresses the standard for proving compensability for injuries to body parts other than the back. For a claim to a body part other than the back to be compensable it must meet the following elements: Injury By accident Arising out of the employment In the course and scope of the employment. A causal connection between the accident and injury. The terms “injury” and “accident” are not synonymous.  An injury that is not the result of an accident is not a compensable claim . Similarly, an accident that does not result in an injury is also not a compensable claim. The mere fact that an injury occurred does not in and of itself establish that an accident occurred.  An accident is “ an unlooked for and untoward event which i...

North Carolina Discrimination Law prohibiting discrimination in public employment was expanded to allow not only veterans, but also the National Guard, preference to file a grievance as an applicant alleging that he or she was denied veterans' preference or National Guard preference in violation of the law (H.B. 223, Gen. Assemb. (N.C. 2024), effective June 28, 2024). Source(s):  Gallagher via Wolters Kluwer , received on October 8, 2024; H.B. 223, Gen. Assemb. (N.C. 2024 )   This was an e-mail Compliance received from Gallagher "Compliance Directions", received on Tuesday October 8, 2024.  We decided to break the information out by State.  Compliance Calendar will be updated appropriately.