Compliance Stuff

  The Labor Department’s top lawyer announced on Tuesday that the agency would target seven specific employment-related contract provisions that she believes could discourage workers from exercising their rights under federal workplace laws . U.S. Solicitor of Labor Seema Nanda’s October 15 Special Enforcement Report on “coercive” contractual provisions serves as a stark warning to employers. But it also announces that the agency will take innovative approaches to address its concerns – including filing groundbreaking lawsuits and filing friend-of-the-court briefs to attack disobeying employers. What are the seven contract provisions under the DOL’s microscope and what should employers do about this development? 7 Contract Provisions in the Crosshairs You can read the full report here , but here’s an overview of the seven areas targeted by the DOL and some examples of provisions that could land you in hot water with the agency.   1. Requiring Workers to Waive Wage and Hou...

  This week, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and the Office of the Solicitor released a “Special Enforcement Report” on so-called “ coercive contractual provisions .” The report outlines recent DOL enforcement efforts “to combat coercive contractual provisions” such as: Contractual provisions requiring workers to waive statutory protections Contractual provisions that purport to require employees to agree that they are independent contractors Indemnification-type provisions and related counterclaims purporting to shift liability for legal violations to workers or other entities ‘ Loser pays’ provisions attempting to require employees to pay the employer's attorney's fees and costs if the employees do not prevail in litigation or arbitration ‘Stay or pay’ provisions, including some training repayment assistance provisions, that purport to require workers to pay damages to their employer for leaving a contract early Confidentiality, non-disclosure, and non-disparagement provis...