Your "To-do-before September-30th" List
Read moreAdd These to Your "To-do-before September-30th" List!!
Pictured above—September 30th.
NLRB Releases Final Rule on Joint Employment
Many employers contract with PEO companies to outsource their payroll and other administrative duties. Those companies may go so far as to assist in hiring and firing, in addition to running payroll and providing benefits. As a result, in employment litigation, the question can often become: who exactly employed the individual? The company? The PEO? Both?
The answer may not be as obvious as you may think. Whether PEOs and other “secondary” entities should be held responsible for the unlawful actions of the business the employee dealt with day-to-day has been a subject of debate in the legal community for decades. Technically, the term is “joint employment.”
While courts have endeavored to provide guidance as to what exactly makes two entities “joint employers,” the results are not consistent from location-to-location. But today, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) approved a Final Rule on what makes a “joint employment” relationship, providing some clarity and uniformity to the joint-employment analysis. In discussing the new rule, it stated:
The proposed rule provided an illustrative, rather than exclusive, list of essential terms and conditions of employment. The Board has modified this definition, for the reasons discussed below and in response to comments, to provide an exhaustive list of seven categories of terms or conditions of employment that will be considered “essential” for the purposes of the jointemployer inquiry. These are: (1) wages, benefits, and other compensation; (2) hours of work and scheduling; (3) the assignment of duties to be performed; (4) the supervision of the performance of duties; (5) work rules and directions governing the manner, means, and methods of the performance of duties and the grounds for discipline; (6) the tenure of employment, including hiring and discharge; and (7) working conditions related to the safety and health of employees.
The link to the Rule is here.
Technically, the standards only apply to cases involving the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”), a law which, generally speaking, addresses unions in the private sector. Nevertheless, this Rule will no doubt prove highly influential in other areas of employment law, as well.
TLDR: Your employer may be more than just the company for whom you perform work. And, bonus content: under the NLRA it’s also unlawful for employers to tell you not to talk about your wages with your co-workers. The more you know!
Sincerely Held Religious Beliefs and COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates
I have had many inquiries over the last few weeks from people who are being forced to choose between getting the COVID-19 vaccine and losing their jobs. Before you schedule a consultation with me, take a moment to read this blog. You may find your question is answered in it.
Read moreBalancing the Interests: From Schools to Workplaces
This balancing of interests is very likely to be a point of discussion in the near future as employers begin to mandate masks and vaccines. Clues about how that balancing might go may be found in today’s decision on the mandatory school mask and funding-cut issue.
Read moreAnchors Aweigh! Federal Judge Grants Preliminary Injunction in Favor of NCL
Image Courtesy of NCL.
A federal judge has ordered that Florida’s recently-passed law prohibiting businesses from requiring proof of vaccination of their customers cannot be enforced, granting a preliminary injunction in favor of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, Ltd.
Read moreOn the Road to the Courthouse and Other Updates
On my way to my first in-person hearing at the federal courthouse in over a year.
It’s been a minute since I’ve blogged, and there is so much to talk about since the last blog went up. First and foremost, I am grateful to be healthy and to have made it through the last year relatively unscathed. I sincerely hope that if you are reading this, you and your loved ones have been well.
Read moreAttention Teachers!!!
The statewide teachers’ union has filed a lawsuit today seeking to stop Florida’s schools from reopening due to the danger of in-person teaching.
Read moreStep by Step: SBA Funds, Student Loan Forbearance, and Unemployment Benefits
A step by step guide to obtaining unemployment benefits, SBA funds, and student loan forbearance under the new COVID-19 related laws.
Read moreUPDATE: A Straightforward Chart to Explain Leave Under the New COVID-19 Law
I have created an easy-to-understand chart about paid and unpaid leave under the new COVID-19 law.
Read moreThe "Families First Coronavirus Response Act" -- Too Little, Too Late?
Is the "Families First Coronavirus Response Act" too little, too late? What employees and employers need to know about the Act right now.
Read more