FMLA: AVOID PENALTIES AND LAWSUITS Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) guarantees employees unpaid, job-protected leave for 12 workweeks in a 12-month period. Workers can take FMLA leave intermittently, working shorter days or shorter weeks. It doesn't have to be continuous leave. For an employee who normally works 40-hour weeks,...
INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR STANDARD - CHANGED BY NLRB On June 13th, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) implemented a new ruling that brings about significant changes to the criteria employers employ when determining whether an individual qualifies as an independent contractor. The ruling rejects the previous SuperShuttle ruling, which emphasized entrepreneurial...
Trademarks: Jack Daniels Beats Poop-Themed Toy for Dogs Trademark rights are meant to keep there from being confusion in the marketplace or dilution of brand for a product class. But in this case whiskey brand Jack Daniel can keep a look alike bottle shaped poop-themed toy for dogs. How was...
SKILLED NURSING FACILITIES: INCREASED LAWSUIT CLAIMS Besides government enforcement mechanisms, including surveys, sanctions, corrections, and complete exclusion from Medicaid funding, based on the new case of Health and Hospital Corporation of Marion County, Indiana, et al. v. Talevsk, decided by the US Supreme not just the government, but now private...
I-9 Verification of Employee Eligibility Reinstated Until COVID-19, employers were required to conduct an in-person inspection of I-9 Section 2 documents for new employees. That required an employee to show a valid passport, driver’s license, and/or social security card in order to verify an employee’s identity and that the employee...
Apartment Owners Fighting New LA Rent Laws The Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles (“AAGLA”) filed a lawsuit against the City of Los Angeles in order to stop LA’s enforcement of two renter protection ordinances: Ordinance No. 187763 requiring at least one month of past due rent before the landlord...
SEVERANCE AGREEMENTS INCLUDING CONFIDENTIALITY AND NON-DISPARAGEMENT CLAUSES ARE IN JEOPARDY, INCLUDING FOR PAST AGREEMENTS WITH EMPLOYEES We have been writing about the risks of using boilerplate provisions in agreements. Non-disparagement clauses and confidentiality clauses in employee severance agreements are included. Why? The federal National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”) protects employees’...
The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act: What Does That Mean For Employers? There are two new pregnancy-related federal laws, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, (“PWFA”) and the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act (“PUMP Act”), expanding federal protections for both pregnant and nursing mothers. While some of the Acts’...
NON-COMPETE AGREEMENTS KEEP GETTING STRUCK DOWN AS TOO BROAD When someone buys a business, the new owners typically want the prior owners not to compete. Those types of non-compete agreements have typically been enforceable if the business owner selling had at least 15% ownership in the company. But, for the...
Los Angeles City - Permanent Residential Renter Protections after COVID On April 3rd LA extended as permanent some of the COVID renter protections and enacted new ones.[1] Landlords can evict for at-fault reasons, which are included in the LA Housing reference list[2], as well as some no-fault reasons[3]; but cannot...