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Employment Law Monitor Insights on Recent Developments in Federal and State Labor & Employment Matters

Category Archives: Wage and Hour and Executive Compensation

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New York City Prohibits Discrimination Against The Unemployed

Posted in Employment Policies and Practices, Harassment, Discrimination and Retaliation, Wage and Hour and Executive Compensation

On March 13, 2013, the New York City Council overrode Mayor Bloomberg’s veto of legislation prohibiting New York City employers from discriminating against unemployed job applicants.  In so doing, New York City joins New Jersey and other jurisdictions that have recently prohibited employers from basing employment decisions on an applicant’s unemployment status. The new law… Continue Reading

Governor Vetoes New Jersey Minimum Wage Bill Tied to Consumer Price Index

Posted in Wage and Hour and Executive Compensation

This past week, New Jersey’s Governor Christopher Christie vetoed a new minimum wage bill (A2162) that had been previously passed by the State’s Legislature.  This legislation had proposed increasing New Jersey’s minimum wage from $7.25/hour to $8.50/hour, and linking future minimum wage increases to the Consumer Price Index (“CPI”), which measures changes in price levels… Continue Reading

New York Considering Amendment to Labor Law § 198 That Would Double Liquidated Damages Penalty for Failure to Pay Employees’ Wages

Posted in Employment Policies and Practices, Wage and Hour and Executive Compensation

The New York State Assembly is considering a proposed amendment to Labor Law § 198 that would significantly increase the amount of liquidated damages that an employer must pay for failure to pay employees’ wages under certain situations as required by law. The current version of Labor Law § 198 requires an employer to pay… Continue Reading

Ringing in the New Year With Employment Legislation That Could Affect New Jersey Employers in 2013

Posted in Harassment, Discrimination and Retaliation, Wage and Hour and Executive Compensation

Five important pieces of legislation that could affect your business either will go into effect or may be decided by Governor Christie before we ring in 2013.  These bills range from social networking legislation to minimum wage increases to workplace support for victims of domestic violence.  On October 15, 2012, the New Jersey Assembly introduced… Continue Reading

New York Expands Scope of Wage Deduction Statute

Posted in Employment Policies and Practices, Wage and Hour and Executive Compensation

On September 7, 2012, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law amendments to New York Labor Law § 193, which expands the scope of permissible deductions an employer may make from an employee’s paycheck.  The new law will go into effect on November 6, 2012. Section 193 currently permits withholdings only for taxes, United States payment… Continue Reading

Are Inside Sales Persons Now Entitled To Overtime in New Jersey? They May be, at Least For Now

Posted in Wage and Hour and Executive Compensation

Last month, new overtime exemption rules of the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (“NJDOL”) became effective.  These new rules are intended to bring overtime exemptions under the New Jersey Wage and Hour Law (“NJWHL”) in line with the 2004 revisions to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act rules, by repealing the existing… Continue Reading

Employers Beware: United States Department of Labor and Internal Revenue Service Team up to Combat Misclassification of Workers as Independent Contractors

Posted in Wage and Hour and Executive Compensation

On September 19, 2011, the United States Department of Labor (“DOL”) and the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) announced the agencies’ agreement to jointly combat the misclassification of workers as independent contractors.  Specifically, the DOL and IRS’s joint Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) indicates that their efforts are aimed at ending some employers’ practice of misclassifying employees. … Continue Reading

USDOL Expands Applicability of FMLA Leave for Parents

Posted in Wage and Hour and Executive Compensation

On June 22, 2010, the United States Department of Labor (“USDOL”) Wage and Hour Division issued Administrator’s Interpretation No. 2010-3 (the “Interpretation”), which clarifies the definition of “son or daughter” under the Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”), as it applies to employees standing “in loco parentis,” or “in the place of a parent,” to… Continue Reading

Can My Company Offer Unpaid Summer Internships? Yes, but be careful you don’t violate the wage and hour laws.

Posted in Employment Policies and Practices, Wage and Hour and Executive Compensation

High school and college students often are willing to work for little or no pay during the summer months to bolster their resumes. Businesses see this as a good opportunity to get some extra help around the office. However, private sector, "for-profit" employers need to be aware that they are required to pay at least… Continue Reading

Are You Prepared for a Possible Mass Layoff Under New York’s Revised WARN Act Regulations?

Posted in Employment Policies and Practices, Wage and Hour and Executive Compensation

The New York Department of Labor (NY DOL) recently issued substantial revisions to the regulations governing the New York Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (NY WARN). NY WARN, like the federal WARN Act, requires employers, in certain circumstances, to give employees advanced written notice of a mass layoff or plant closing. The NY WARN… Continue Reading

New Jersey Supreme Court Bars Offer-of-Judgment Fee Awards To Defense Counsel In Fee-Shifting Cases

Posted in Wage and Hour and Executive Compensation

The New Jersey Supreme Court recently ruled in Best v. C&M Door Controls, Inc., _N.J._ (Oct. 14, 2009) that defendants can never be awarded counsel fees under the offer-of judgment rule in any case in which plaintiffs benefit from a statutory fee-shifting provision, including the Prevailing Wage Act (“PWA”). The offer of judgment rule, New… Continue Reading

Executive Compensation is Substantially Limited by the Economic Stimulus Legislation

Posted in Wage and Hour and Executive Compensation

After much news coverage of the salaries and bonuses being received by top executives at financial institutions requiring bailout by the Federal Government, through taxpayer money, President Obama signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (“ARRA”). ARRA was signed into law on February 17, 2009 and places strict limits on executive compensation… Continue Reading