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Author Archives: New England Biz Law Update staff

DOJ issues bulletin on remote work breaks, other protections

Remote worker using Zoom

The Department of Labor (DOL) has issued a guide to help employers manage wage-and-hour laws for remote employees. The bulletin addresses the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), lactation accommodations, and the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Break time for ...

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Court precedent under review in gender-based scheduling suit

Female detention officers are asking a federal appeals court to reinstate a lawsuit over gender-based scheduling practices. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals convened en banc to review precedent that requires individuals alleging Title VII discrimination to show that ...

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DOL considers regulatory guidance to boost pooled employer plans

Department-of-Labor

The Department of Labor (DOL) has unveiled its regulatory agenda for 2023. Among its priorities is exploring whether additional regulatory guidance is necessary to manage and boost participation in pooled employer plans (PEPs). PEPs are a type of retirement savings ...

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Pay transparency laws spreading across country

Paycheck being handed to employee

Pay transparency laws are becoming increasingly common, and employers with workforces spread over multiple states are trying to figure out how to contend with a patchwork of similar — but not identical — provisions. The latest effort to close systemic ...

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Improvements announced for labor enforcement investigations

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced that noncitizen workers who claim that their rights as employees have been violated can now use a streamlined deferred action request process. Deferred action is intended to protect workers from threats of ...

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EEOC hearing explores benefits and harms of AI in employment decisions

Artificial intelligence concept

The EEOC recently held a public hearing to examine the use of automated systems, including artificial intelligence (AI), in employment decisions. Increasingly, employers are using automated systems to make employment decisions, including the recruitment, hiring, monitoring, and firing of workers. ...

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Contractor’s failure to address hazards leads to $375K in OSHA fines

Worker in trench

A federal investigation has found that a contractor’s failure to provide legally required safeguards and make sure they were in place to prevent trench collapses contributed to the 2022 death of an employee who was buried when an 8-foot-deep trench ...

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Federal appeals court clarifies standard in FLSA overtime case

Moakley U.S. Courthouse, Boston

An employer should not have been granted summary judgment on claims for unpaid overtime because a lower court failed to use relational analysis to determine whether claimants were “administrative” employees exempt from the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, the 1st ...

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Lingering Black Lives Matter mask ban claims tossed

Whole Foods market

A federal judge has tossed the retaliation claims of three remaining plaintiffs suing Whole Foods for allegedly discriminating against employees who supported the right to wear Black Lives Matter facial masks in the workplace. Plaintiffs Savannah Kinzer, Haley Evans and ...

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FMLA doesn’t protect employee from all attendance, performance issues

While the Family and Medical Leave Act allows covered employees to take qualifying leave for their own or a family member’s serious health condition, it does not protect an employee from all issues related to performance and absences from work, ...

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