Articles and Blogs

Minnesota’s “Wage Theft Law” goes into effect on July 1, 2019, resulting in significant changes to the state’s labor and employment laws. The new legislation imposes requirements on employers in Minnesota to provide notices and maintain records, create criminal and civil penalties for wage theft and grant additional authority to the Minnesota government agencies... READ MORE

In an unanimous decision authored by Justice Ginsburg, the U.S. Supreme Court recently announced that Title VII’s charge-filing precondition is not a jurisdictional requirement but instead a mandatory claim-processing rule, which may be forfeited if the party asserting the rule waits too long to raise an objection.[1] This decision emphasizes the importance of timely... READ MORE

On May 14, the National Labor Relation’s Board (“Board”) Advice Division released an advice memorandum recommending that the Board reconsider three picketing cases decided during President Obama’s administration. The memo provides insight regarding how the General Counsel’s Office, and the Board, may interpret picketing activity in the near future. This advice could affect health... READ MORE

Update: On November 6, 2019, a federal judge sitting in the Southern District of New York voided the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Final Conscience Rule set to take effect November 22, 2019. For more information, click here. Update: This blog article was originally posted on May 20, 2019, and it stated... READ MORE

The Supreme Court of the United States announced a landmark ruling about arbitration clauses on April 24, 2019. In Lamps Plus, Inc. v. Varela, the high court held that an arbitration clause does not permit class arbitration without clearly and explicitly stating so. Chief Justice Roberts delivered the opinion of the Court, reasoning that... READ MORE

New Jersey’s Law Mirrors Michigan’s and That of Other States Must employers accommodate off-duty use of marijuana? A recent appellate decision in New Jersey serves as a warning to Michigan employers about that question and even raises the specter of having to accommodate positive drug tests for non-disabled employees and applicants. For health care... READ MORE

On March 8, 2019, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) published a revised Form I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status, which is used to change or extend the status of a variety of nonimmigrants in the U.S., including H-4 dependents of H-1B workers. As of March 22, 2019, USCIS will only accept the revised version... READ MORE

The #MeToo Movement Focuses Attention on Mandatory Arbitration Agreements The #MeToo movement brought attention to the use of private arbitration for claims of sexual harassment and sexual assault in the workplace because employers benefit from the sometimes reduced costs of arbitration by not having to air those disputes in public and before juries of... READ MORE

The controversial Obama-era EEO-1 pay data disclosure requirements that had been indefinitely stayed by the White House Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) were reinstated earlier this week by a federal district court judge. This unhappy news for employers arrives less than three months before the May 31, 2019 EEO-1 filing deadline. The case... READ MORE

If the Trump administration moves forward with a plan to revoke work authorization for certain H-4 visa holders, over 100,000 foreign nationals could lose their ability to work in the United States. Overview The H-4 nonimmigrant visa allows spouses and unmarried children (under 21 years of age) of H-1B visa holders to join them... READ MORE