Management Memo

By appointing Philip Miscimarra, who has served as a Member of the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “Board”) since August 2013, to serve as Acting Chair of the agency, President Donald Trump has taken the first step in what will undoubtedly be an ongoing process to change the National Labor Relations Board. Chairman Miscimarra is the only Republican currently serving on the Board. Mark Gaston Pearce, who has served as chairman, a Democrat who has served as chairman since 2011 and as a Board Member since 2010, will continue to serve under his appointment which expires in ...

In the new issue of Take 5, our colleagues examine five employment, labor, and workforce management issues that will continue to be reviewed and remain top of mind for employers under the Trump administration:

• Change in Labor Landscape Is Not Likely to Come Quickly

• For Wage and Hour Changes, Look Locally

• Employer Group Health Plans Post-ACA: What’s Next for Employers and Workers?

• Examination of Retirement Plans Under a Trump Administration Microscope

• Cyber Threats Are Front and Center for Employers as the Trump Administration Takes Office

Epstein Becker Green is pleased to be participating in the 2017 National HR In Hospitality Conference & Expo at the Aria Hotel in Las Vegas on March 27-29, 2017.  EBG is sending two of its hospitality industry focused attorneys to represent the Firm, Jeffrey H. Ruzal and Steven M. Swirsky.

Jeff and his co-panelists will discuss the topic of new wage and hour regulations, which will be held on Monday, March 27, 2017.  This panel of hospitality employment law professionals will cover changes associated with the minimum salary for exempt employees, managing challenges of off-duty work ...

In yet another decision that exhibits the current Board’s overreaching and expansive view of its jurisdiction, the Board recently ruled that nurses who supervise and assign other hospital staff are not statutory supervisors.

A Position Expressly Created to be Supervisory is Not Supervisory, According to the Board

In 2016, Lakewood Health Center (“Lakewood”) restructured its staffing system and replaced charge nurses with a newly created position, Patient Care Coordinator (“PCC”). According to the uncontradicted testimony of Lakewood Vice-President of Patient ...

The year-end episode of Employment Law This Week  looks back at the biggest employment, workforce, and management issues in 2016.

Our colleague Laura Monaco discusses the National Labor Relations Board's decision in Miller & Anderson, which expanded the already-relaxed joint-employer standard adopted by the Board in its August 2015 decision in Browning Ferris Industries. 

The show also reviews the Trustees of Columbia University decision on collective bargaining and union organizing.  

Watch the segment below and read Epstein Becker Green's recent Take 5

As we previously reported, the ambush election rules implemented by the National Labor Relations Board (“Board”) last year tilted the scales of union elections in labor’s favor by expediting the election process and eliminating many of the steps employers have relied upon to protect their rights and those of employees who may not want a union. We warned that in addition to rapidly expediting election timeframe, the regulations were full of technical and burdensome procedural mandates on employers.  The Board further emphasized the pro-union impact of these requirements ...

Our colleagues Lauri F. Rasnick and Jonathan L. Shapiro, attorneys at Epstein Becker Green, have a post on the Financial Services Employment Law blog that will be of interest to many of our readers: “Policies Prohibiting 'Insubordination or Other Disrespectful Conduct' and 'Boisterous or Disruptive Activity in the Workplace' Struck Down by NLRB Majority.”

Following is an excerpt:

Once again seemingly appropriate work rules have been under attack by the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”). In a recent decision (Component Bar Products, Inc. and James R. Stout, Case ...

Our colleague Jeffrey H. Ruzal, Senior Counsel at Epstein Becker Green, has a post on the Wage & Hour Defense Blog that will be of interest to many of our readers: “Decision Enjoining Federal Overtime Rule Changes Will Not Affect Proposed Increases Under New York State’s Overtime Laws.”

Following is an excerpt:

As we recently reported on our Wage & Hour Defense Blog, on November 22, 2016, a federal judge in the Eastern District of Texas issued a nationwide preliminary injunction enjoining the U.S. Department of Labor from implementing its new overtime exemption rule that would ...

Our colleague Michael S. Kun, national Chairperson of the Wage and Hour practice group at Epstein Becker Green, has a post on the Wage & Hour Defense Blog that will be of interest to many of our readers: “Stop! Texas Federal Court Enjoins New FLSA Overtime Rules."

Following is an excerpt:

The injunction could leave employers in a state of limbo for weeks, months and perhaps longer as injunctions often do not resolve cases and, instead, lead to lengthy appeals. Here, though, the injunction could spell the quick death to the new rules should the Department choose not to appeal the ...

In a two page Order issued yesterday, Senior District Court Judge Sam R. Cummings of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas ruled that the Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) controversial new Persuader Rule issued in March 2016, and its new Advice Exemption Interpretation, are “unlawful,” and Judge Cummings made permanent his earlier June 27^th Preliminary Injunction Order.

The Rule and Interpretation, which now appear to be permanently struck down, would have imposed dramatic changes in longstanding precedents, by requiring public financial ...