Employment Law

Sexual Orientation Discrimination

Employment Law Update May 2017 In a significant decision that expands the rights of employees, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, which covers Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin, recently ruled that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is a form of sex discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of [...]

Firearms in Employee Vehicles

Employment Law Update January 2017 On December 19, 2016, Governor Kasich signed into law Ohio Senate Bill 199, which has the effect of expanding the rights of those who possess a valid concealed carry license in Ohio. Of primary concern for private employers in Ohio is a provision that allows concealed carry licensees to store [...]

Overtime Injunction

Employment Law Update November 2016 Yesterday evening, a federal judge in Texas issued a decision blocking the implementation of the Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) new overtime rule, which would have expanded overtime pay to an estimated 4.2 million workers across the United States.  The new rule, which was slated to take effect on December 1, [...]

Ohio Medical Marijuana

Employment Law Update August 2016 Governor Kasich signed Ohio HB 523 on June 8, 2016, legalizing the use of medical marijuana in Ohio in limited circumstances.  Although the law technically goes into effect on September 6, 2016, the bill outlines a number of steps that must occur before Ohio’s medical marijuana program is fully established, [...]

OSHA Post-Injury Drug Testing

Employment Law Update August 2016 The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) recently published its final rule to “Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses.”  While the stated purpose of the rule is to impose electronic reporting requirements on certain employers for purposes of recordable workplace injuries and illnesses, perhaps the biggest impact of the [...]

DOL Minimum Salary Increase

Employment Law Update May 2016 On May 18, 2016, the Department of Labor (DOL) released information about its Final Rule regarding the much anticipated increase of the minimum salary necessary to qualify for certain exemptions from the overtime rules under the Fair Labor Standards Act.  The effective date of the Final Rule is December 1, [...]

IRS Extends Affordable Care Act Deadlines

On December 28, 2015, the IRS extended the distribution and filing deadlines for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) reporting requirements set forth in Sections 6055 and 6056 of the Internal Revenue Code. Section 6055 of the Code requires health coverage providers to distribute forms to covered individuals which show the months the individuals were covered by "minimum [...]

New FLSA Overtime Rules Delayed

The U.S. Labor Department's most-recent semi-annual regulatory agenda shows that the new proposed changes to the FLSA overtime requirements have been delayed. The "Final Rule" time frame for the revised regulations defining the federal Fair Labor Standards Act's Section 13(a)(1) exemptions is July 2016. Of course, it is not uncommon for the Labor Department to [...]

BWC Class Action

Employment Law Update September 2014   You may have recently received a Sworn Proof of Claim form from the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (“BWC’) in regard to a $420 million refund program the BWC is administering. More than 270,000 Ohio employers are eligible to participate in this BWC refund program; however, all eligible employers [...]

Unpaid Interns

Employment Law Update June 2014 This Client Alert affects all businesses that employ “unpaid interns” for summer or seasonal work and their potential liability for minimum wage and overtime claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and related Ohio laws. On June 11, 2013, in Glatt v. Fox Searchlight Pictures, Inc., a NY federal [...]