Labor and Employment Law | Blog for Business Law

— By Gerry RichardsonAugust 29, 20190 Comments

HOW TO MANAGE THE FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT’S EXEMPTION FOR OUTSIDE SALES REPRESENTATIVES

Most employers that pay their outside sales representatives on a commission basis do so because of long-established practices, rather than a sound understanding as to how the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA” or “Act”) impacts such a compensation practice. Generally, the Act requires employers to…

— By Gerry RichardsonJuly 31, 20190 Comments

HOW TO USE SOCIAL MEDIA DURING RECRUITING AND HIRING WITHOUT LIABILITY

Seven in ten Americans use social media, according to the Pew Research Center. They connect with one another, access content, share information, and entertain themselves through social media. When the Pew Research Center first surveyed the use of social media in 2005, only five percent…

— By Gerry RichardsonJune 26, 20190 Comments

HIRING AND RECRUITING IN TIGHT LABOR MARKETS

The unemployment rate hovered at a 49-year low of 3.6 percent in both April and May of 2019. Low unemployment typically creates a jobseeker’s market in which workers find plentiful attractive job openings. On the other side of the equation, however, employers usually have a…

— By Gerry RichardsonApril 25, 20190 Comments

DON’T LET ME TOO HAPPEN TO YOU

1. Abuse of Power Produced the Me Too Movement. In the past three years, many well-known executives and personalities have made headlines because of their unwelcome conduct directed at female associates. Roger Ailes resigned from Fox News on July 22, 2016 after more than 20…

— By Gerry RichardsonMarch 15, 20190 Comments

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR INCREASES THE MINIMUM SALARY TO EXEMPT WHITE COLLAR WORKERS FROM OVERTIME PAY

On March 7, 2019, the United States Department of Labor (“Department”) announced its Notice of Proposed rule making to update the regulations that interpret the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). < https://www.dol.gov/whd/overtime2019/index.htm > This law requires employers to pay overtime pay to most workers who…

— By Gerry RichardsonJanuary 15, 20190 Comments

WHAT IMPACT WILL MEDICAL MARIJUANA HAVE ON MISSOURI WORKPLACES AND DRUG TESTING BY EMPLOYERS?

On November 6, 2018, Missouri voters approved Amendment 2, the Medical Marijuana and Veteran Healthcare Services Initiative by a margin of 66% to 34%. It legalized marijuana for medical purposes. Basically, the amendment allows licensed physicians to recommend marijuana use to patients with any one…

— By Joseph RolnickiJune 29, 20180 Comments

EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENTS AND PATENT OWNERSHIP RIGHTS

Employers often have new employees sign an Employment Agreement at the time of their employment. Basic terms of an Employment Agreement often require that the employee protect the intellectual property of the employer, and not disclose confidential information of the employer without authorization. The basic…

— By Gerry RichardsonMarch 29, 20170 Comments

Employer Forms Disclosing & Authorizing Background Checks Must Exclude Liability Waivers

Good Reasons Support the Use of Background Checks in the Hiring Process. Many employers run background checks on job applicants before they make an employment offer. Doing so enables such employers to confirm the truthfulness and accuracy of background information provided by job applicants, such as…

— By Larry SewellFebruary 20, 20170 Comments

Rescuing Your Defined Contribution Retirement Plan

A plan sponsor of a preapproved, prototype or volume submitter defined contribution plan, including a profit-sharing, 401(k) or money purchase plan, was required to amend and restate the plan’s governing documents by April 30, 2016. See the article “Deadline Looming for Changes to Your Company’s…

— By Gerry RichardsonFebruary 3, 20170 Comments

Legislature Revives Right to Work Law and MHRA Amendments

During its legislative sessions in both 2015 and 2016, the Missouri General Assembly passed a right to work law. In each instance, then Governor Jay Nixon vetoed those laws, and the legislature’s backers of those laws lost veto override votes. Similarly, since a Missouri Supreme Court’s…