Employment Law This Week: Crack Down on Non-Solicitation Agreements, DOL Opinion Letters, New NLRB Member, State Law Developments
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2. Labor Department Releases First Opinion Letters
Opinion letters make a comeback. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division has released three opinion letters. The first explains when hourly employees with irregular work hours must be paid for time spent traveling between worksites. The second states that an employee’s 15-minute breaks required under the Family and Medical Leave Act are not compensable because they primarily benefit the employee. And the third explains that certain lump-sum payments qualify as earnings under the Consumer Credit Protection Act if made in exchange for personal services. Notably, these are the first opinion letters issued by the Division in nearly a decade. Last year, the Department of Labor announced a resumption of the practice, which was discontinued under President Obama.
For more, click here: https://bit.ly/2HEOd8i[7]
3. Senate Confirms John Ring to NLRB
John Ring joins the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The Senate has narrowly confirmed Ring to a seat on the NLRB. This returns the NLRB to a full five members and restores the 3-2 Republican majority. The management-side employment lawyer fills the seat left by former Chairman Philip Miscimarra. President Trump has now tapped Ring to serve as the NLRB’s Chairman. Member Marvin Kaplan, who had been serving as Acting Chairman, continues to serve on the NLRB.
For more, click here: https://bit.ly/2qOUW4T[8]
4. New State Law Developments Affecting Employers
There are two new state law developments to highlight this week on opposite coasts. New Jersey has passed the Paid Sick Leave Act, which requires all private employers to provide up to 40 hours of paid sick leave a year, regardless of the company’s size. This law will preempt the patchwork of local sick leave laws within the state. And Washington State has passed #MeToo legislation prohibiting nondisclosure agreements related to discussing sexual harassment or assault allegations in the workplace. That law will go into effect on June 7.