Employment Law Blog

Alert: Department of Labor Releases Final Rule on Overtime; Salary Threshold Raised

On Tuesday, September 24, 2019, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued a Final Rule that raises the salary threshold for exemption from overtime pay to $35,568 per year. This rule was proposed in March of 2019, and it appears that the Final Rule is substantially similar. This Final Rule follows years of uncertainty after an overtime overhaul put in place under the Obama administration was held up in the courts and ultimately scrapped. More >

ALERT: Chad C. Brown, Inc. and Horse Trainer Chad Brown must pay $1.6M in Department of Labor Wage and Hour Violations Investigation

In a development that should make every horse operation in Kentucky stand up and take notice, trainer Chad Brown will pay $1.6 million to cover back wages, liquidated damages and civil penalties for what the Department of Labor (“DOL”) considers to be willful violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) and the H-2B non-immigrant visa program. More >

ALERT: Kentucky Court of Appeals Overturns Law Allowing Employees to Represent Employers in Unemployment Hearings

The Kentucky Court of Appeals released an opinion this week that may have a profound impact on employers defending claims in administrative hearings for unemployment insurance benefits. In Nichols v. Kentucky Unemployment Insurance Commission; and Norton Healthcare, Inc., the Court of Appeals held that sections of KRS 341.470 to be an unconstitutional violation of separation of powers. That statute allowed employers to be represented by management employees, officers or other agents in hearings before any referee or commission regarding unemployment compensation. More >

Title VII Protections for Transgender Status: Sixth Circuit Affirms, but the Future is Unclear

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) has interpreted Title VII to include protections against discrimination for transgender employees.  Title VII is the portion of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that prohibits employment discrimination against any individual with respect to the terms, conditions, or privileges of employment because of the individual’s race, color, sex, religion, or national origin.   See 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(a)(1).  Under Title VII, the EEOC has found that actions taken by employers detrimental to transgender individuals can qualify as discrimination on the basis of sex.  The implication of this interpretation is one that will affect employers throughout Kentucky, and these employers should be aware of what the interpretation means in practice.  More >

Five things for HR Professionals to Double-Check Yesterday (Or as Soon as Possible)

In the day-to-day rush of business, it’s easy to overlook key employment issues, but they have a way of turning into true headaches for HR professionals. Below are five HR matters that have a habit of becoming bigger problems for employers, and if you aren’t paying attention to them, you may be putting the business at serious risk. More >

#MeToo in Public Employment: Sexual Harassment and the new Accountability

The #MeToo movement has sparked a powerful, necessary and long overdue conversation, and it is one that has reverberated with employees and employers everywhere. This is doubly true in the halls of local governmental entities who feel the ripple effects of accountability that have spread across the nation. Unlike traditional employers, governmental entities possess several unique features which can, unknowingly and even unintentionally, reinforce bad behavior. In the #MeToo era, it is time for governmental entities to take stock of their sexual harassment policies and work now to avoid future liability. More >

A Felony Conviction is No Longer a Bar to Employment Licensing in Kentucky

Employment is a basic need – everyone has to achieve some form of consistent revenue to survive. Many professions are required by the state to obtain some form of licensure as a means to police their ranks and assure that all those who hold themselves out as members of the profession meet minimum standards. Until 2017, however, many applicants with a felony conviction were barred from receiving occupational licenses, preventing many from finding good jobs in their trained professions. More >

EEOC Litigation Trends: Employers, Pay Attention

The activity of the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) in recent years is enough to keep any employer up at night. In order to comply with federal law, ensure a safe work environment, and manage hiring practices that protect both employers and employees, one of the safest bets a business can make is to stay abreast of trends in EEOC litigation. With this in mind, the following is a list of some of the most interesting recent developments out of the EEOC and a forecast of what’s to come. More >

FMLA Retaliation in a Cat's Paw

FMLA (Family Medical Leave Act) retaliation law expanded in 2017 – about the size of a cat’s paw, which, in this instance, is pretty big. “Cat’s paw” here describes a situation where someone other than an employment decision-maker convinces (or dupes) the decision-maker to take an adverse employment action against another employee. (For those unfamiliar with the phrase, “cat’s paw” is derived from a fable wherein a monkey tricks a cat into pulling roasted chestnuts out of a fire for it to eat, burning the cat’s paws in the process. The phrase is used to describe situations where one person is unwittingly used by another for the other’s purposes.) When this is done with retaliatory intent, is the employer then liable under FMLA for retaliation? The answer, according to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals (this federal circuit covers Kentucky), is “yes” in the case of Marshall v. Rawlings. More >

Wage and Hour Violations – Hope for Employers

Employers cheer! Unintentional failure to pay may not be a “willful” violation.

Wage and hour law has been a rocky ride for employers in the last year or so. First came a heavily amended overtime rule set to change the wage and hour landscape completely, then the rule faltered in the courts, then a new administration set out to revise the new rule with an even newer rule. With all this uncertainty, there are still occasionally bits of good news that allow employers to breathe easier, like a recent ruling by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, which found that an unintentional error that did not log overtime for part-time employees did not expose their employer to extra liability. More >