Employment Law Blog

Rethinking the 24/7 Response

Always connected. Always available. Always responsive. In an era where personal electronic devices have become more of a technological appendage than merely a handy gadget, a growing number of employers are grappling with the question of how well-connected their employees should be. Employers certainly benefit from the ability of employees to be available at all times and through instantaneous connection. The instant problem is the way in which this constant connectivity begins to warp the work-life balance. Should employees respond to employment-related emails after hours? Should they text back to the boss in the evenings to respond to work inquiries? Should employers expect employees to be responsive around the clock? Some employers are beginning to change their expectations for employee responsiveness after hours, and possibly just in time to stave off impending wage and hour law implications. More >

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Obama Orders Paid Sick Leave for Federal Contractors

On Labor Day, appropriately enough, President Obama issued an executive order establishing up to seven days of paid sick leave for employees of federal contractors and subcontractors. The order was drafted and proposed in early August and issued on September 7^th, capping off the White House’s push of its “Lead on Leave” initiative. More >

Second Circuit: An Internship is an Internship

Recipients of the benefits of unpaid intern labor everywhere recoiled in horror in June of 2013 when a Federal District Court Judge in Manhattan held that unpaid interns on the set of the film “Black Swan” were protected by minimum wage and other employment laws. Since then, employers have been looking at that college kid earning “valuable work experience” by bringing them their coffee with a wary eye. Fret not, employers, for the Second Circuit has overturned the results in the “Black Swan” case (better known as Glatt, et al. v. Fox Searchlight Pictures, Inc.) while simultaneously rejecting a Department of Labor test for unpaid internships in a deft display of legal agility and coordination that can only be described as “balletic”. More >

How Much Time Can New Parents Take Off?

Paid leave for new parents, both mothers and fathers, has been in the headlines as of late as the U.S. Department of Labor promotes its “Lead on Leave” initiative. The question for employers, however, is just how much time may an employee take off for the birth or adoption of a child. Luckily, the Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) answers the question almost entirely by itself. More >