Employment

Expert Analysis

• Series

  Clerking For Ginsburg: In Pursuit Of Precision

  

  As clerks for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, we learned early on that, when preparing a memorandum or draft opinion, it was essential to present any opposing argument in its strongest possible light. There is a lesson here for today's public debates, says Trevor Morrison, dean of NYU Law School.

• NY Offshore Wind Plan Spotlights Jones Act Compliance

  

  Last month, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced an ambitious offshore wind power plan. But to succeed, the plan must comply with the many restrictions of the Jones Act, a federal law that reserves U.S. domestic maritime trade to U.S.-built vessels owned and operated by Americans, says Charlie Papavizas of Winston & Strawn LLP.

• The State Of Play For Retaliation Claims

  

  The number of retaliation charges received by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in recent years has steadily been increasing. It's clear that this issue is bubbling closer to the surface, and it may be even more challenging for employers than the underlying discrimination from which it usually springs, says Amy Strauss of Fisher Phillips.

• Series

  Clerking For Ginsburg: My RBG Guide To Judging

  

  I clerked for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg before the days of RBG bobbleheads and “You Can’t Spell Truth Without Ruth” T-shirts. I had no idea I would become a judge, and I feel lucky every day that I had the chance to learn from her, says California Supreme Court Justice Goodwin Liu.

• FLSA Settlements Face Challenges In NY After Cheeks Ruling

  

  Following the mandated court review of all Fair Labor Standards Act settlements, which resulted from the Second Circuit's decision in Cheeks v. Freeport Pancake House, two recent decisions show how courts have begun to routinely reject agreements that contain terms once considered boilerplate, say Alex Umansky and Jeffrey Rosenberg of the Law Office of Yuriy Moshes PC.

• Opinion

  It's Prime Time For A Dose Of Reality On Brett Kavanaugh

  

  President Donald Trump's announcement of his next U.S. Supreme Court nominee, D.C. Circuit Judge Brett Kavanaugh, had the trappings of reality TV. But left unmentioned were Kavanaugh’s troubling opinions on workplace safety standards, age discrimination and class action plaintiffs, says Daniel Karon of Karon LLC.

• Gap Between Calif. And Federal Wage And Hour Law Grows

  

  In its recent decision in Troester v. Starbucks, the California Supreme Court unanimously rejected application of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act’s “de minimis” doctrine to California wage and hour law. The ruling changes the state's employment law landscape in important ways, says Kirstin Muller of Hirschfeld Kraemer LLP.

• Series

  Clerking For Ginsburg: 4 Things I Learned

  

  A lot has changed since I clerked for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg 20 years ago. At that time, I had hair and no wife. I also thought I knew everything — but working for the justice made me realize very quickly that I actually knew very little, says Ninth Circuit Judge John Owens.

• New Agency Insights On Independent Contractors

  

  While a recent bulletin from the U.S. Department of Labor and a decision from the New York State Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board are of limited, if any, precedential value in the court system, companies would be well-advised to keep in mind the factors outlined in both when addressing questions related to independent contractors and the employer-employee relationship, says Jeffrey Winchester of Fisher Phillips.

• Looking For Answers On Call-In Scheduling In Calif.

  

  After nearly four years of litigation in California federal court, Samantha Jones v. Abercrombie & Fitch is on the cusp of settlement. But depending on whether it's approved, the issue of call-in time as reporting time for purposes of employee compensation in California may still remain unanswered, says Desi Kalcheva of Paul Plevin Sullivan & Connaughton LLP.