United States: DOL Issues FMLA Final Rule Recognizing Same-Sex Marriages And Establishing "Place Of Celebration" As New Rule For Defining Spouse

The United States Department of Labor (DOL) announced that on February 25, 2015, it will issue a Final Rule revising the regulations to the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to provide that the term “spouse” means a husband or wife and “refers to the other person with whom an individual entered into marriage as defined or recognized under state law for purposes of marriage in the State in which the marriage was entered […]

By | February 25th, 2015 ||

United States: Class Action Lawsuits: In Vogue? High Fashion Gets Hit With Wage And Hour Class Action Lawsuits Over Unpaid Internship Programs

Sportswear-inspired designs, bold prints, and gingham aren’t the only things trending for Spring 2015 in the fashion world. Judging from a recent wave of lawsuits, wage and hour class actions are trending as well. Over the past few years, class action lawsuits over unpaid internships have been on the rise, with this most recent wave of filed lawsuits serving as a powerful reminder to employers that intern programs can’t simply be viewed as a […]

By | February 24th, 2015 ||

United States: California Paid Sick Leave — Yet Another Reason For Restaurants To Abolish Service Charges And Automatic Gratuities

I was presenting to a terrific group of HR Directors at the LA Restaurant HR Association last week, and a question about California’s new paid sick leave requirements came up.

One sleeper provision of that new law requires that sick leave be paid at the employee’s “regular rate” and not the base hourly rate. Of note, the “regular rate” for sick leave purposes is not necessarily the same calculation as the “regular rate” for overtime […]

By | February 24th, 2015 ||