EMPLOYEE HANDBOOKS are not required but are highly recommended. Federal and AZ employment laws protect employees. To protect you, a Handbook with Arbitration and Confidential/Proprietary Information Agreements are necessary and can be drafted for a reasonable flat fee. You probably will also find it will reduce your insurance premiums.

A former Ubiquiti employee pled guilty Thursday to charges tied to stealing sensitive information from his New York-based tech employer and using it to extort the company for $2 million, according to a recent filing in federal criminal court that redacted the name of the company involved and other sources.

January 15,2023

By Lauren Berg

Employers in California can require workers to sign arbitration agreements as a condition of employment, a divided three-judge Ninth Circuit panel ruled Wednesday, reversing its own prior decision and finding that the state's attempt to crack down on such agreements with Assembly Bill 51 is preempted by federal law.

February 14, 2023

Ex-Litigator Must Arbitrate Bias Claims Against Wilson Elser

By Tracey Read

A former Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker LLP litigator who claims he was fired for being disabled must participate in arbitration despite his argument that it would be too expensive for him, a New York federal court ordered Tuesday.

February 22, 2023

A California appeals court ruled Monday that drivers can indeed be treated as independent contractors and not employees of Uber, Lyft, DoorDash and other platforms, reports CalMatters’ Grace Gedye

March 12, 2023

Forrest v. Spizzirri (9th Cir. 22-16051 3/16/23) Arbitration

The panel affirmed the district court’s order granting defendants’ motion to compel arbitration of all claims in an employment law action and dismissing the action without prejudice, rather than staying the action pending arbitration

March 17, 2023

CalChamber -June 26, 2023

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that federal law requires district courts to delay a lawsuit automatically while the parties appeal whether the claim should be taken to arbitration.

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Amazon, Workers Ink $7.2M Deal In Security-Line Pay Cases

By Hailey Konnath

Amazon.com and a staffing company have agreed to pay $7.2 million to settle litigation claiming they should have paid workers for their time spent in security screenings at a number of warehouses in Pennsylvania, a deal that comes after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court weighed in on the issue.

February 22, 2023

BREAKING: Supreme Court Upholds FLSA Salary Requirements

By Daniela Porat

High-earning professionals can only be overtime-exempt if they are paid on salary basis, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Wednesday, affirming the importance of long-standing U.S. Department of Labor salary pay regulations in a case that tested the foundations of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

February, 22, 2023

Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. v. Hewitt (US 21-984 2/22/23) FLSA Exemption

Respondent Michael Hewitt filed an action against his employer, petitioner Helix Energy Solutions Group, seeking overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, which guarantees overtime pay to covered employees when they work more than 40 hours a week. From 2014 to 2017, Hewitt worked for Helix on an offshore oil rig, typically working 84 hours a week while on the vessel. Helix paid Hewitt on a daily-rate basis, with no overtime compensation. The 5th Circuit ruled he was entitled to backpay for all his overtime hours.

February 23, 2023

Homer Simpson Sets Example In 3rd Circ. Workers Pay Suit

By Irene Spezzamonte

The Third Circuit on Wednesday wondered whether oil rig workers should be paid for time spent putting on and taking off their protective gear, using the example of famous fictional nuclear power plant employee Homer Simpson to consider whether workers could just wear their contaminated gear home.

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President Joe Biden fired Peter Robb, the Trump-appointed general counsel for the National Labor Relations Board, after Robb refused a request from the new administration to resign. The White House notified Robb of his dismissal by letter—sent minutes after Biden was sworn in Wednesday—which specified he had until 5 p.m. to voluntarily resign or be fired, two people with knowledge of the correspondence said.

March 10, 2023

been updated, and is now available.

National Labor Relations Board and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Announce New Partnership to Address Employer Surveillance, Monitoring, Data Collection, and Financial Practices in the Workplace

03/07/2023 12:08 PM EST

March 07, 2023

Today, National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Rohit Chopra signed a new memorandum of understanding (MOU) creating a formal partnership between the two agencies to better protect American workers and address practices of employer surveillance, monitoring, data collection, and employer-driven debt, which can include a worker going into debt with their employer for the purchase of equipment, supplies, or required training.

March 7, 2023

NLRB GC Overstepped In Captive Audience Memo, Suit Says

By Tim Ryan

National Labor Relations Board general counsel Jennifer Abruzzo overstepped her authority and publicly threatened employers by publishing a memo arguing that employers violate federal labor law by holding so-called captive audience meetings during union drives, a contractors' association said in a lawsuit filed in Michigan federal court.

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The NLRB has jurisdiction in the private sector. 5 members are nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate.

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•Marvin E. Kaplan, Board Member. [Trump] His term expires August 27, 2025.

•David Prouty, Board Member. He was nominated by President Biden on June 23, 2021 and confirmed by the Senate on July 28, 2021. His term will expire on August 27, 2026. Most recently, Member Prouty served as General Counsel of Service Employee International Union (SEIU)

United Scrap Metal PA, LLC (04-CA-268183, et al.; 372 NLRB No. 49) Philadelphia, PA, February 8, 2023.

The Board adopted the Administrative Law Judge’s conclusions that the Respondent violated Section 8(a)(1) by interrogating employees, soliciting grievances and impliedly promising improved benefits, assisting and encouraging an anti-union petition, and permitting employees’ anti-union activity at its facility while barring employees’ pro-union activity, and violated Section 8(a)(5) by unilaterally reducing employees’ work hours.

February 16,2023

By Max Kutner

President Joe Biden said Tuesday he intends to nominate Julie Su to become the next labor secretary, a move that some congressional groups pushed for and the business community feared . Su was the CA Labor Commissioner and presided over the billions of dollars of Unemployment Insurance fraudulent claims.

March 4, 2023

BREAKING: Supreme Court OKs Some Strike Suits In Blow To Labor

By Jessica Mach and Braden Campbell

The U.S. Supreme Court dealt unions a blow Thursday, giving employers the green light to sue over strikes structured to cause intentional damage to their property.

JUNE 1, 2023

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Jones Day Strikes Deal To End Ex-Staffer's Disability Bias Row

By Patrick Hoff

An Illinois federal judge said Tuesday that Jones Day and insurance company Unum have agreed to settle a former practice coordinator's lawsuit alleging the firm unlawfully terminated her and denied her long-term disability benefits after she requested a medical leave of absence.

March 3, 2023

MGM Says Ex-Worker Didn't Ask For Religious Vax Exemption

By Renee Hickman

MGM Grand Casino has asked a Michigan federal judge to toss a suit by former employees who claim they were discriminated against on religious grounds for refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccine, saying the lead plaintiff never informed his superiors of his religious beliefs when he asked for an exemption.

March 10, 2023

Wash. Panel Says Worker Owed Benefits Under COVID Order

By Irene Spezzamonte

A Boeing crane operator was entitled to unemployment benefits during an unpaid leave he took at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, a Washington appeals court ruled Thursday, saying that under the governor's pandemic proclamation, workers didn't need to look for work.

March 23, 2023