Hunton Employment & Labor Perspectives

Our prior post discussed how Democrats in the House of Representatives sought to amend the Federal Labor Standards Act (FLSA) as part of new proposed legislation called the “Wage Theft Prevention and Wage Recovery Act”. It concluded that the legislation, if enacted, would increase both the frequency and severity of not only FLSA collective actions but also of investigations and enforcement actions by the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division.

Please join Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP for a complimentary webinar:

OSHA 2022 – Mid-Year Report

Thursday, June 23, 2022

3:00–4:00 pm ET

2:00–3:00 pm CT

12:00–1:00 pm PT

Please join labor and employment attorneys, Susan Wiltsie, partner, and Reilly Moore, associate, in a discussion on the current state of OSHA regulatory initiatives, enforcement efforts, agency trends and other developments, including COVID-19.

Presenters:

Susan F. Wiltsie, Partner, Hunton Andrews Kurth

Reilly C. Moore, Associate, Hunton Andrews Kurth

Additional information available ...

Earlier this month, the U.S. Supreme Court in Southwest Airlines Co. v. Saxon unanimously held that a ramp supervisor who frequently handled cargo for an interstate airline company was exempt from coverage under the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) because she belonged to a “class of workers engaged in foreign or interstate commerce.”  9 U.S.C. § 1.

We are pleased to announce that the Labor and Employment team at Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP has been recognized as practice leaders in Immigration and Labor and Employment by the 2022 Legal 500 US Guide. Twelve individual lawyers on HuntonAK’s Labor and Employment and Immigration Team also were acknowledged.

On June 15, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision on Viking River Cruises, Inc. v. Moriana (Case No. 20-1573) reversing the California Court of Appeal’s decision to affirm the denial of Viking’s motion to compel arbitration Moriana’s “individual” PAGA claim and to dismiss her other PAGA claims.

Earlier this year, the Office of the General Counsel (GC) of the  National Labor Relations Board (Board) issued an Advice Memorandum in Case 05-CA-281089 instructing Board Region 5  to issue a complaint alleging  that the employer, LT Transportation (a shuttle bus transportation provider), violated Section 8(a)(1) of the National Labor Relations Act, when it banned nonemployee union organizers from boarding its shuttles because of their identity as union organizers. The GC also directed the Region to use the case as a vehicle to argue that that two Board precedents, UPMC, 368 NLRB No. 2 (June 14, 2019) and Kroger, 368 NLRB No. 64 (2019), should be overruled because, in the view of the GC, they narrowed employee rights set forth in two U.S. Supreme Court cases, NLRB v. Stowe Spinning Co., 336 U.S. 226, 233 (1949) and NLRB v. Babcock & Wilcox Co., 351 U.S. 105 (1956).

Congratulations to our team and eleven attorneys for Chambers USA 2022 rankings!

The team was recognized in the following areas:

• Immigration – District of Columbia – Band 3
• Labor & Employment – California – Highly Recommended – Band 2
• Labor & Employment – District of Columbia – Band 4
• Labor & Employment – Texas – Band 5
• Labor & Employment – Virginia – Band 1

Individual recognitions were received by:

• Ian P. Band (District of Columbia)
• M. Brett Burns (California)
• Terence G. Connor (Senior Statesperson - Florida)
• Juan C. Enjamio (Florida)
• Kurt G. Larkin (Virginia)

The EEOC recently issued long awaited guidance on how an employer’s use of software, algorithms, and artificial intelligence will be treated by the Commission under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). In issuing this guidance, the Commission focused on employers administering software that uses algorithmic decision-making or artificial intelligence in making employment decisions before and during employment. The Commission outlined three general areas in which the use of such technology may violate the ADA: (1) an employer not providing a reasonable ...

Earlier this month, Democrats in the House of Representatives introduced the “Wage Theft Prevention and Wage Recovery Act” (“Act”). This proposed legislation seeks to amend the Federal Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) in several key ways.

First, the Act would require all employers to provide regular pay stubs and initial salary disclosures.

Second, the Act would change wage recovery by requiring payment at an employee’s agreed-upon wage rate, rather than at the minimum wage or minimum overtime wage rates, which the FLSA has never done and has traditionally been within ...

On May 7, 2022, the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board (“Cal/OSHA”) released guidance, in the form of updated FAQs and fact sheets, concerning the revised COVID-19 Prevention Emergency Temporary Standards (“ETS”) that were adopted on April 21, 2022, and became effective on May 6, 2022.  This ETS applies to non-remote workers in California, except those who work alone and those covered by the Aerosol Transmissible Diseases standard, and will remain in effect until December 31, 2022. 

Cal/OSHA’s recently issued guidance provides additional ...