Apparently inspired by the tidying up trend, the Department of Labor threw out two sections of its interpretation concerning the commission sales exemption from overtime that no longer gave it joy. The commission sales 
exemption covers sales employees who are primarily paid by commission. To come under the exemption, the employee must be employed in a “retail or service” establishment, must earn at least 1.5 times the minimum wage, and more than half the employee’s compensation for a representative period (not less than one month) must represent commissions.
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DWZ – Drinking While Zooming (And Other Telework Dilemmas)
By now we probably all have seen the YouTube Video of poor Danny, who finished his Zoom video meeting with his colleagues and forgot to end the call as he walked away from the screen, his colorful boxer short underwear in plain sight (along with his backscratching stretch to loosen his muscles). Or the son of the late Steve Reeve of Superman fame (Will), a reporter who was spied at the end of a news piece he broadcasted from home without any suit pants! Ah, Danny and Will! But, other things are happening while employees work from home that raise concerns. For example, the employee who during a conference call is slurring his speech as if intoxicated.
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Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security Becomes Law
On March 27, President Trump signed the Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, a $2 trillion bill that contains provisions that will provide relief to businesses and individuals negatively impacted by the recent pandemic.
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Love you!!
Employment lawyers on the management side of the “v” (as in verses for you lucky enough never to have been sued) are hunkered down with our clients on the phone these days. We are figuring out minute by minute how to foretell the COVID-19 future, to determine what the feds will require, what the governors will mandate, and how to balance operational needs, financial insecurity, employee fear, leave from work and needs of clients for services, including vulnerable clients (patients, individuals who need medical equipment after discharge, patrons who need food and prescriptions – all the vital services that we assume are available and that businesses seamlessly provide in normal times).
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U.S. House of Representatives Amends the “Families First Coronavirus Response Act”
On Sunday, March 15, 2020, we provided a comprehensive summary of the paid leave and other employment-related provisions of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, passed overwhelmingly by the U.S. House of Representatives on March 13. This bill makes sweeping changes to an employer’s legal obligations: (1) imposing a paid sick and safe leave (“PSL”) mandate for COVID-19-related reasons on most employers with fewer than 500 employees; (2) temporarily and vastly expanding coverage and imposing a paid leave requirement on these same employers under the Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) for school and child care closures associated with COVID-19; (3) making unemployment benefits available for reasons associated with COVID-19; and (4) giving a tax credit for paid sick and paid family and medical leave.
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Maryland’s General Assembly Overrides “Ban the Box” Veto – What’s Next for Employers
On January 30, 2020, the Maryland General Assembly voted to override Governor Hogan’s veto of the “Ban the Box” bill that was passed in the last legislative session, just as we predicted in our veto E-lert. The law will prohibit employers in Maryland from inquiring about an applicant’s criminal history until later in the application process. It takes effect on February 29, 2020, and Maryland employers should prepare now to comply with the new requirements.
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Pronouns and Coworkers and Misgendering (Oh My!)
Pronouns – those articles of speech referring to the person other than by name – have become complicated. My law firm writes a lot (articles for L&E publications, monthly electronic E-Updates, E-Lerts to report actionable “new stuff” and, of course, this blog). In the “old days” we used the pronoun “he” as the universal. Then, in defiance of the “patriarchy” the term he/she or (s)he was substituted. We came to recognize that the language we use impacts attitudes about “who belongs.” 
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#MeToo (Et Tu SEIU?)
In Shakespeare’s play, Julius Caesar cried out “Et Tu Brute?” – translated “Even you Brutus?” – as he lay dying from the assassin’s sword that had been plunged into his chest by his friend and confidant, Marcus Brutus. These words came to mind as I read an article about a sordid tale of rampant sexual misconduct by SEIU officials. Even them???
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NLRB Delivers A “Holiday Gift” To Employers: New Union Election Timelines
NLRB Delivers A “Holiday Gift” To Employers: New Union Election Timelines
On December 13, 2019, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a final rule revising the Obama-era union election procedures (known as “R-Case” rules). The revision to the procedures will become effective 120 days from its publication in the Federal Register next week.
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FMLA to Care for Adult Child?
Most human resources folks know that, under the Family and Medical Leave Act, eligible employees can take leave to care for a child with a serious health condition, and that the FMLA defines “child” as being under the age of 18. But what some perhaps don’t realize is the FMLA has an additional definition of “child”: one over 18 years who is “incapable of self-care because of a mental or physical disability.” And even if they’re aware of that definition, they may not understand that the disability can be quite temporary in nature. A recent case, Gibson v. New York State Office of Mental Health, clearly makes this point.
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