Lobbying Affiliate: MML&K Government Solutions
{ Banner Image }

Employment Law Blog

When It Comes To Employment Issues, Choose A Firm That Thinks Outside the Cubicle.

Contact Us

250 Character(s) Remaining
Type the following characters: six, tango, niner, six

* Indicates a required field.

Categories

McBrayer Blogs

Showing 7 posts from October 2013.

Varying Maternity Leave Policies, cont.

On Monday, it was discussed that it is typically acceptable to offer different maternity leave benefits for employees at separate employer locations (such as a corporate office versus store locations). Further, it was noted that it is generally acceptable to have varying policies amongst employees, so far as the policies are applied within the parameters of the law (i.e., not discriminatory). More >

Varying Maternity Leave Policies

Recently, our firm was asked if it were permissible for a company to have separate maternity policies for a corporate office from that of a store location.  The concern was of course that a claim of discrimination would be made if different policies were used, and it was right for the question to be asked.  However, what may be surprising is that there is no requirement that employees at different company locations all be offered the same benefits. In fact, it is common for employees in a corporate office to receive different employment packages than those at other locations, such as the company’s retail store or restaurant. In fact, an employer does not have to have the same policies for all employees in the same location in many instances. The key is that a policy not have an adverse impact on any protected groups or result in unintentional discrimination. More >

You Can’t Take It With You When You Go – Requiring Employees To Use PTO

Contrary to what many employees think, paid time off (“PTO”) is not a protected right. Instead, it is a matter of agreement between an employer and employee. There are times when employees may prefer to take unpaid leave so that they can accrue their PTO, but employers can determine whether this practice is permissible. It is lawful for employers to require that employees exhaust unused PTO time before taking unpaid time away from work. More >

FLSA Now Extends to Home Health Care Workers, cont.

Earlier this week, information with respect to the DOL’s Final Rule regarding FLSA protection to home health care workers, and specifically the “companionship service” exemption, was provided. Let’s now take a look at other changes ushered in by the Final Rule. More >

FLSA Now Extends to Home Health Care Workers

 On September 17, 2013, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued a Final Rule which narrows the companionship exemption to the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) and extends the FLSA's minimum wage and overtime protections to in-home health care workers. The regulations go into effect on January 1, 2015. The delay is designed to permit families who rely upon these workers to prepare for the changes. According to the DOL, this Final Rule will affect nearly 2 million workers. More >

Supreme Court Will Hear Quality Stores Case

On October 1, 2013, the Supreme Court of the United States agreed to hear United States v. Quality Stores, Inc. The case has been previously discussed on our blog. In 2001, Quality Stores entered bankruptcy and closed all of it doors to nearly three-hundred stores. The store challenged a requirement to pay FICA (Federal Insurance Contribution Act) taxes on the severance that it had paid its workers. FICA taxes help finance federal retirement and health care benefits. More >

Private Employers/Employees Are Not Insulated From Government Shutdown

Last week, the Federal Government entered into its first partial shutdown in over seventeen years. Federal civilian workers woke up on Tuesday to an unclear future; over 800,000 were sent home until further notice on unpaid furlough.  In the event the Government cannot come to an agreement with regard to the debt ceiling in the next 10 days, there may be widespread economic ramifications for nearly every employer.  In the meantime, the partial Government shutdown is resulting in inconveniences for those in the private sector. More >

Lexington, KYLouisville, KYFrankfort, KYFrankfort, KY: MML&K Government Solutions