What is Coronavirus?  COVID-19 (Coronavirus) usually causes respiratory illness. Common signs of infection include respiratory symptoms, fever, cough, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties. The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern. What are some key legal employment issues related to Coronavirus and the workplace? Occupational Safety […]

The NLRB recently issued its new and improved version of the Joint Employer rule.  Because this topic has been in the news for seemingly the last several years, it is helpful to trace how we arrived at this point.  For years, the Board used to utilize a more employer-friendly joint employer standard.  In 2015, the […]

FLSA exemption status always seems to cause a little bit of queasiness.  Many clients with whom we speak are concerned that they’re going to do one little thing incorrectly that will cause their exempt employees to lose their exemption status and will require the employer to pay ungodly amounts of unpaid wages and overtime.  Of […]

The 2020 presidential election season is upon us. The first presidential primaries and caucuses are in the rearview mirror and more are rapidly approaching. From now until the presidential election in November 2020, politics will become even more of a mainstay in our lives than it already has become in this age of 24-hour news, […]

On January 31, 2020, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service released a new version of the Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification. The new version contains only minor changes to the form and its instructions. Specifically, the version of the form and instructions contains the following changes: Form I-9 Revised the Country of Issuance field […]

Cold and flu season is upon us. For the week ending January 18, 2020, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services reports that 2.2% of all outpatient visits were due to care related to influenza-like symptoms. Additionally, on January 27, the Department of State issued a Level 3 Travel Advisory for all of China, […]

On January 13, 2020, the Department of Labor issued a new rule revising the test for determining “joint employer” status.  The final rule was published in the Federal Register on January 16, 2020, and becomes effective 60 days from that date. To provide context, the DOL and the Courts long ago concluded that two separate companies can […]

A new front opened up recently in the fight over protections for LGBTQ employees in the workplace.  A group called Fair and Equal Michigan launched a ballot initiative to broaden Michigan’s civil rights laws to include protection of people from discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender in employment, housing, and public accommodations.  If the […]

Late in 2019, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a decision that is welcome news to unionized employers. In Valley Hospital Medical Center, the NLRB ruled that employers can now stop collecting dues payments for the union upon expiration of a collective bargaining agreement, at least until a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) is […]

We appreciate everyone who has stopped by to check out our blog and especially those of you who have given us feedback and encouragement.  We’ll return to providing regular updates after the holidays, as there are plenty of updates to keep us all busy. In the meantime, as you prepare for your office (and maybe […]