Agency Activity Archives - Kollman & Saucier P.A.

The Potential Impact of the Supreme Court Overruling Chevron

Kollman & Saucier

07/10/2024

Agency Activity, Legal Developments, Supreme Court Decisions

As early as middle school, we become familiar with the functions of the three branches of government. The legislative branch makes laws, the judicial branch interprets them, and the executive branch enforces them. Perhaps this simplified description is best for teaching young students, but the reality is far more complicated. The federal bureaucracy is sometimes referred to as the “Fourth Branch.” The bureaucracy consists of fifteen Cabinet...

Kollman & Saucier

02/01/2024

Agency Activity, Independent Contractors, Wage & Hour

On January 10, 2024, the Department of Labor (DOL) announced its final rule and guidance on how the DOL will analyze if a worker is an employee or independent contractor under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The final rule, which becomes effective on March 11, 2024, will be published in Title 29, Chapter V of the Code of Federal Regulations parts 780, 788, and 795. This 2024 rule rescinds prior guidance from the DOL issued in 2021 and...

Kollman & Saucier

11/20/2023

Agency Activity, Labor Law, NLRB, Union Activity

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has taken two affirmative steps to cement the Cemex doctrine into current labor law. First, the NLRB Office of General Counsel, headed by Jennifer A. Abruzzo, issued Memorandum GC 24-01, Guidance in Response to Inquiries about the Board’s Decision in Cemex Construction Materials Pacific LLC. Abruzzo stated in the guidance that “the Cemex Board took issue with the prior focus on the potential impact...

Vincent Jackson

11/09/2023

Agency Activity, COVID-19, EEOC, Employment Discrimination, Religious Discrimination

In a recent amicus brief filed in the 8th Circuit, the EEOC has urged heightened protections for workers who object to mandatory vaccinations due to sincerely-held religious beliefs. The EEOC's amicus brief highlights the unique difficulties employers face when forced to accommodate a religious belief under Title VII. The case, Ringhofer v. Mayo Clinic Ambulance, involves two longtime employees who worked as a paramedic and registered nurse for...

Kollman & Saucier

10/26/2023

Agency Activity, Joint Employer, Labor Law, Legal Developments, NLRB

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) released today its Final Rule regarding the Standard for Determining Joint-Employer Status under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The NLRB press release states: Under the new standard, an entity may be considered a joint employer of a group of employees if each entity has an employment relationship with the employees and they share or codetermine one or more of the employees’ essential terms and...

Vincent Jackson

10/19/2023

Agency Activity, NLRB, Union Activity

The National Labor Relations Board released case processing data for FY 2023. The data shows that between October 1, 2022 and September 20, 2023, 22,448 cases were filed--a 10% increase over the previous fiscal year. 2023 also saw the highest number of cases filed since 2016. The increase in filings was spread across both unfair labor practice (ULP) charges and union representation-related activity. Both categories of cases have seen...

Kollman & Saucier

10/04/2023

Agency Activity, OSHA

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) began a new initiative to conduct enhanced enforcement and compliance assistance efforts in the engineered stone fabrication and installation industries. The September 22, 2023 Memorandum supplements a February 4, 2020 National Emphasis Program addressing “Respirable Crystalline Silica.” OSHA’s recognition of engineered stone as a hazard to workers goes as far back as 2015, when OSHA and...

Kollman & Saucier

05/01/2023

Agency Activity, EEOC, Employment Discrimination, Hostile Work Environment

The EEOC has issued guidance on “Promising Practices for Prevention and Addressing Harassment in the Federal Sector.” While the guidance provides recommended practices for federal government workplaces, it offers sound advice for other public sector and private sector employers. Here is a sampling of the EEOC’s recommendations that are applicable to other employers too: Annually issue and distribute to all employees, and prominently post,...

Kollman & Saucier

04/19/2023

Agency Activity, Joint Employer, Labor Law

In September 2022, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued its proposed rule on the Standard for Determining Joint-Employer Status under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). This rule, which is a return to the Obama-era standard, states entities are joint employers if they "share or codetermine those matters governing employees' essential terms and conditions of employment." Significantly, under this rule, the authority alone to...

Peter Saucier

04/05/2023

Agency Activity, Employment Discrimination

Every person who claims to be discriminated against by an employer has the right to have that charge examined by the Maryland Commission for Civil Rights (MCCR). The claims of charging parties are fully investigated by the MCCR, including procedures to obtain documents, data and testimony. That process includes an appeal within the MCCR, and the right to seek further review in the Maryland Circuit Court system. Employers confronted with charges...

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The Potential Impact of the Supreme Court Overruling Chevron

DOL Issues Final Rule on Independent Contractor Classification under the FLSA

Is The Cemex Doctrine Is Here to Stay?

EEOC Files Amicus Brief In Support Of Religious Accommodations For Refusing Mandatory Covid-19 Vaccinations

NLRB Issues New Joint Employer Rule

NLRB Releases Filing Statistics for FY 2023

OSHA Begins New Initiative to Combat Diseases Resulting from Inhaled Silica

EEOC Issues Harassment Prevention and Response Guidance

New NLRB Joint Employer Rule Coming This Summer

Maryland Court Reins in Appeal Rights From MCCR Determinations

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