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Landmark SCOTUS Ruling Strips Power
From Federal Agencies
The Supreme Court just upended the legal world by significantly reducing the power of federal regulators and placing more authority in the hands of judges – a move that will have a major impact on workplace regulations for years to come. In today’s ruling, SCOTUS overturned the decades-old Chevron
doctrine which required courts to defer to a federal agency’s position on the law when a statute is open to interpretation. As we predicted earlier this year, the Court tossed out that standard in favor of judicial interpretation, enabling courts to strike down agency rules much more easily and giving employers a powerful tool to fight back against regulatory overreach.
Much of your daily life as an employer has been shaped by federal agencies that have benefitted from courts’ deference to agencies under the Chevron doctrine to mold their agendas. We previously covered how this decision will dismantle workplace regulations and the three biggest wage and hour steps employers can take in a post-Chevron world. Today’s decision does not change anything in terms of prior cases that relied on the Chevron framework – in fact, SCOTUS specifically stated that those cases remain valid legal precedent despite the Court’s change in interpretive methodology. But it does open the door for new challenges to agency actions.
Here are some agency rules and positions we foresee coming under attack in the coming months and years now that employers will be able to wrest back power from the federal government:
- Wage and Hour
- Labor Law
- Discrimination/Harassment
- Workplace Safety
- Non-Competition
- Pay Equity
- Immigration
- Affirmative Action
For immediate action steps and some steps to
consider in long-term planning, click HERE.
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Court denies injunction in case
involving DOL salary regs
In our most recent bulletin on the new Final Rule increasing salary levels for exempt white-collar employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act, we noted that there was an additional challenge to the new regulations and that we were awaiting a decision in that case. Last week, the court in that case refused to stop the rule from taking effect.
The DOL Final Rule increased the salary level requirement to qualify for the so-called white-collar exemptions from the minimum wage and overtime requirements of the FLSA. The increase is to take place in two steps: The first step, which took effect July 1, increased the salary threshold from $35,568 a year to $43,886 a year, or $844 a week. The second step will go into effect on January 1, and will increase the threshold again to $58,656 a year, or $1,128 a week.
In Texas v. U.S. Department of Labor, a federal court temporarily enjoined the rule, but only with respect to employees of the state of Texas and its agencies. Now, in Flint Avenue v. U.S. Department of Labor, a different federal court in Texas has declined to enjoin the rule. In Flint Avenue, Judge Sam Cummings – a Reagan appointee – found that the plaintiff did not make the required showing of irreparable harm to justify immediate injunctive relief. However, he will later issue a decision on the merits of the rule, presumably before the end of the year.
Read the Legal Bulletin HERE
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Employment Case Studies: Insights into FMLA Violations
Covered employers who do not comply with the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) can find themselves in complicated and costly legal situations. The Wage & Hour Division (WHD) is authorized to investigate FMLA complaints, and if employer violations cannot be satisfactorily resolved, the DOL may bring court action against the employer to compel compliance. An employee may also be able to initiate a private civil action against an employer for FMLA violations. FMLA violations can be particularly costly, as they may involve paying back employees’ lost wages and reinstating lost benefits.
The guide provided in the link below contains case studies that explore the most recent real-world examples of employers found to be in violation of the FMLA.
Read more HERE
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HIPAA Privacy Rules Get a Refresh
Final privacy rules under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) set basic limitations on the use or disclosure by covered entities (such as employer health benefit plans) and their business associates of reproductive health care information.
The final rules state that reproductive care is, for HIPAA purposes, presumed to be legal unless the employer health benefit plan or its business associate has "actual knowledge" that the care was not lawful under the circumstances. The final rules generally require compliance on December 23, 2024. Effective February 16, 2026, covered entities will be required to update their notices of privacy practices.
The 2024 rules apply a broad definition of "seeking, obtaining, providing or facilitating" reproductive health care to include "expressing interest in, using, performing, furnishing, paying for, disseminating information about, arranging, insuring, administering, authorizing, providing coverage for, approving, counseling about, assisting or otherwise taking action to engage in reproductive health care," or attempting to do so.
Read more HERE
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Using Safe Harbors to Avoid ACA Penalties
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires applicable large employers (ALEs) to offer affordable, minimum-value health coverage to their full-time employees (and dependents) or risk paying a penalty to the IRS. An ALE is an employer with at least 50 full-time employees, including full-time equivalent employees during the preceding calendar year.
An ALE’s health coverage is considered affordable if the employee’s required contribution for the lowest-cost self-only coverage that provides minimum value does not exceed 9.5% of the employee’s household income for the taxable year. Because an employer generally will not know an employee’s household income, the IRS has provided three optional safe harbors that ALEs may use to determine affordability based on information that is available to them: the Form W-2 safe harbor, the rate-of-pay safe harbor and the federal poverty line (FPL) safe harbor.
LINKS AND RESOURCES
Read article HERE
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2024 Midyear Employment Law
Compliance Trends
Throughout 2024, there have been significant changes in employment law at the federal, state and local levels. A review of recent and proposed legislation reveals a number of emerging trends that will affect employers for the remainder of the year. Employers should ensure that they are apprised of significant legal developments and are either in compliance or prepared to comply with their requirements.
Federal agencies have been especially active in 2024, passing major regulations, including with respect to overtime compensation, independent contractor classification, the use of noncompete agreements and protections for pregnant workers. In 2024, we’ve also seen the emergence and continuation of a number of state legislation trends. In particular, states have continued to increase minimum wage rates, pass pay transparency laws, expand paid sick leave protections, and broaden protections from discrimination on the basis of hairstyles and hair textures historically associated with race. In addition, states have passed protections for the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the workplace and captive audience meetings in which employers discuss religious or political matters.
Action Steps
The midyear is a great time for employers to evaluate their compliance with recent and upcoming employment laws. Understanding and responding to these trends will be essential for employers' success for the remainder of 2024 and beyond. This Compliance Bulletin highlights some of the key employment law trends and challenges that employers will continue to face in 2024 and beyond.
Read the bulletin HERE
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OSHA Proposes Heat Prevention Standard
On July 2, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
announced an unofficial version of the proposed standard
to protect workers from heat injury and illness. If finalized, the new standard would apply to all employers conducting indoor and outdoor work in all general industry, construction, maritime and agricultural sectors where OSHA has jurisdiction, subject to limited exceptions.
Background
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, almost 500 workers have died from heat exposure in the United States from 2011-22, and there were nearly 34,000 estimated work-related heat injuries and illnesses resulting in days away from work. If finalized, the proposed rule would be the first federal regulation specifically focused on protecting workers from extreme heat. The official version of the proposed rule will soon be published in the Federal Register.
Read article HERE
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Coping with Summer-onset Seasonal Affective Disorder
Summer is typically viewed as a season of sunshine, vacations and outdoor fun, but for some, it brings an unexpected wave of depression known as reverse seasonal affective disorder (SAD). While the winter variant of SAD is more well-known, summer-onset SAD is a legitimate condition that can significantly impact one’s mood and energy levels. Factors such as extreme heat, disrupted routines and societal pressure to have fun all contribute to this form of seasonal depression.
Unlike its winter counterpart, which often involves over-sleeping and overeating, reverse SAD tends to result in sleep loss and reduced appetite. Common symptoms of reverse SAD include:
- Insomnia
- Increased agitation or anxiety
- Poor appetite
- Headaches or migraines
- Weight loss
- Social withdrawal
- Lack of motivation to do anything
Read more HERE
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Navigating the HR Jungle:
HR Current Legal Issues
Thursday | August 15th, 2024
8:00 am - 5:00 pm
Ollis/Akers/Arney Springfield office 2274 E. Sunshine Street
This course is designed to enhance the knowledge of managers in basic HR regulations and best practices.
- Management / Agent of the Organization
- Discrimination in Employment
- HR & Seven Rules for Management
- Coaching, Counseling & Taking Corrective Action
- Marijuana in the Workplace & Other Hot Topics!
Seminar Investment: $399
Includes Resource Material, Participant Guide, and Healthy Start breakfast.
Call for more information
800-256-7310 or
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