#SCOTUS extends time limits for constructive discharge claims

Yesterday, in Green v. Brennan [pdf] (background here), the Supreme Court considered when the statute of limitations begins to run for a constructive discharge claim—when the employee resigns or at the time of an employer’s last allegedly discriminatory act allegedly causing the resignation.

When must employees be paid for off-the-clock overtime?

Just about a year ago, in Moran v. Al Basit LLC, the 6th Circuit seemed to hold that all an employee needs is his or her own testimony to establish an entitlement to unpaid compensation under the FLSA. At the time, I expressed concern that such a holding might lead to more jury trials in off-the-clock wage/hour cases:

This ruling is scary, and has the potential to work extortionate results on employers. If all an employee has to do to establish a jury claim in an off-the-clock case is say, “The employer’s records are wrong; I worked these approximate hours on a weekly basis,” then it will be impossible for an employer to win summary judgment in any off-the-clock case.

Last week, in Craig v. Bridges Bros. Trucking [pdf], the same court offered some clarity on, and maybe some relief to, employers on this issue.

WIRTW #413 (the "rock star" edition)

I gotta say, I love watch the evolution of my daughter as a performer. Case in point: last weekend’s epic Weezer vs. Green Day shows. Further case in point: Green Day’s Basket Case.


Not be outdone, check out brother Donovan’s keyboard skills and dance moves (starts at around 0:45):
 

Here’s the rest of what I read this week.

Mom cannot sue employer for discrimination against her son, court says

Brittany Tovar claimed that her employer, Essentia Health, discriminated against her when her employer-sponsored medical insurance denied her son gender reassignment services and surgery.

In Tovar v. Essentia Health (D. Minn. 5/11/16), the court had little issue dismissing Tovar’s claims because the alleged target of the discrimination, her son, was not an employee protected by Title VII:

I scream, you scream, we all scream … for the FLSA’s new salary test

At 3 pm this afternoon, Vice President Joe Biden, Senator Sherrod Brown, and Secretary of Labor Tom Perez will appear at Jeni’s Ice Cream in Columbus, Ohio, to announce the Department of Labor’s new overtime rule.

The rule, as expected, increases the salary level at which one qualifies as an exempt white-collar employee ($913 per week; $47,476 annually), while leaving alone (for now) the duties one also must meet to qualify. It is expected that 4.2 million white-collar workers will now qualify for overtime.

The effective date of the final rule is December 1, 2016, giving employers more than six months to digest the new rules, reclassify workers, and comply with the new salary test.

In advance of today’s announcement, late yesterday the DOL published the Final Rule, along with some guidance for employers. It also published this handy chart, comparing the current regulations, last year’s proposed regulations, and the final regulations.

EEOC’s final rules on employer wellness programs provides clear path for employers

Yesterday, the EEOC published its long-awaited rules that describe how the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act apply to wellness programs offered by employers that request health information from employees and their spouses. Both rules take effect July 18, 2017.

The $15 minimum wage is an employee-relations nightmare

Last week, Cleveland’s City Council introduced legislation to raise the city’s minimum wage to $15. Mayor Frank Jackson has come out against the bill, stating that he opposes the legislation because it puts the city at a competitive business disadvantage against other cities: “I continue to support a minimum wage increase if mandated by the state or federal government and not just for the City of Cleveland. For the full economic impact this has to be a united effort throughout Ohio and the United States.”