\

Equal Pay Act: Male employee's strong negotiating skills not a "factor other than sex" to justify pay differential

By Martha J. Zackin

The Equal Pay Act prohibits employers from paying a female employee less than a male employee for work that requires substantially equal skill, effort and responsibility, and that is performed under similar working conditions within the same establishment. The EPA does not require proof of discriminatory intent, and an employer will be held liable to a woman who is paid less than a similarly-situated man unless it can show that the discrepancy is attributable to: (1) a bona fide seniority system; (2) a merit system; (3) a system that measures earnings by quantity or quality of production; or (4) any factor other than sex. 

 

Continue Reading

Unpaid Internships may be more costly than you think: follow-up to recent post

By Martha J. Zackin

On June 11, in Glatt v. Fox Searchlight Pictures, Inc.., the US District Court for the Southern District of New York held that unpaid interns who worked for on the movie “Black Swan” had been improperly classified, and were entitled to pay for all hours work.  Focusing on the six factors delineated in the DOL fact sheet, discussed here, the Court found that the interns worked on the same tasks and in the same manner “as paid employees work, providing an immediate advantage to their employer and performing low-level tasks not requiring specialized training.”  Further, the Court stated, “[t]he benefits they may have received … are the results of simply having worked as any other employee works, not of internships designed to be uniquely educational to the interns and of little utility to the employer.”  In other words, “[t]hey received nothing approximating the education they would receive in an academic setting or vocational school.”

The Court also found that the corporate parent of the production company for which the interns directly worked was a “joint employer” with the production company, for purposes of the FLSA.  As a result, the parent corporation was jointly liable with the production company for payment of wages.

Whether a particular position qualifies as an unpaid internship under the law is a fact-specific inquiry, and errors in classification can be very costly. To avoid these errors, please contact your employment counsel for help.

Unpaid Internships may be more costly than you may think

By Martha J. Zackin

What do fashion designer Norma Kamali, journalist Charlie Rose, Elite Model Management Corporation, and the Hearst Corporation have in common?  All have been sued by former unpaid interns, claiming that their unpaid status violated the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Continue Reading

Temporary and Contract Workers:

By Alden J. Bianchi

The Affordable Care Act’s employer shared responsibility rules will require large employers (50 or more full-time and full-time equivalent employees) to make an offer of minimum essential coverage to at least 95% of their full-time employees or pay a non-deductible excise tax on all their full-time employees. Because the excise tax payments are determined month-by-month, it is not possible to know for certain whether coverage must be offered to any particular employee because of his or her full-time status until the end of a month. Recognizing that this presents something of a Catch-22, the regulators have proposed an alternative means of determining full-time status of certain employees called the “look-back measurement period method.”

For more, click here.

Independent Investigations Have Proved Valuable For College Athletics

By Tyrone P. Thomas

As recently noted by ESPN senior college basketball writer Andy Katz, the various crises facing intercollegiate athletic programs across the country could benefit from a fresh set of eyes.  Increasingly, university presidents, general counsels and athletic directors have taken the proactive step of engaging outside lawyers to conduct an independent investigation when facing allegations of inappropriate conduct.

Continue Reading

New York City Law Prohibiting Discrimination Based on an Individual's Unemployment Status Goes Into Effect on June 11, 2013

By Michael S. Arnold

This is just a friendly reminder that New York City’s new law prohibiting discrimination based on an individual’s current unemployment status is set to become effective next week, June 11, 2013.  Employers: if you have not done so already, we strongly encourage you to take steps immediately to reduce your potential exposure once the law does go into effect.  Attorneys from Mintz Levin’s New York Labor, Employment & Benefits Practice are also standing by to provide assistance.  Our complete post regarding this new law is available here

New York Issues Proposed Regulations to Wage Deduction Law

By Michael S. Arnold

New York State Department of Labor has released proposed regulations under its recently enacted Wage Deduction Law.  The Law, which went into effect in November 2012, permits employers to deduct certain amounts from employees’ wages, including deductions to recover wage overpayments, for repayments of employer loans, and to provide for the payment of items such as gym memberships, parking or mass transit passes and day care, among many other items.  The proposed regulations, accessible here, focus on authorized deductions for the benefit of the employee and deductions for advances and overpayments. 

New York City Passes Earned Sick Time Act; Expects to Override Mayor Bloomberg's Threatened Veto Yet Again

By Michael S. Arnold

As expected, the New York City Council has passed the Earned Sick Time Act, which, if enacted, will require most City employers to provide job-protected sick leave, whether paid or unpaid, to the more than 1.6 million employees who currently do not receive this benefit.  As with the recently-passed unemployment discrimination law, the Earned Sick Time Act passed with an overwhelming majority and we expect the Council to override any Mayoral veto. 

Continue Reading

Five Years in the Making - IRS Releases Findings from Colleges and Universities Compliance Project

By Tyrone P. Thomas

The IRS announced it is nearing completion of a five year long compliance project involving tax-exempt colleges and universities.  The project, which began with questionnaires to 400 randomly-selected institutions, focused on reporting of executive compensation and unrelated business income.  The IRS’s findings provide warning to all non-profit colleges and universities regarding their process to establish and report executive compensation.

Continue Reading

EEOC Signals Increased Focus on Employer-Sponsored Wellness Programs

By Martha J. Zackin

A majority of US employers offer some sort of wellness program designed to reduce the cost of health insurance and healthcare costs, and to improve the health and well-being of employees.  However, unless care is taken, even well-intentioned wellness programs may violate federal law.

Continue Reading