by Aigner Carr As discussed in our prior insight, the Department of Labor (DOL) continues to revise its independent contractor and joint employment rules. As anticipated, the DOL announced on March 11, 2021 a proposal to rescind the Independent Contractor final rule. The final rule was published in January 2021, with an expected effective date
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by Jim Layton We previously noted that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) proposed a substantial revision of Section 12: Religious Discrimination in the EEOC Compliance Manual (“Religious Discrimination Manual”). On January 15, 2021, the EEOC adopted a slightly revised version of the proposed Manual—again, in a 3-2 vote. The final version is available here.
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by Veronica Potter On March 2, 2021, the Missouri Supreme Court released an order (Order) amending the Missouri Rules of Civil Procedure (Rules) to enact new discovery provisions. The Missouri legislature previously passed a law in 2019 that amended the discovery Rules in order to bring them more in line with the Federal Rules. Senate
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by Aigner Carr and Adam Henningsen Employers often struggle with applying various tests to classify workers as employees and independent contractors. Properly classifying workers is important for a myriad of reasons. Only employees are entitled to the benefits and protections of the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), including minimum wage and overtime requirements. Independent contractors
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by Kristine Nazir On January 25, 2021, President Biden issued a Presidential Proclamation reinstating COVID-19 travel restrictions. The Proclamation bars the entry of non-US citizens who were physically present within the United Kingdom, Ireland, Brazil, South Africa, and 26 countries in Europe, called the Schengen Area, during the 14-day period preceding their entry or attempted
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by Christine Self In our recent Insight, EEOC Updates its COVID-19 Guidance to Address Vaccines, Tueth Keeney discussed the grant of FDA Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for two COVID-19 vaccines. Our guidance indicated that employers could encourage their employees to take the COVID vaccines without running afoul of the ADA, Rehabilitation Act and other EEO
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by Kristine Nazir The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced its final rule altering the existing H-1B Cap selection process. The final rule will replace the current random selection process with a new salary-based ranking system. In lieu of a random lottery, USCIS would rank the cap registrations based on prevailing wage levels, first
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by Christine Self As schools and other employers continue or transition back to remote school and teleworking with the latest spikes in COVID-19 cases, employers must consider several employment issues about employee rights under those conditions. There are many considerations for employers as they request or require their employees to telework or when employees request
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by John Reynolds This is a reminder for our St. Louis City private employers that St. Louis City Ordinance 71074, which prohibits St. Louis City employers from basing job hiring or promotion decisions on applicant’s criminal histories, recently went into effect on January 1, 2021. Similar ordinances are already in place in Columbia and Kansas
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by Kristine Nazir On December 31, 2020, President Trump extended Proclamation 10052 until March 31, 2021. Proclamation 10052 suspended the entry of certain H-1B, L-1, and J-1 visa holders into the United States in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. At this time, it is unknown if President-elect Biden will rescind the Proclamation when he takes
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