On May 17, 2016 the United States Department of Labor, after much anticipation, issued its Final Rule updating the Fair Labor Standards Act regulations governing the “white collar exemptions” for …

Each year we review the Top Ten most common wage and hour violations in New Hampshire. Because the stakes for noncompliance under state and federal wage and hour laws are higher than ever before employers of all sizes and types need to pay attention to these violations to stay in compliance and to avoid expensive civil penalties and wage adjustment orders from NHDOL.

A battle is being waged by three home care associations to stop implementation of a new minimum wage and overtime regulation. However, the litigation took a turn in favor of their adversary on August 21, 2015. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia unanimously upheld a U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) rule requiring home care agencies to pay the minimum wage and overtime to domestic workers who provide in-home care for the elderly, ill or disabled.

On March 13, 2014 President Obama directed the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor (“USDOL”) “to begin the process of strengthening overtime pay protections for millions of workers to help make sure they are paid a fair wage for a hard day’s work while simplifying the rules for employers and workers alike”. That was shortly after the President issued an Executive Order (February 2014) raising the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour for employees of federal contractors working at federal facilities. Both Executive Orders lacked some specifics and left many employers wondering about the details and the impact of the proposed changes.

With the many changes in the modern workplace there is one constant, employers must protect employees from or correct known workplace safety hazards. The law and enforcement focus has changed over the years to adapt to the evolving workplace, technologies and materials. For example, as recently as June of this year, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued an Inspection Guidance for Inpatient Healthcare Settings. This article is intended to help guide employers through the health and safety laws and regulations that apply to most workplaces, as well as help steer away from common and expensive compliance problems.

On January 7, 2015, outgoing Governor Patrick signed into law “An Act relative to parental leave” (“Parental Leave law”), which will replace the Massachusetts Maternity Leave Law (“MMLA”), Mass. G.L. c. 149, §105D. The new law took effect on April 7, 2015, and applies to employers with six or more employees, as well as employers of domestic workers.

In 2014 voters in Massachusetts approved the ballot measure requiring employers to provide sick time for all employees. In doing so, Massachusetts joined a small group of states with mandatory sick time laws. What this means for employers is that they must provide sick leave for all employees beginning on July 1, 2015. Whether the leave must be paid or not is based upon the number of employees but all employers, regardless of size, must provide at least the mandated number of sick days.

While a Paycheck Fairness Act has been pending before Congress for a few years, with little hope of passage in the near future, the New Hampshire Legislature took a bold step forward early this summer and passed its own version.

In late May of 2012, Governor Lynch signed into law HB 1270, an act requiring New Hampshire employers to provide a copy of any “non-compete and non-piracy agreements” to applicants and certain employees prior to the actual job offer and allowing the applicants time to review and consider the restrictive covenants before accepting the job. That law, RSA 275:70, had several problems because it didn’t define its terms or deal with the impact on existing agreements. In this legislative session a bill was passed to correct many of the flaws in that law. While the bill was helpful some argue it didn’t go far enough.

The United States is often referred to as the “Land of Opportunity” and its history is rife with examples of foreign-born innovators arriving on U.S. shores and establishing some of America’s best known businesses. That tradition continues today. Foreign-born investors continue to start and provide capital to new businesses operating in a diverse array of industries. In fact, according to a 2012 report by the Small Business Administration, immigrant entrepreneurs started seventeen percent (17%) of all new U.S. businesses in 2005 – and generated $52 billion in sales and hired 450,000 workers in the process. This growth has been partially fueled by the creation of the EB-5 visa classification. Through the EB-5 programs, immigrant investors are permitted to make qualifying investments in the U.S. and receive permanent residence in return. The decision to participate in these programs, however, should be carefully evaluated by both the investor and U.S. businesses.

Each year we review the Top Ten most common wage and hour violations in New Hampshire. Because the stakes for noncompliance under state and federal wage and hour laws are higher than ever before, employers of all sizes and types need to pay attention to these violations to stay in compliance and to avoid expensive civil penalties and wage adjustment orders from NHDOL.

As summer approaches and college and high school students are seeking paid and unpaid internship opportunities as a source of work or to gain useful experience. The economy is improving and employers in all sorts of industries are hiring especially for entry level positions. Many employers have customarily used internships as informal apprenticeships or to offer students real work experience. While this might seem like a win-win situation for employers and students there are potential pitfalls with these arrangements.