On April 2, 2018, the United States Supreme Court issued a decision on the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA") exemption that provides the FLSA's overtime pay requirement does not apply to any salesmen, partsmen, or mechanics primarily engaged in selling or servicing...
PLDO Law Blog
Employment Law
PRIOR SALARY HISTORY MAY NOT ALWAYS BE LAWFUL BASIS TO SET PAY
The Equal Pay Act provides that men and women should receive equal pay for equal work. In a recent case, Rizo v. Yovino, No. 16-15372 (Apr. 9, 2018), the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that an employer cannot justify a wage difference...
WORKPLACE SEXUAL HARASSMENT: A PARADIGM SHIFT?
With the seemingly daily news reports of sexual harassment scandals, business owners and investors are starting to realize an inconvenient fact: leaving the problem of workplace sexual harassment to the human resources department or middle-managers may no longer be...
Intern or Employee? Second Circuit Court of Appeals Weighed 7 Considerations In Recent Ruling
A very recent federal case highlights the rules of the road when employers utilize interns. Wang v. Hearst Corp., No. 16-3302, (2d Cir. Dec. 8, 2017). The case was brought by a group of unpaid interns that participated in a for-credit internship program that Hearst...
GOVERNOR MCKEE MAKES LONG-AWAITED ANNOUNCEMENT OF RHODE ISLAND CANNABIS CONTROL COMMISSION NOMINATIONS
After much anticipation, Rhode Island Governor Daniel McKee made a move critical to advancing the state’s cannabis legalization efforts by naming his appointments to the new Cannabis Control Commission (“CCC”). The announcement of Kimberly Ahern, the Governor’s...
FIRST CIRCUIT EXPLAINS FLSA OVERTIME REQUIREMENTS FOR ADMINISTRATIVE EMPLOYEES
It is well settled that the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) requires employers to pay certain employees overtime pay at one and one-half times the employees’ regular rate. 29 U.S.C.S. §207(a). However, certain employees are exempt from this overtime requirement,...
EXECUTING A CAREFULLY DRAFTED CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENT IN AN M&A TRANSACTION
The execution of a confidentiality agreement - or what is also referred to as non-disclosure agreement (NDA) - is typically the first official stage of any merger or acquisition. Prior to this stage, a general discussion may have already occurred, and relevant...
THE IMPORTANCE OF CONDITIONS PRECEDENT IN LICENSING, PERMITTING AND PURCHASE AGREEMENTS
A condition precedent is a condition in a contract that must occur before another party is required to perform. In purchase and sale agreements, there are often several conditions precedent that must be satisfied before a party is required to close. Particularly, in...
REMOTE WORKERS IN RHODE ISLAND: STATE REGS MAY CREATE PERSONAL JURISDICTION IN RHODE ISLAND COURTS
The United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island recently held that it had personal jurisdiction over an out-of-state employer, despite the fact that the employer only had one remote employee who worked in Rhode Island. That employee—who was also the...
