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Ruder Ware Innovator Award

Posted on August 17, 2015

Wausau Region Chamber of Commerce creates award honoring G. Lane Ware.  “A distinguished attorney, G. Lane Ware was the consummate professional with a sincere drive to make the Wausau community a better place for life and for business. He was tireless in his drive and support of entrepreneurship and innovation. You’d often hear him quip, […]

Disabling Condition? Protected Conduct?

Posted on August 10, 2015 by

Two recent court decisions have opened the door for continued scrutiny on whether or not an individual is protected under the Americans With Disabilities Act.  In a Nebraska Federal Court case, the District Court held that an employee was not protected because of her severe obesity but this case is on appeal to the 8th […]

Rapanos v. United States: The Narrow View, The Broad View, and the Search for the Significant Nexus to Clean Water Act Jurisdiction

Posted on August 10, 2015 by

The Quickie Elections Survive all Court Challenges

Posted on August 5, 2015 by

The quickie election rule adopted by the National Labor Relations Board has survived the first stages of legal challenge as a Washington D.C. Federal District Court has found that the election rules do not violate protected rights of employers.  Because of this, employers will continue to see increases in union election petitions filed by local […]

Court of Appeals Applies “Common Sense” to NLRB Decisions

Posted on July 29, 2015 by

Two recent decisions by the DC Circuit Court of Appeals (DC Circuit) have overturned National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) decisions and applied “common sense” in reviewing decisions from the Board.  In both the decisions, the DC Circuit overturned a decision by the NLRB that found an employer to have committed unfair labor practices by the […]

The DOL Has Had a Busy Summer!

Posted on July 28, 2015 by

The DOL has had a busy summer!  From proposed overtime rules to independent misclassification warnings, the prudent employer should take notice.  For more information, see my two recent legal updates: Hey Employers! The DOL is Watching – Are Your Workers Properly Classified?, and What is the Overtime Proposal and Why Should I Care?

Hey Employers! The DOL is Watching—Are Your Workers Properly Classified?

Posted on July 27, 2015 by

On July 15, 2015, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) released an administrative interpretation that addresses the standard under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) for properly classifying workers as employees or independent contractors.  While there has been a great deal of buzz surrounding this release, specifically over the DOL’s statement that “most workers are […]

Warning: Independent Contractors May Be Employees

Posted on July 22, 2015 by

The Administrator of the US Department of Labor has issued guidance on determining whether an individual is an independent contractor or an employee of a company.  This Interpretive Guidance goes a long way to declaring that the Department of Labor will be aggressively reviewing determinations of independent contractor status by a company and will likely […]

One Instance of Racial Harassment Can Be Enough

Posted on July 21, 2015 by

Harassment and discrimination in the workplace continue to be evolving areas of law.  In most U.S. jurisdictions, the rules seem to be fairly well-established as fair and balanced for both employer and employee.  However, when the right case comes along, the balance can shift, and new standards can be adopted that favor one party over the […]

What is the Overtime Proposal and Why Should I Care?

Posted on July 7, 2015 by

By now you probably have heard that the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has issued a “proposed rule and request for comments” regarding overtime eligibility.  For those of you who want to chat intelligently about this topic at cocktail parties—but would prefer not to read the entire 295-page proposal—we offer the following FAQ: What is […]