Employment Law and Labour Law

The parties had spent plenty of time talking about the law, the facts, and the value of the claims. In the end, what mattered most to the employee was hearing someone acknowledge that the situation had been handled poorly.

New York State has enacted sweeping changes to employee personnel record requirements, mandating that employers provide free access to personnel files, notify employees of negative information within 10 days, and retain records for three years post-employment. These new obligations fundamentally reshape how New York employers must manage and maintain employee documentation.

The U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division issued an opinion letter addressing whether meal periods remain noncompensable under the Fair Labor Standards Act when employees must spend part of that time walking to designated break areas. The opinion examines a detention facility's policy requiring 3-7 minutes of travel each way during 60-minute meal periods, and whether this travel time converts the entire break into compensable work time.

The parties had spent plenty of time talking about the law, the facts, and the value of the claims. In the end, what mattered most to the employee was hearing someone acknowledge that the situation had been handled poorly.

A federal court in Georgia granted conditional certification of an FLSA collective action involving mortgage underwriters who alleged they were misclassified as exempt employees and denied overtime pay. The decision underscores the lenient evidentiary standard applied at the conditional certification stage and highlights the risks employers face when classifying employees under the FLSA's administrative exemption without demonstrating meaningful discretion in job duties.

A practice that millions of California workers encounter every pay period — having their clock-in and clock-out times rounded to the nearest few minutes — may soon be declared unlawful.

The U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division issued an opinion letter addressing whether meal periods remain noncompensable under the Fair Labor Standards Act when employees must spend part of that time walking to designated break areas. The opinion examines a detention facility's policy requiring 3-7 minutes of travel each way during 60-minute meal periods, and whether this travel time converts the entire break into compensable work time.

Directs the Department of War and Department of Veterans Affairs to establish continuous sharing of military personnel and medical records, deploy AI-enabled tools to streamline veterans...

The DOL's latest MHPAEA guidance provides plan sponsors with a practical roadmap for mental health parity compliance reviews, highlighting three key enforcement focus areas and identifying red flags in both written plan provisions and operational practices. While offering limited nonenforcement relief for certain portions of the 2024 Final Rule, the agency emphasizes continued enforcement of core statutory requirements...

The traditional reception model assumed someone was physically present at a front desk. That structure is less practical for solo, virtual, hybrid, and small practices, where one person often wears every hat. Smaller firms are separating reception work from physical office presence, driven by operational necessity rather than enthusiasm for remote work itself.

A mid-sized manufacturing company facing financial turmoil after a private equity acquisition found itself struggling with employee turnover, delayed accounting, and unreliable financial reporting. When traditional support failed to deliver the hands-on assistance needed, a specialized advisory team stepped in to restore financial clarity and guide the business from crisis to profitability.

Peyton Recer, a summer associate in Foley's Tampa office, shares her journey from earning degrees at the University of Florida to attending University of Miami School of Law. She discusses her approach to law school success, her summer associate experience, and offers valuable insights on networking and relationship building for aspiring legal professionals.