NC Labor and Employment Blog

Losing Control: The USDOL's Latest Independent Contractor Test

The use and misuse of independent contractor status has been one of the most talked about issues facing businesses over the past decade.  Major newspapers have published exposés, lawmakers have threatened new l…

Did You Tell Them? Employers' Notice Obligations Regarding Whistleblowers Under the Federal Defend Trade Secrets Act

The federal Defend Trade Secrets Act ("DTSA"), an amendment to the Theft of Trade Secrets Act, became effective May 12, 2016.  The DTSA provides trade secret owners an avenue to pursue claims for trade secret misappro…

At Long Last: The Department of Labor Issues Final Salary Threshold Rule Effective December 1, 2016

Written By Grant B. Osborne

After almost a year of speculation and concern, the U.S. Department of Labor ("DOL") today, May 18, 2016, issued its long-awaited Final Rule on overtime exemptions, making a major change to the minimum salary that an emplo…

Love Won't Let Me Wait (for Congress): EEOC Files "Sexual Orientation" Employment Discrimination Lawsuits Based on Title VII of Civil Rights Act

Written By Grant B. Osborne

On March 1, 2016, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC") did something that many in the world of employment law have anticipated for a long time but still find remarkable: it sued two employers in federa…

The Fair Labor Standards Act Statute of Limitations Limits Employer Liability: Except When It Doesn't

Written By Grant B. Osborne

​"Hard cases, it has frequently been observed, are apt to introduce bad law."- Judge Robert Rolfe, Winterbottom v. Wright, 1842. "For the want of a nail . . . the Kingdom was lost"- Unknown About a year a…

A Claim Is In the House: What To Do

Our clients take very seriously the legal duty to insure or self-insure for workers' compensation.  In the wake of reportage that was critical of everybody involved in the noninsured phenomenon, employers are aware th…

Independent Contractor or Employee?

Written By Justin M. Lewis

Many owners' associations, especially the larger associations, pay workers to perform certain tasks for the benefit of the community.  The kind of tasks these workers may perform ranges from landscaping, maintenance, …

Perhaps Mimeographs and IBM Selectrics® Weren't So Bad: Employee Entitlement to Use Employer Email Systems to Engage in Protected Concerted Activity

Written By Grant B. Osborne

Most employers of any size or sophistication are generally familiar with the governmental agencies that regulate them, such as the U.S. Department of Labor ("USDOL"), the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the In…

2014: A "Year of Executive Orders" Affecting Federal Contracting

Written By Devon D. Williams

As we look back over 2014, most people, regardless of political affiliations, can agree that President Obama, in some fashion, adhered to his 2014 State of the Union Address where he promised that 2014 would be a "year of …