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What I've Been Reading This Week


Tough to narrow things down this week as I read through some great articles and updates on a wide range of employment and labor law related topics.  With quite a bit of troubling news unfolding across the world over the past few weeks, I hope this post can serve as a bit of a breather and change of pace for readers looking for a bit of levity and more "light hearted" reading.

As always, below are a couple articles that caught my eye this week.


Department of Labor Withdraws Interpretations Addressing Joint Employment & Misclassification of Employees As Independent Contractors

On Wednesday, the Department of Labor ("DOL") withdrew its written interpretations which addressed joint employment and the misclassification of employees as independent contractors.  Although these were informal guidance documents, they were roundly criticized for taking a broad view of the employment relationship under the Fair Labor Standards Act.  Note, these interpretations were issued by the DOL during the Obama Administration.  Although the DOL stated that the withdrawal of these interpretations should not be taken as a change in the legal responsibilities of employers, given the change in administrations, I do not find this development to be a surprise. (Given the expected shift in the direction of the DOL in favor of employers.)


Bipartisan Plan Proposed For Paid Family Leave

This week, a bipartisan group published a proposal that could bridge the gap and help make paid family leave a reality across the U.S.  As Aparna Mathur and Isabel Sawhill at Time write, American Enterprise Institute and Brookings Institution released a proposal which would require eight weeks of federally paid parental leave for both working mother and fathers with 70% wage replacement up to $600/week.  For those unfamiliar with the fight for paid family leave/paid parental leave, Bernie Sanders has previously called for 12 weeks of paid leave while President Donald Trump recently announced support for 6 weeks of paid leave.  Whether this new proposal helps get paid family leave across the finish line is impossible to predict...but it has given supporters of paid family leave a sense of optimism that this will become a reality, sooner rather than later.



Jeff Cohen at WNPR writes that earlier this week, the Connecticut State Legislature failed to pass a paid family leave bill that was working its way through the Senate.  Although Democratic Senators in the state championed the bill, which would have provided for 8 weeks of paid family and medical leave in its first year for established employees, the bill was ultimately tabled when it was determined it did not have enough support to proceed.  Perhaps supporters of this failed bill can turn their efforts toward a national paid family leave bill instead...which certainly appears to be the most realistic possibility for the time being.


Minneapolis Moves Closer to a $15/Hour Minimum Wage For All Workers

On Tuesday, the Minneapolis City Council drafted a proposal which would raise the hourly minimum wage rate in the city to $15/hour for all workers, regardless of the size of the employer.  However, the proposal would provide that employers with more than 100 employees would "front end load" higher pay hikes early while employers with fewer than 100 workers would be allowed to phase in the minimum wage hike more slowly.  With that being said, the proposal would phase in the minimum wage increase by 2022 and is significant in the fact that it raises hourly wage rates across the board.  Keep an eye on this one...but I expect this proposal will likely become a reality in the coming months.

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