Author
Gig economy workers deserve protection in the current crisis
As COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, continues to spread, employees who can are staying home and practicing social distancing in order to keep themselves and their neighbors from contracting the virus. Yet one group of workers is dangerously exposed — “gig” workers. According to a 2018 Gallup Poll, 36% of Americans participate […]
Trump’s overtime proposal leaves behind almost 300,000 North Carolina workers
Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced a proposal to change the salary threshold under which workers are entitled to overtime pay — to $35,308 a year from $23,600 a year. Under federal law, people who work more than 40 hours per week are supposed to be paid 1.5 times their regular […]
Trump administration threatens overtime protections for low-wage workers; 290,000 in NC would lose out
Raise your hand if you are paid on a salary basis and that salary is more than $23,660 per year but less than $47,476 per year. If your hand is up, then you might* be one of the unlucky people who should be getting paid overtime pursuant to a rule revised by the U.S. Department […]
More bad news for immigrant workers
While members of Congress seek to make the H-2A program cheaper and easier for employers by rolling-back worker protections, the US Department of Labor continues to kick bad-actor employers out of the program. This week the USDOL’s Wage and Hour office in Raleigh announced that they had debarred two farm labor contractors from the H-2A […]
High Court ruling deals a blow to workers’ rights, class actions claims
Last month, in the Epic Systems, Corp. v. Lewis decision, the U.S. Supreme Court all but obliterated the ability of workers who are victims of the same workplace abuse to join together to bring class or collective actions, or to pursue their claims in court. The right of workers to join together to enforce workplace […]
North Carolina and others ask the US Supreme Court to protect employees’ fundamental rights
North Carolina state government joined several other states last week in throwing its weight behind an important effort to defend basic protections for working people. The right of workers to join together to enforce workplace laws is the cornerstone of national labor policy. Federal law gives employees the right to engage in “concerted” – or […]
Court ruling striking down Obama overtime rules leaves workers high and dry
December 1, 2016 was supposed to be a great day for an estimated 156,000 salaried workers in North Carolina. But thanks to a recent federal court order, the day instead brought disappointment and confusion for most of them.
Workers left high and dry in salaried overtime decision
December 1, 2016 was supposed to be a great day for an estimated 156,000 salaried workers in North Carolina. But thanks to a recent federal court order, yesterday instead brought disappointment and confusion for most of them. For nearly seven months, thousands of North Carolinians have been anticipating an increase in their pay due to […]
Congress, North Carolina should put more money into fighting wage theft
Too many workers in North Carolina are suffering from wage theft—when employers refuse to pay their employees all the money they have earned and are owed. A recent op-ed in the Washington Post (via the N&O) rightfully called on Congress to give the US Department of Labor (USDOL) the funding it needs to better fight […]
USDOL’s new overtime rule restores overtime protections to middle class workers
Yesterday the US Department of Labor published a long overdue update to the salary threshold for overtime exemption. The simplified explanation of the new rule is this: if you are paid on a salary basis and make less than $47,476 per year or $913 per week your employer has to pay you overtime in addition […]
HB2 blocks access to court for victims of workplace discrimination
By now hopefully you’ve heard that HB2 wasn’t just about the right of transgender individuals to use the bathroom that corresponds with their gender identity. Among other things, HB2 also eliminated important protections for employees who are fired for a discriminatory reason– based on race, religion, sex, disability or age. An opinion piece in Raleigh’s […]
Sen. Tillis wants to make it easier for employers to hire foreign visa workers instead of local workers
The law is very clear that employers who wish to use the H-2A or H-2B “guestworker” programs, which allows US employers to import foreign workers to perform jobs in agriculture and other low-skilled industries on a temporary basis, must first recruit US workers to fill those job vacancies. Employers are only allowed to import foreign […]