Tag Archives: CBA

July 8, 2019

New Wage and Hour Opinion Letters on Nondiscretionary Bonuses, the Highly Compensated Employee Exemption, and Rounding Practices

By Jeffrey H. Ruzal and Carly Baratt

After a brief, two-month hiatus, the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor (“WHD”) has issued another round of opinion letters answering various questions submitted by the public.  Specifically, these opinion letters address the calculation of overtime pay for nondiscretionary bonuses, the application of the highly compensated employee exemption to paralegals, and rounding hours worked under the Service Contract Act (“SCA”).  This guidance marks the first issued by the new Wage and Hour Administrator Cheryl Stanton, who has been in the seat since April.

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Posted in News | North America
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August 20, 2018

California Court of Appeal Upholds Meal Period Waiver in Collective Bargaining Agreement

By Kristin M. Halsing of Epstein Becker & Green

On August 13, 2018, in Ehret v. WinCo Foods, the California Court of Appeal held that a provision in a collective bargaining agreement (“CBA”) regarding employees’ meal periods during shifts lasting between five and six hours effectively waived employees’ rights under California Labor Code section 512. In so holding, the Court held that the waiver in question passed the “clear and unmistakable” standard used to determine whether a provision in a CBA is intended to waive a statutorily protected right. Although WinCo argued that the “clear and unmistakable” standard only applies to waivers of “non-negotiable” rights, not “negotiable” rights like a meal break for shifts between five and six hours, the Court avoided that question and found that, even assuming that the standard applies to waivers of any statutory right, negotiable or non-negotiable, the waiver in the WinCo CBA was “clear and unmistakable.”

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Posted in News | North America
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August 3, 2018

New York City Temporary Schedule Change Law Impact Employers with Collective Bargaining Agreements – Express Waiver and “Comparable Benefits” Language Will Need To Be Negotiated For Contracts Covering Persons Employed In New York City

By Steven M. Swirsky of Epstein Becker & Green

The New York City Temporary Schedule Change Law (“Law”), which became effective on July 18, 2018, raises new issues that employers with union represented employees will need to address as their existing collective bargaining agreements (“CBA”) come up for renewal.

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Posted in Legal Updates | North America
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July 13, 2016

NLRB Again Deprives Employer of the Benefit of a Bargained-for Management Rights Clause

By Mark M. Trapp of Epstein Becker & Green

The National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “Board”), in its recent decision in Graymont PA, Inc., 364 NLRB No. 37 (June 29, 2016), has fired the latest salvo in its long running dispute with the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit concerning the issue of what legal standard should be applied when a union claims that an employer has made a unilateral change in terms and conditions of employment during the term of a collective bargaining agreement and the employer claims that the union waived its right to bargain over the topic in question in a management rights clause or a “complete agreement” clause.

Posted in Legal Updates | North America
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