News

On April 23, 2024, the US Department of Labor announced the final rule that expands the overtime compensation requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

The United States Department of Labor recently announced the final rule federalregister.gov regarding independent contractor status under the Fair Labor Standards Act.  This rule, scheduled to go into effect on March 11, 2024, rescinds the 2021 Independent Contractor Rule, and will make it more difficult for an employer to classify individuals as independent contractors.  As part of its news release, the DOL states “The rule provides guidance on proper classification and seeks to combat employee misclassification, a serious problem that impacts workers’ rights to minimum wage and overtime pay, facilitates wage theft, allows some employers to undercut their law-abiding competition and hurts the economy at large.”

Visas can generally be divided into non-immigrant visas and immigrant visas. Non-immigrant visas include temporary stay and work visas, while immigrant visas are a direct path to permanent residency and citizenship. Some non-immigrant visas, like the H-1B, are a dual-intent visa – which means that beneficiaries can also pursue a long-term immigrant visa while remaining in valid H-1B status. While there are some advantages healthcare professionals may have in the long-term visa analysis, this article primarily focuses on non-immigrant visas.

On December 29, 2022, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act was signed into law by President Biden. The law will take effect tomorrow, on June 27, 2023. The law is designed to give pregnant workers with additional workplace protections by requiring covered employers to provide reasonable accommodations to a worker’s known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. A “covered employer” is an employer with 15 or more employees.

It's no surprise that the FTC's noncompete proposal has caused a stir. Wayne Young shares some of his insight on the subject in the article, "Noncompete Proposal Generates Concerns," published in Arkansas Business.

Temporary work visas present a unique opportunity for employers to employ qualified, diverse workers in the United States. Our firm has helped employers find solutions to staffing issues through employment based non-immigrant visas and navigate the work sponsorship process. The most common and accessible to employers are the H-1B, TN, and L1 visas discussed briefly.

Firm and practice group honored with prestigious Legislative Advocacy Award from the Central Arkansas Human Resource Association.