Some manufacturers may interpret the “Epic Fail” of Congress to repeal the Affordable Care Act as a sign of stability in the labor and employment landscape. After all, one thing which the new Administration and Congressional Republicans had in common was their seven-year pledge to repeal “Obamacare.” When compared to the divergent views on other … Continue Reading
As is our annual tradition, this is the first in a series of posts that provide industry and legal outlooks for manufacturers as we head into 2017. I will start with corporate compliance and litigation. Matt will follow with labor/employment. And, Megan will conclude the series with Environmental Health & Safety (EH&S). Here are issues … Continue Reading
I had the pleasure of moderating a panel at the Connecticut Business & Industry Association (CBIA)’s Annual Manufacturing Summit. The title of the Panel was “The Future of Manufacturing in Connecticut” and included three experienced manufacturing executives: William Lee, President & CEO, The Lee Company; Severine Zygmont, President, Biomedical, Oxford Performance Materials, Inc.; and Pedro … Continue Reading
As noted in this space in May, effective December 1, employees earning less than $47,476 per year may no longer be treated as exempt from overtime under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. See “New Wage and Hour Requirements for Certain Employees of Manufacturers.” Those manufacturers which have not yet addressed the issue have a … Continue Reading
Last week, I had the privilege of speaking at the American Bar Association’s Business Law Section Annual Meeting in Boston. The title of my presentation was: “Key Considerations for Foreign Manufacturers That Wish to Sell Products to the United States” which was presented at the meeting of the International Expansion and Cross-Border Transactions Subcommittee. Here are … Continue Reading
While you may have thought that the major party conventions and Olympic Games in Rio would have resulted in a break from significant legislative and regulatory changes, that simply does not seem to be the case. Recent changes affecting manufacturers include the following: The U.S. Department of Labor to increase civil penalties for ERISA violations. … Continue Reading
Last year, we provided an overview regarding the requirement that U.S. publicly traded companies disclose their use of “conflict minerals.” As of 2014, the Government Accounting Office reported that 1,321 companies filed the requisite disclosure. The GAO anticipated that over 6,000 companies could be affected by the rule. That discrepancy can be explained either by: … Continue Reading
Manufacturers should take note of two recent developments in the human resources world. One expected. The other not. Frequent readers of this blog may recall that in January I predicted the United States Department of Labor (“DOL”) would make good on its goal of updating the “Persuader Rule.” By way of background, the Persuader Rule … Continue Reading
As I have commented in this space multiple times, under the Obama Administration, government agencies (particularly the U.S. Department of Labor, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the National Labor Relations Board) have given manufacturers great incentives to review and update employment policies in light of an aggressive enforcement environment. The National Labor Relations Board … Continue Reading
Negotiating contracts in the supply chain are certainly challenging. As a lawyer, there is a temptation to want to change every term that is not to your liking. And, for that reason, a lot of lawyers will receive a contract to review from their client and immediately red-line every provision. Now, if your client is … Continue Reading
I ended my January 21 “employment law predictions” post by writing, “One thing I can count on as these ‘Years of Change’ continue, [I] expect something unexpected.” The EEOC made that prediction come true the same day when it published for comment a wholesale revision of its policy guidance on retaliation claims under federal civil … Continue Reading
While we are still saying “Happy New Year” (I checked and was told that January 21 was still “not too late” to wish good tidings for 2016), and as we get ready for the Great East Coast Blizzard of 2016, I thought it would be a good time to add my own predictions for … Continue Reading
This is the second of two posts regarding the “troubling” state of multi-employer pension plans. My October post provided an overview of the recently published Teamsters’ Central States Pension “Rescue Plan” and discussed some of its implications. This post will review the recent decision of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Resilient Floor Covering … Continue Reading
Over the last few years, our team has worked with several manufacturers and distributors on their terms and conditions of sale and/or purchase. We have even developed a questionaire that we typically use when we speak to a client for the first time. Readers of this blog may recall posts regarding indemnification clauses, anti-assignment clauses, non-compete … Continue Reading
I am a longtime advocate of pre-employment criminal background checks. So I have watched with resigned acceptance as the EEOC, over 100 states and cities across the United States, and other public advocates have fought to limit the use of an applicant’s criminal history in all but limited circumstances. New York City’s recently enacted “ban … Continue Reading
The post below is a follow-up to an earlier post written by my colleagues, Edward Heath and Kate Dion. Edward is my partner and is Chair of Robinson + Cole’s White-Collar Defense and Corporate Compliance Practice. Kate is a litigation associate who routinely handles government and internal investigations for manufacturing clients. In the wake of … Continue Reading
On June 30, 2015, the United States Department of Labor (DOL) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking comments on a proposal to raise the salary threshold for the so-called “white-collar” exemptions from $455 per week ($23,660 annually) to an expected $970 per week ($50,440 annually), as projected by the DOL for 2016. The DOL … Continue Reading
In an increasingly competitive landscape, a manufacturer’s significant employees may hold the “keys to the kingdom.” Loss of such a worker to a competitor could have a substantial impact on future business growth. Many manufacturers invest significant resources to keep key employees and, by doing so, preserve their market advantage. Strategic use of employment agreements, … Continue Reading
The post below was written by my colleagues, Edward Heath and Kate Dion. Edward is my partner and is Chair of Robinson + Cole’s White-Collar Defense and Corporate Compliance Practice. Kate is a litigation associate who routinely handles government and internal investigations for manufacturing clients. Ice cream maker Blue Bell Creameries has found itself in a sticky situation that … Continue Reading
The United States Supreme Court issued its much anticipated decision in Young v. United Parcel Service, (U.S. Sup. Ct., March 24, 2015), in which the Court set forth a new standard for litigating pregnancy discrimination claims and arguably injected considerable uncertainty into “restricted duty” or “light duty” work programs. Factual Background Peggy Young worked for … Continue Reading
In 2010, the U.S. Congress passed a law called the “Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Action of 2010 (the Dodd-Frank Act).” The Dodd-Frank Act is generally known as the legislative response to the financial crisis that existed from 2007-2010 and it included widespread changes to the regulation of financial institutions. So you might … Continue Reading
One of the issues that manufacturers/distributors are paying more attention to is their document retention policies. Things get complicated, however, when a corporation has operations outside of the United States. It is not uncommon, for instance, for a manufacturer/distributor to store information on a computer server that is housed outside of the United States. Records … Continue Reading
Anyone trying to read the tea-leaves of the recent elections might want to take a step back and slow down before predicting how they will impact American manufacturers in 2015. The recent, dramatic drop in oil prices may have had a positive impact on the manufacturing sector, but could not have been predicted just a … Continue Reading
“To compete in today’s global marketplace, manufacturers need to be smart, innovative, and sustainable.” That’s the first thing you read on the federal government’s E3 webpage – E3 stands for “Economy – Energy – Environment.” Manufacturers are an adaptable bunch, or they don’t stay in business for very long. Today, with materials of all sorts … Continue Reading
