2019 Archives

Alerts

• SECURE Act Offers Numerous Changes Intended to Enhance Retirement Plan Savings

  December 26, 2019On Friday, December 20, President Trump signed into law the end-of-year appropriations (spending) bill that includes the much lauded, bipartisan-supported SECURE Act of 2019.  In case you are wondering, SECURE is an acronym that stands for&nb...
  By Jason W. Douthit
  

• DOL's Final OT Rule Sets FLSA Exemption Threshold at $35K

  October 9, 2019The Department of Labor ( DOL) recently finalized changes to its overtime exemption thresholds for salaried employees, including an increase in the annual salary cut-off from $23,660 to $35,568. The changes are expected to take effect on January 1...
  By Jessica D. Osborne
  

• 2019 Oregon Legislative Update

  August 28, 20192019 Oregon Legislative Update After a dramatic and contentious session, the Oregon Legislature adjourned on June 30, 2019, the last possible day the Legislature could remain in session before the Oregon Constitution would have shut it down autom...
  By Jessica D. Osborne & Kalia J. Walker
  

• Oregon Legislature Updates Equal Pay Act; Additional Changes to Administrative Rules Appear Likely

  August 7, 2019Oregon has passed a new bill, Senate Bill 123, making several changes to the Oregon Equal Pay Act (OEPA) that will aid employers’—and particularly employers with unionized workforces—compliance efforts.  The changes create a...
  By Benjamin P. O'Glasser
  

• Oregon Paid Family Medical Leave

  July 16, 2019Surrounded by California’s and Washington’s paid family medical leave laws, we knew it was possible.  Soon it will be a reality.  The Oregon legislature recently passed an extremely generous paid Family and Medical leave law ...
  By Kathryn M. Hindman
  

• Oregon Workplace Fairness Act Sails Through to Law

  June 21, 2019As the Oregon Legislature has been publicly forced to respond to allegations of workplace sexual harassment occurring in its own halls, Senate Bill 726, also known as the Oregon Workplace Fairness Act, passed through both chambers without much res...
  By Liani J. Reeves
  

• Oregon State Legislature Makes Sweeping Changes for Public Sector Unionized Employers

  June 20, 2019Oregon lawmakers pass Janus fix and codify numerous union and employee rights into law.
  By J. Chris Duckworth & Jessica E. Wilcox
  

• New Oregon Legislation Intended to Ease Employer Costs Due to PERS’s Unfunded Liability

  June 19, 2019On May 30, 2019, the Oregon Senate and House passed Senate Bill 1049, the most recent legislative attempt at significant PERS reform.  Governor Kate Brown signed the bill into law on June 11, 2019.  The main thrust of SB 1049 will be to ...
  By Jason W. Douthit
  

• EEOC to Require Employers to Submit Both 2017 and 2018 Compensation Data by September 30, 2019

  May 6, 2019We recently reported that following protracted legal battles, the EEOC confirmed that Component 1 race, gender and ethnicity data for calendar 2018 must be filed no later than May 31, 2019 using the currently available portal, and Component 2 pay ...
  By Mitchell J. Cogen
  

• EEOC Releases Latest EEO-1 Filing Instructions

  April 30, 2019EEO-1 Update Summary As ordered by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the EEOC yesterday confirmed on its website that Component 2 pay data for calendar year 2018 must be filed by Sept. 30, 2019.  The agency expects their ...
  By Mitchell J. Cogen
  

• Some New Guidance on EEO-1 Reports But Questions Remain

  April 26, 2019We recently addressed a challenging situation that faced employers required to file EEO-1 forms. This includes both private employers with 100 or more employees and federal contractors and first-tier subcontractors with both 50 or more employees a...
  By Mitchell J. Cogen
  

• SCOTUS to Decide Whether Title VII Protections Extend to Gay and Transgender Employees

  April 24, 2019This week, the U.S. Supreme Court announced its intent to decide whether gay and transgender employees can assert claims against employers for alleged discrimination on the basis of “sex.” The Court has agreed to hear Bostock v. Clayto...
  By Naomi D. Johnson & Benjamin P. O'Glasser
  

• DOL Proposes New Rules Regarding the Overtime "Regular Rate"

  April 3, 2019The federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) generally requires subject employers to pay non-exempt employees overtime at a rate not less than one and one-half times the employees’ “regular rate” of pay for hours worked in excess ...
  By J. Kent Pearson, Jr.
  

• EEO-1 Reports in Limbo: Awaiting EEOC Filing Guidance

  March 26, 2019It’s the time of year when EEO-1 filers are preparing to file their EEO-1 reports. Private employers with 100 or more employees and federal contractors and first-tier subcontractors with both 50 or more employees and federal contracts o...
  By Mitchell J. Cogen
  

• US DOL Proposes New Overtime Rule

  March 8, 2019Rule would raise salary threshold for overtime exemption to $35,308 per year
  By J. Chris Duckworth
  

• Equal Pay Act Action by SCOTUS

  February 25, 2019Judge Stephen Reinhart served as a judge on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals for 37 years.  When asked about the prospect of the Supreme Court overturning his decisions, Judge Reihnart famously commented “They can’t catch &rsquo...
  By Benjamin P. O'Glasser
  

• Washington Planning to Increase Exempt Status Salary and Revise Other White Collar Exemptions

  February 7, 2019Many may recall that in 2016, the Obama administration’s Department of Labor issued new rules proposing a significant increase in the minimum salary required to qualify for a white-collar exemption. While President Trump’s election hal...
  By Kalia J. Walker
  

• Family Savings Act Includes Many Positive Changes for Retirement Plans

  January 10, 2019In September, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives passed three bills collectively called Tax Reform 2.0 (referring to a sequel to the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act which was signed into law in late 2017).  One of the bills, HR 6757 (...
  By Jason W. Douthit