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Articles by Robert A. Boonin
The Latest Attempt by the DOL To Adopt Standards on Determining Joint Employer Status Under the FLSA, FMLA, and MSPA
The Department of Labor announced, April 22, 2026, a new Proposed Rule on who can be a joint employer under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), and Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (MSPA). Concerns over who may be deemed a joint employer—and thereby liable for the wrongs of either party to the joint employer relationship—typically arise in franchisor/franchisee or contractor/subcontractor relationships.
Flip-Flop: Feds Announce A Final Rule On Joint Employer Status And A Proposed Rule On Independent Contractor Status
Dykema are most popular: within Employment and HR, Law Department Performance and Consumer Protection topic(s) The National Labor Relations Board has reinstated its 2020 joint employer standard, requiring substantial direct and immediate control over essential terms and conditions of employment to establish joint employer status. The U.S. Department of Labor has proposed rescinding its 2024 independent contractor rule and returning to a Trump-era “economic reality” framework.
Flip-Flop: Feds Announce a Final Rule on Joint Employer Status and a Proposed Rule on Independent Contractor Status
The National Labor Relations Board has reinstated its 2020 joint employer standard, requiring substantial direct and immediate control over essential terms and conditions of employment to establish joint employer status. The U.S. Department of Labor has proposed rescinding its 2024 independent contractor rule and returning to a Trump-era “economic reality” framework.
3 Important DOL Wage And Hour Enforcement Changes Employers Should Watch
D Dykema More You should expect more from your law firm than only excellent legal counsel. Delivering for our clients also means holding ourselves to the highest standards of service, performance, and innovation. Every client has a different vision for success, so we adapt a custom approach for each of them. We help you identify your goals to craft pragmatic, unique, and efficient solutions that deliver value the way you define it.
New Overtime Exemption Rules Announced; Require Immediate Attention From Employers
On April 23, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) published a set of final regulations dramatically increasing the salary level most executive, professional, and administrative employees must be paid to retain their overtime exempt status under the Fair Labor Standards Act. In most respects, and after considering 33,000 comments, the final regulations are similar to those proposed last September. The DOL has “dug-in” on many of the proposed regulations’ controversial terms.
To Be or Not to Be (An Independent Contractor): U.S. Department of Labor Issues Final Rules for Employers
On January 9, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor issued final rules for employers to determine if a worker is an independent contractor or employee. Workers who do not meet the new criteria under the rule must be classified as employees and subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) protections and requirements.
The Rules on Who’s a Joint Employer Have Dramatically Changed
Over the past decade or so, there’s been much effort by the government to expand the scope of who may be deemed a joint employer. Those efforts have been to make contractors and their subcontractors, franchisors and their franchisees, and staffing agencies and their clients, joint employers.
The Rules on Who’s a Joint Employer Have Dramatically Changed
Over the past decade or so, there’s been much effort by the government to expand the scope of who may be deemed a joint employer. Those efforts have been to make contractors and their subcontractors, franchisors and their franchisees, and staffing agencies and their clients, joint employers.
DOL Proposes New White Collar Exemption Regulations - Legal Issues Abound!
On August 30, 2023, the U.S. Department of Labor announced its proposed new regulations on who can be treated as exempt from overtime pay. These proposals have been in the pipeline for nearly two years, with many in the business community anxious about what to expect. Some of that anxiety was somewhat undeserved, but some fears have been realized. At this time, the proposals are just proposals. The DOL is giving stakeholders 60 days to comment.
DOL Proposes New White Collar Exemption Regulations - Legal Issues Abound!
On August 30, 2023, the U.S. Department of Labor announced its proposed new regulations on who can be treated as exempt from overtime pay. These proposals have been in the pipeline for nearly two years, with many in the business community anxious about what to expect. Some of that anxiety was somewhat undeserved, but some fears have been realized. At this time, the proposals are just proposals. The DOL is giving stakeholders 60 days to comment.
Employee Handbooks: The Pendulum Swings Back Questioning the Legality of Many Common Policies
Over the last two years, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) has been aggressively trying to expand its coverage in a manner that has taken many employers of non-unionized employees by surprise. Many rules and concepts that had been in place for decades without challenge have been turned on their heads and construed as illegal.
Employee Handbooks: The Pendulum Swings Back Questioning the Legality of Many Common Policies
Over the last two years, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) has been aggressively trying to expand its coverage in a manner that has taken many employers of non-unionized employees by surprise. Many rules and concepts that had been in place for decades without challenge have been turned on their heads and construed as illegal.
Michigan’s Right-to-Work Law Repeal
On March 21, 2023, and along party lines, the Michigan Legislature advanced a bill to the Governor’s desk to repeal the state’s 2013 right-to-work. The Governor signed the bill on March 23, 2023. The new law is expected to go into effect in April 2024. The Legal Development. Under the current right-to-work law, it is illegal for employers to condition employment on employees paying union dues or service fees.
Non-Union and Union Employers Beware: Basic Provisions in Separation and Settlement Agreements Are Now Illegal
In a case decided by the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “Board”) on February 23, 2023, provisions in separation and settlement agreements regarding non-disparagement and confidentiality may run afoul of the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA” or “Act”). On March 22, 2023, in an effort to provide guidance as to the scope and impact of the decision, the NLRB’s General Counsel issued a Guidance for how its regional offices should evaluate these agreements going forward.
What Employers Need to Know Now! The Top Legal Changes and Issues for 2023!
Dykema attorneys Robert Boonin and Sean Darke will be presenting the above entitled webinar for the Michigan Chamber of Commerce on January 18, 2023. They will address how the legal landscape for employers has changed since the pandemic, the 2020 election, and 2022 mid-term elections, which may surprise many employers and which may require major changes to their approaches to employment relations.
Michigan Supreme Court Recognizes Protection Under State Law Against Discrimination Based On Gender Identity And Sexual Orientation
On Thursday, July 28, 2022, the Michigan Supreme Court issued its opinion in Rouch World, LLC v. Department of Civil Rights, finding in a 5-2 decision that Michigan's Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act protects against discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation. While so holding, the Court overturned the precedent set nearly 30 years ago by the Michigan Court of Appeals in Barbour v.
Michigan Supreme Court Recognizes Protection Under State Law Against Discrimination Based on Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation
On Thursday, July 28, 2022, the Michigan Supreme Court issued its opinion in Rouch World, LLC v. Department of Civil Rights, finding in a 5-2 decision that Michigan’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act protects against discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation. While so holding, the Court overturned the precedent set nearly 30 years ago by the Michigan Court of Appeals in Barbour v.
Wage And Hour Compliance: It's Not As Simple As It May Look!
All too often, employers find this out the hard way—they get audited by the U.S. Department of Labor or they get sued, and vis-à-vis a class action, to boot. On June 13 and 14, during the Society of Human Resource Management's (SHRM) Annual Conference in New Orleans, I'll address a number of compliance issues and also discuss recent initiatives on the wage and hour front from inside The Beltway.
Wage and Hour Compliance: It’s Not as Simple as it May Look!
All too often, employers find this out the hard way—they get audited by the U.S. Department of Labor or they get sued, and vis-à-vis a class action, to boot. On June 13 and 14, during the Society of Human Resource Management’s (SHRM) Annual Conference in New Orleans, I’ll address a number of compliance issues and also discuss recent initiatives on the wage and hour front from inside The Beltway.
Organized Labor Rolls Up To The Michigan Cannabis Industry
Earlier this month, a cannabis company located in Manistee, Michigan, announced that its dispensary workers successfully unionized, marking the first instance of organized labor in the state’s cannabis industry. The company’s dispensary workers are now members of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 876. While Michigan has a long history of unionized workforces, this is a new development for the state’s cannabis industry.
Change is Near: What the Biden Executive Order Means for Title IX Misconduct Claims
On March 8, President Biden took his first steps in reversing the Trump Administration’s Title IX policy by issuing an Executive Order 14021 (“Order”) directing the Secretary of Education to review the Title IX rules issued by the Trump Administration. What does the Executive Order say? Read More › Tags:
DOL Overtime Rule’s Effect On Worker Pay Will Be Mixed
Law360 (September 26, 2019, 6:05 PM EDT) -- The new overtime rules increasing the salary level needed for white collar employees to be deemed exempt have been long-awaited, but why? What does it accomplish? Is it a panacea to low-paid workers, i.e., a path for them to reap huge income gains via overtime pay? Likely not, but it’s also not a pill too big to swallow for most employers.
DOL Proposes Another Major FLSA Rule Change: This Time on Calculating the “Regular Rate of Pay” for Overtime
by Robert A. Boonin Dykema Gossett PLLC is an IMA B2B Partner Earlier this month, the DOL published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”) to increase the minimum salary level most exempt employees must be paid in order for them to be deemed exempt from the FLSA’s overtime pay requirements. For a summary of that proposal, click here.
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