Recent Articles

Special Immigration Alert: New H-1B Nonimmigrant Visa Season Starts April 2, 2012

March 19, 2012 15:07

Remember that all new H-1B petitions must be filed on March 30, 2012, to ensure that they are counted toward the 2013 H-1B cap. The annual H-1B season has arrived! The federal government is authorized by statute to approve only 65,000 new H-1B visas each fiscal year, plus an additional 20,000 H-1B...

Off-Site Union Elections Could Place Hospitality Employers at a Disadvantage

March 15, 2012 15:20

By:  Paul Rosenberg As described in our blog on January 5, 2012, the National Labor Relations Board’s (“NLRB”) new rules governing union elections introduce a host of changes which will place employers at a disadvantage.  The new rules will go into effect on April...

5 Ways to Avoid a $55,000 Fine from the DOJ

March 15, 2012 14:19

By:  Kara M. Maciel Today, March 15, marks the effective date of the 2010 ADA Standards for hotels, restaurants, retailers, spas, golf clubs and other places of public accomodation.  As we have written about previously, there are several new requirements and obligations...

For Private Clubs, a Little "Discrimination" (in Membership) Can Go a Long Way!

March 09, 2012 18:56

By:      Mark M. Trapp In these challenging economic times, many private clubs are finding it increasingly difficult to attract new members, or to retain existing members.  Over the last few years many clubs have lost members, and many more are facing substantial...

Text Free Zone: OSHA's Distracted Driving Initiative Kicks Into Gear

February 29, 2012 21:07

By Casey M. Cosentino and Eric J. Conn “Texting while driving” is an epidemic in America, which has prompted forty-two states and the District of Columbia to ban (completely or partially) this conduct for drivers.  Here’s a map of the U.S. states that have...

Hotel Operators and Managers Remain Vulnerable to Wage and Hour Class Actions

February 20, 2012 18:54

By:  Casey Cosentino A hotel management company was recently hit with a putative class action in federal court for allegedly failing to compensate hotel employees overtime pay at one and one-half times their regular rate of pay for all hours worked over 40 hours in a workweek. As the...

FTC Warns That Background Searches via Mobile App May Violate the Fair Credit Reporting Act

February 16, 2012 16:10

by Jeffrey M. Landes, Susan Gross Sholinsky, Steven M. Swirsky, and Jennifer A. Goldman   On January 25, 2012, the Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") sent warning letters to three companies that market, in total, six mobile phone applications ("Apps") that provide users with...

EBG's Free Wage-and-Hour App For iPhone and iPad Is Now Available

February 15, 2012 17:06

By Michael Kun As wage-and-hour litigation is more prevalent than ever, we believe that employers everywhere need easy access to federal and state wage-and-hour laws. With that in mind, we are pleased to announce that EBG’s free Wage-and-Hour app is now available in the Apple iTunes...

Class Action Arbitration Bans - the Obama NLRB Attempts to Trump the Federal Arbitration Act and the Supreme Court

February 14, 2012 16:53

by David D. Green, Frank C. Morris, Jr., Allen B. Roberts Two recent decisions on arbitration, one from the National Labor Relations Board ("NLRB" or "Board") and one from the Supreme Court of the United States, present an interesting question: Can employers limit employees from...

U.S. DOL And California Team Up To Crack Down On Misclassification Of Workers As Independent Contractors

February 14, 2012 16:35

By Michael Kun Last week, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division and the California Secretary of Labor announced that they were teaming up to crack down on employers who classify workers as independent contractors.  The announcement that the two groups would work...