Should your paycheck reflect work travel or short rest breaks during the workday? New federal guidance offers clarity about an employee’s rights. The U.S. Department of Labor recently released a pair of opinion letters about those topics, jumping back into the longstanding practice for the first time since 2010 (the agency stuck with general guidance in the interim). The letters answer questions received about how the department’s Wage and Hour Division would apply the law to specific … [Read more...]

The California Supreme Court has issued a landmark decision that will make it much harder for companies to classify workers as independent contractors – and to avoid paying them wages and overtime. In what’s being called “a game-changer,” the decision establishes a new set of rules for determining whether a worker is a contractor or an employee. Background: Dynamex Inc. is a package and document delivery company that operates throughout the United States and Canada. In 2004, the company … [Read more...]

Have you been trying to switch jobs but for an inexplicable reason can’t seem to gain traction? If you suspect that your current employer may have some sort of arrangement with your prospective future employer, the law is on your side. What are “no-poach” agreements? “No-poach” understandings between businesses essentially declare a truce on hiring employees or executives from one another. They are more common than you might suppose, and they’re not limited to a specific industry. The … [Read more...]

In addition to placing first in men’s long-track speed skating, Canadian Ted-Jan Bloemen also became the first Olympic athlete to be paid in cryptocurrency while competing in PyeongChang this winter. CNN reported the double world record-holder entered into a one-year sponsorship with ONG Social, a social network and crypto community, and CEEK VR, a developer of virtual reality experiences, in exchange for payment in cryptocurrency. Bloemen is not alone. Bloomberg reports that a number of … [Read more...]