Wyatt Employment Law Report

By Glen Krebs.  Roger Morris, who recently passed the Kentucky Bar Exam, contributed to this article.

Last month, the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) published a final rule set to go into effect October 15, 2019 governing the Immigration and Nationality Act’s provisions on public charge grounds of inadmissibility. The final rule redefines “public charge” and is vastly more restrictive than current policy. Many expect the rule change to result in significantly higher denial rates of adjustment of status applications.

“Public charge” has been a part of American immigration law for over a century. When an individual is seeking to adjust his or her status to that of a lawful permanent resident or seeking admission to the United States, the United States Customs and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) conducts an evaluation based on the likelihood of the individual becoming a “public charge.” Continue reading →

By Sharon Gold

On September 27, 2019, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) published the much anticipated Final Rule that significantly raises the minimum salary for exempt workers from $23,660 to $35,568.  It is estimated that more than one million workers will either become eligible for overtime pay or have their salaries raised to meet the minimum.  The Final Rule is available here.

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By Courtney Samford

On June 25^th , 2019, the Kentucky Unemployment Insurance Commission (“Commission”) announced a formal response to the Kentucky Court of Appeals’ holding in Nichols v. Kentucky Unemployment Insurance Commission that determined employers must have attorney representation during appeal hearings and proceedings.  The Commission has taken the position that while the case is on appeal before the Kentucky Supreme Court, “there will be no changes to the current practice of allowing representation by non-attorneys in these administrative proceedings.​​”

By Courtney Samford

As we recently reported, the Kentucky Pregnant Workers Act (the “Act”) takes effect on June 27, 2019. The Act, which applies to Kentucky employers with more than 15 employees, requires reasonable accommodations, including, but not limited to, the need to express breast milk, for employees with limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition, unless it would pose an undue hardship on the employer.

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By Noah Lewis, Wyatt Summer Associate

In a recent decision, the Supreme Court of the United States unanimously held that the Title VII charge-filing requirement is not a jurisdictional prerequisite, but a procedural prerequisite. In the June 3, 2019 decision, in the case of Fort Bend Cty., Texas v. Davis, 2019 WL 2331306 (2019), the Supreme Court addressed whether Title VII’s charge-filing precondition to suit is a jurisdictional requirement that can be raised at any stage of the proceeding, or if the precondition is a procedural prescription that is mandatory if timely raised but “subject to forfeiture if tardily asserted.” Davis, 2019 WL at 2. The Court held that the charge-filing precondition is “properly ranked among the array of claim-processing rules that must be timely raised to come into play.” Id.

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By Michelle Wyrick

With few exceptions, employers with 100 or more employees and certain government contractors are required to submit a workplace profile, broken down by race, sex, ethnicity, and job category, to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) by May 31, 2019. This year, covered employers must also comply with a second deadline.  By September 30, 2019, EEO-1 filers must report W-2 wages and hours worked within 12 specific pay bands by race, gender and ethnicity to the EEOC.

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By Glen Krebs

We have heard a lot recently about the H-1B CAP.  The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) just completed its lottery to select which H-1B visa applications it will review.  They will soon start to return the applications and fees for those cases that were not selected in the lottery.  Next year, the process will be different and less costly to employers.  Watch for the new instructions to come out later in the year.

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