The Law Office of Melva Exner, LLC

02/14/2024

Employers - Depending on your company's size and industry criteria, your electronic filing of the OSHA Injury Tracking Application (ITA) reflecting injury and illness date is due March 2, 2024. OSHA is hosting a free two-part webinar regarding these requirements. The first webinar is being offered tomorrow, Wednesday, February 14, 9-10:15AM EST. The second webinar will take place on Wednesday, February 28, 9-10:15AM EST.

You can register for this event using the link below.

Wednesday Safety Roundtable - Run from 9:00am to 10:15am

12/28/2023

Wishing you a happy and healthy 2024!🎉

11/22/2023

Happy Thanksgiving from the Law Office of Melva M. Exner, LLC. Wishing you and your families a relaxing day full of fun and great food!!

09/12/2023

DOL Proposal Increases Overtime Salary Threshold

On August 30, 2023, the DOL Wage and Hour Division announced a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales, and Computer Employees.

The proposed changes would:

- Increase the minimum salary threshold (the "standard salary level") for the executive, administrative, and professional (EAP) exemptions under the FLSA from $684 to $1,059 a week.

- Increase the total annual compensation requirement for the highly compensated employee (HCE) exemption under the FLSA from $107,432 to $143,988.

- Increase the minimum salary threshold for EAP exemptions in American Samoa from $380 to $890 a week.

- Eliminate the special minimum salary threshold for EAP exemptions in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

- Increase the base rate for EAP exempt employees in the motion picture producing industry from $1,043 to $1,617 a week.

- Automatically update earnings thresholds every three years.

The agency provides additional information on its webpage, Proposal: Restoring and Extending Overtime Protections, including frequently asked questions about the proposed rule.

The public comment period will close at 11:59 PM on November 7, 2023.

06/27/2023

The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) takes effect Tuesday, June 27, 2023. The PWFA was signed into law on December 29, 2022, more than forty years after the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 was enacted. The PWFA is intended to address employee accommodation requests related to pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions in the same way requests for accommodation related to disabilities are considered under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). For a more detailed discussion of the PWFA, see my blog at mexnerlaw.com.
www.mexnerlaw.com/blog/2023/6/27/employer-alert-the-pregnant-workers-fairness-act-pwfa-takes-effect-june-272023

The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) (https://www.congress.gov/117/bills/hr2617/BILLS-117hr2617enr.pdf ) takes effect June 27, 2023.  Employers need to be familiar with the requirements of the PWFA to evaluate whether it will be necessary for the employers to make changes to

06/06/2023

Severance Pay Resulting from Mass Layoffs by New Jersey Employers.

A New Jersey law requiring employers to pay severance to workers involved in mass layoffs took effect on April 10, 2023. New Jersey Senate Bill 3170 (https://legiscan.com/NJ/drafts/S3170/2018) was signed by Governor Phil Murphy in January 2020 and was originally scheduled to take effect in July 2020. The effective date was delayed until April 2023 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

For more details regarding covered employers, notification requirements, and severance pay amounts, see my blog at https://www.mexnerlaw.com/blog.

New Jersey Law Mandating Severance Pay in Mass Layoffs Took Effect April 10, 2023 Severance Pay Resulting from Mass Layoffs by New Jersey Employers.  A New Jersey law requiring employers to pay severance to workers involved in mass layoffs took effect on April 10, 2023. New Jersey Senate Bill 3170 ...

05/18/2023

A recent consent judgment issued by a federal district court in the Middle District of Pennsylvania serves as a reminder that employers may not discharge or retaliate against an employee because the employee has filed a complaint or otherwise exercised rights provided to employees under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA). The facts of the case involved an employer who terminated an employee because the employer believed the employee had filed a whistleblower safety complaint with OSHA.

OSHA’s Whistleblower Protection Program enforces the whistleblower provisions of more than 20 whistleblower statutes protecting employees from retaliation for reporting violations. Possible remedies that may be imposed on a violating employer include backpay, compensatory, and punitive damages. Employers would be well advised to create an anti-retaliation program and ensure that staff receive training regarding appropriate conduct in administration of the program.

Court orders Pennsylvania box manufacturer to pay wrongfully terminated employee.

05/10/2023

The Department of Labor has updated its FMLA poster for the first time since 2016. The poster summarizes pertinent provisions of the FMLA and must be displayed by covered employees.

Counsel can assist employers to ensure compliance with the FMLA including determining if they are a covered employer, identifying which employees are eligible for up to 12 workweeks of unpaid leave, and administration of their FMLA leave program.

05/04/2023

Even the largest companies can get lost in the complexities of US export regulations. Every business should be sure to include export compliance int heir overall compliance program.

Microsoft to Pay $3.3 Million to Settle Export Controls, Sanctions Violations7 Apr 2023 by Brian FeitoMicrosoft will pay more than $3.3 million combined to settle alleged export control and sanctions violations largely related to its foreign subsidiaries, the Bureau of Industry and Security and the....

04/27/2023

It’s a great time for employers to review their existing severance agreement templates with counsel in order to ensure the templates are consistent with the recently issued Guidance in Response to Inquiries about the McLaren Macomb Decision.

Link with memo:

Today, NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo issued a memo to all Field Offices with guidance on the Board’s recent decision in McLaren Macomb, in which the Board returned to longstanding precedent holding that employers violate the National Labor Relations Act when they offer employees severance ...

04/26/2023

In 2018, following a successful career working as in-house legal counsel to various companies, I started my own law practice focused on providing quality service to businesses of all sizes.
As in-house counsel, I worked with many outside law firms and attorneys and appreciated the ones that provided value to me as a business client. I believe business clients are looking for the following capabilities in their outside lawyer – knowledge and understanding of the client's business, timely legal advice, and a collaborative professional partnership. It is my personal goal that every client be satisfied on all three of those points in all dealings with my firm.