Welcome to the Summer issue of SuperVision, our labor and employment e-newsletter. We continue to see substantial activity and legal developments impacting employers. In this edition, we cover Artificial Intelligence, Workplace Investigations, Leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act, the DOL’s Recent Changes to the Salary Basis Test, and the Impact of the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Chevron. We hope you find these topics engaging and informative. If you have questions about any of these or have suggestions for future topics, please let us know.

Upcoming Events

SuperVision - Winston-Salem, October 4, 2024

We are also excited to announce that the SuperVision Symposium, a full-day legal seminar for business owners, HR professionals, and anyone who manages employees, is returning to Winston-Salem, North Carolina. You are cordially invited to join us on October 4, 2024, at Truist Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina to dive topics such as remote work; workplace investigations; AI, emerging technologies, and privacy; union avoidance; workplace violence; and more. Click here to learn more and register.

Spilman Event - Your Business in the Digital Era: Legal and Commercial Challenges, September 19, 2024

Join Spilman attorneys and digital soothsayers on September 19 in Pittsburgh for a journey to uncover the truth about wireless barbarians, rogue IP thieves, a coming AI invasion, and more. This forum, intended for business owners and risk management professionals, is offered free of charge to VIP clients and friends of the firm. We will address cybersecurity threats, data privacy, legal and ethical concerns with AI in business operations, intellectual property protection, and how to avoid and protect yourself from litigation. You can learn more and register here.

Announcements

Finally, we are very pleased to announce that the firm, the Labor & Employment Practice Group, and several Spilman attorneys have been recognized in the 2024 edition of Chambers USA, a directory of the best law firms and attorneys around the country. Inclusion in Chambers USA is based on the strength and reputation of law firms and individual lawyers across the globe as determined by interviewing lawyers and their clients, including influential general counsel at Fortune 100 companies, high-profile entrepreneurs, and significant purchasers of legal services. You can learn more about our ranking and Chambers by clicking here.



As always, thank you for reading. 

Eric W. Iskra, Chair, Labor & Employment Practice Group

Carrie H. Grundmann, Executive Editor, SuperVision

By Carrie H. Grundmann

On June 28, 2024, the United States Supreme Court decided Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo (Loper), overturning and eliminating the Chevron doctrine or Chevron deference, a legal principle established by a 1984 decision of the Supreme Court known as Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council. For precisely four decades, the Chevron doctrine obligated lower courts to defer to federal agencies' interpretations of ambiguous laws provided the agency's position was reasonable. Under the new standard post-Chevron, courts are no longer obligated to defer to an agency’s interpretation but must now exercise independent judgment in construing statutes administered by agencies in order to determine the "best reading" of the law, using all relevant interpretive tools. This begs the question, what does the United States Supreme Court’s decision overturning Chevron mean for employers? 

Click here to read the entire article.

By David D. Amsbary

A safe, productive workplace is one in which issues are dealt with in a swift, fair, and consistent manner. One of the primary tools for accomplishing this goal is a credible, thoughtful process to identify, analyze, and address issues: the workplace investigation.



Although no two investigations are identical, there are certain characteristics of an effective workplace investigation. This article highlights five such elements, including: a solid plan, a competent investigator, a thorough analysis of the facts, a thoughtful analysis of credibility, and a final report, written or otherwise. 

Click here to read the entire article.

By Chelsea E. Thompson

The Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) – a federal law that provides 12 weeks of unpaid leave to employees for their own serious health condition or a family member’s serious health condition – can present tricky situations for employers. Though each FMLA case is different and must be decided on its own facts, employers can look to past FMLA cases for guidance. One recent FMLA case captured national attention because it asked a federal court: is an employee’s on-the-job nap covered by the FMLA? While many would immediately assume that the answer is “No, of course she cannot sleep on the job!”, the answer is more nuanced. 

Click here to read the entire article.

By Mitchell J. Rhein and Malcolm E. Lewis

Artificial intelligence (AI) can be a tool used by employers to save time and improve compliance when drafting employment policies. However, AI’s current usefulness has limits and comes with risks. For example, when asked to “draft a policy regarding payment of wages following the separation of employment that complies with West Virginia law,” ChatGPT produced the following policy.

Click here to read the entire article.

By Peter R. Rich

As we reported last fall, the Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor (DOL) issued a proposed rule in September 2023 to significantly increase the standard salary level applicable to the overtime exemption for certain executive, administrative, and professional occupations, the so-called “white collar” exemptions, and to the “highly compensated employee” (HCE) overtime exemption. This was the DOL’s third effort in recent years to adjust the salary threshold. The DOL rule became final on April 23, 2024, with the first effective salary increase effective on July 1, 2024, and establishing additional increases thereafter as follows.

Click here to read the entire article.