OSHA Rule Regarding Post-Accident/Injury Drug Testing, Effective December 1, 2016

On May 12, 2016, OSHA published final rules that, in part, addressed retaliation against employees who report work-related injuries or illnesses.  Employers were initially concerned because of language in the preamble to the rule, which implied that mandatory post-accident/injury drug tests could be construed to violate the new anti-retaliation provisions.  A lawsuit was filed by several businesses in Texas seeking to block implementation of the rule.  The judge issued orders twice delaying the rule, pushing the original August effective date back to November, and then December 1, 2016.   On November 28, 2016, the Court issued an order denying a motion to further delay implementation of the rule, letting the December 1st effective date stand.

 What does this mean for employers?  Continue reading

New Overtime Rules Announced – Are you Ready?

Update:  November 23, 2016 – Federal Court puts Overtime Rules on Hold

A Federal Court judge in Texas has given business owners one more thing to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. The new overtime regulations regarding the increase of the salary level required for exempt employees has been temporarily barred from going into effect as planned on December 1, 2016.  On November 22, 2016, a judge hearing a number of consolidated cases contesting the new rule granted a motion for preliminary injunction, which stopped these regulations from being implemented. Continue reading