With the conclusion of 2020, Pennsylvania employers should be aware of three significant employment law changes that took effect during the year.

The US Department of Labor (DOL) announced this morning, January 6, its final rule clarifying the standard for employee versus independent contractor under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), reaffirming an “economic reality” test and identifying five factors to guide the analysis.

In addition to bringing a global pandemic, 2020 was an unprecedented year filled with important judicial rulings and legislative changes throughout the Golden State. This alert contains a summary of the most critical legal updates affecting employers and employment litigation in California

Due to the overwhelming response to our earlier alert regarding the process for uncovering litigation funding in New York State, we now share an overview of similar procedures for determining whether a plaintiff has taken out a loan in 12 other states.

In 2019, the first detailed analysis of the commercial litigation finance industry in the United States was released, showing a staggering $2.3 billion industry growth measured in just one year. The consumer-litigation portion of that industry deals primarily with personal injury claims and small claims in which a plaintiff is typically not well-funded. New York has become a hub for this industry, which poses great challenges to defending personal injury claims, as the use of such funding in lawsuits is far from transparent to defendants and the courts.

Given the current COVID-19 vaccine distribution plans, it may be some time before most private employers (outside of those that employ healthcare or other essential workers) have to grapple with adopting and applying policies for employee vaccinations, including a possible mandatory vaccination policy. Nevertheless, many employers have already begun to prepare for how to deal with employees who may be hesitant about being inoculated with the COVID-19 vaccines recently approved by the FDA. 

The law in the State of Washington, albeit clear on issues regarding first party claimants, was recently challenged in the matter of Eye Associates Northwest, P.C. v. Sedgwick et. al.

The Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice delivered on its stated intention to criminally prosecute collusion in labor and employment markets when it announced on December 10, 2020 its first criminal wage-fixing prosecution, charging the former owner of a Texas home healthcare staffing agency with violating Section 1 of the Sherman Act by participating in a conspiracy to suppress rates for physical therapists and physical therapy assistants.