Michigan Employment Law Blog
The Department of Labor Clarifies when Training Time is Compensable
On November 3, 2020, the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division published an opinion letter regarding when the FLSA requires employers to pay non-exempt employees (i.e., overtime eligible employees) for time spent in voluntary training programs. The general rule...
University of Michigan fraternity sued for admitting women, non-binary members
David Nacht defends University of Michigan fraternity sued for admitting women, non-binary members. While the lawsuit is steeped in arguments around issues of trademark, it raises a host of questions, including whether women should be allowed to join a fraternity on a...
Judge strikes down Benson order banning guns at polls
Every once in a while a decision comes down from a court that shows incredibly poor judgment. Judge Murray has decided that the Michigan Secretary of State cannot ban guns at polling places. Our firm has brought a case defending gun owners from facing discrimination...
New COVID-19 Protections in Place for Michigan Employees
On October 22, 2020, the Michigan legislature passed Public Act 238 of 2020, which creates several new protections for employees and is designed to “prohibit an employer from taking certain actions against an employee who does not report to work under certain...
What I look for in a judge
We are about to get another supreme court justice. Non-lawyers sometimes think that the personal political preferences of judges is what is most important in selecting them. I say it is a useful way of understanding how a judge views society, but it does not...
Michigan House passes a package of bills that aim to shield the state’s employers and manufacturers from lawsuits relating to coronavirus
As the question of employee rights comes into play surrounding COVID-19, a few lawsuits have sprouted regarding wrongful termination. Nicolas Prada was fired from his job on July 11 after contracting COVID-19. Prada was a waiter at Tomokun Noodle Bar in Ann Arbor and...
When a university destroys a professor’s career because some students are insulted
When a university destroys a professor’s career because some students are insulted, we expect them to do so only in the most extreme cases. We would expect a university to look at how reasonable it is for the students to be insulted, and the social harm caused by the...
Legal Victory for Outside Salesperson Misclassified as Overtime Exempt
A salesperson with a job duty involving “outside sales” who is not compensated for overtime pay by the employer should be advised that the United States Sixth Circuit Court has recently clarified that overtime should indeed be paid under circumstances where the...
Fear has entered the academy
There is a big difference between political belief in the abstract and legal and career consequences Many professors support the notion of rules that prohibit the creation of a hostile environment on campus. But when humorless bureaucrats interpret such policies to...
COVID and negotiating your rights and responsibilities as an employee
As fall approaches, there is a great deal of uncertainty about whether Michigan Universities, Colleges, and Secondary Schools are going to require teachers and other employees to return to in-person classes and work. And many employees have already returned to...
