Michigan Labor & Employment Law Blog

Misclassifying employees as independent contractors can lead to costly legal and financial consequences. With changing laws in 2025, it is essential to understand classification rules and regulations going into 2026.

In the following video, labor & employment attorneys Courtney Agrusa, Cliff Hammond and McKenna Rivers break down key differences and best practices to help employers, HR personnel and business owners stay compliant including:

• As of today, what are the rules for whether a person is an employee or an independent contractor?
• Using the ABC Test vs. the Economic ...

For employers and HR professionals, understanding what factors make non-compete and non-solicitation agreements enforceable—and where they may fall short—is critical.

Whether you're revisiting your current contracts or drafting new ones, the following video features attorneys Tony Dalimonte, Cliff Hammond and Rob Hamor providing guidance to navigate compliance and mitigate risk including:

• Current trends we are seeing and legal roadblocks in enforcing noncompetes.
• Key differences between agreements and best practices for drafting contracts.
• Practical insight ...

On July 31, 2024, the Michigan Supreme Court issued the highly anticipated ruling concerning Michigan’s minimum wage and mandatory sick leave. Currently, Michigan’s minimum wage is set forth in the Improved Workforce Opportunity Wage Act (IWOWA) and minimum required sick leave is set forth in the Paid Medical Leave Act (PMLA) (the amended version of initial Earned Sick Time Act (ESTA).

On June 3rd, 2024, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a decision, American Alliance for Equal Rights v. Fearless Fund Management Fund, LLC, et al, that impacts considerations for how diversity, equity and inclusion (“DEI”) programs will be analyzed under federal law. In short, the rules are complicated, and that fact should not be ignored if employers want to safely navigate and maintain DEI programs.

In a 3-2 vote along party lines on April 23, 2024, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) approved and issued a final rule to take effect in 120 days prohibiting most noncompete agreements between employers and workers. The Commission says the new regulations will ensure that American workers have the freedom to pursue a new job, start a new business or introduce a new product or service to the market.

See the full, original article here: FTC Prohibits Most Noncompete Agreements | U.S. Workers | Legal Challenges Expected: Foster Swift

The much-anticipated independent contractor final rule issued by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) that became effective on March 11, 2024, is the next step in the evolution of employer/employee/independent contractor.

In a June 2022 study by Gallup.com, 8 in 10 employees are working hybrid or entirely remote, while only 2 in 10 are entirely on-site. 

On January 5, 2023, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a proposed new regulation that would broadly prohibit employers from using or enforcing noncompete agreements with employees, former employees, contractors, or other workers.

One of the most concerning trends in employment law today is employee misclassification. Stringent labor protections put in place by the government, the increased use of of independent contractors and explosion in the gig economy means that the burden is on employers not only to classify employees correctly, but also to treat them strictly within the boundaries of the law under that classification.

Every employer and HR department has reviewed wage and hour laws, but even for the most experienced companies, a few common questions always come up.

• How much do I have to pay?
• What will wages look like in the next few years?
• Does a bonus affect overtime?
• What type of damages could I face if I don’t pay employee's properly?
• How do I stay out of the crosshairs of the government?

Some of the answers might not be as straightforward as you’d think. Below, we’ve put together some of the most important points on the basics of wage and hour laws and what employers need to know.

President Biden's recent COVID-19 vaccination mandate for businesses with 100 or more employees could come with enormous fines for offenders. Page 168 of the $3.5 trillion "reconciliation" bill highlights a tenfold increase in fines for employers that "willfully" or "repeatedly" violate the mandate.

On March 9, 2021, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, known as the PRO Act, with a largely party line vote of 225-206.

The bill’s passage in the U.S. House is a victory for labor unions, as it includes sweeping changes to federal labor laws that would significantly impact employers and empower unions. The legislation now moves to the U.S. Senate, where stiffer opposition to passage is expected.

As the fall nears, the school year is about to kick off. While employees juggling work and school obligations can always present an issue, this year could prove to be a little more complicated than usual. Although some schools are preparing to go back to school in-person, others are utilizing a variety of modified schedules, or going totally remote. Even those schools going back in-person will inevitably be faced with children who have COVID-19 or at the least, symptoms as we move into flu season.

Attorney Cliff Hammond addresses issues facing Michigan employers amidst the COVID-19 epidemic during an interview with mConnexions' Principal Strategist, Julie Holton. Hammond covers topics such as the new Families First Coronavirus Response Act, as well as the Michigan Stay Safe, Stay Home Executive Order and what these new rules mean for employers. You can view the entire interview below. Please visit our Coronavirus Task Force page for more resources related to this ongoing situation.

Preventing theft, avoiding frivolous lawsuits, increasing productivity, and improving workplace safety: these are all important objectives that employers in Michigan hope to achieve through monitoring their workers and work environments often with video surveillance. While video surveillance can be an important asset for an employer, it can also lead to liability if your surveillance program runs afoul of the law.

Due to increased scrutiny from state and federal government agencies and high profile cases involving companies such as Uber, UPS and FedEx Ground, businesses are becoming increasingly concerned over proper classification of workers.

A Federal court in Texas issued a temporary injunction yesterday against the new Department of Labor (“DOL”) overtime regulations that were set to go into effect December 1st.

The injunction follows court arguments heard on November 16th in a lawsuit brought by 21 states alleging the new DOL’s rules exceeds the DOL’s authority and violated administrative law requirements. The new regulations propose to raise the salary threshold for exempt employees from $23,660 to $47,476 and provide for an automatic increase to the threshold every three years.