Publications

• Back to School Essentials – Estate Planning Documents for College Students

  August 18, 2023

  As many parents help their college students pack for a dorm room or apartment, they are focused on the obvious essentials like a mini fridge, laptop, bedding, and cleaning supplies. Have you ever stopped to consider that as your children turn 18 they become legal adults? Our laws afford 18-year-olds more freedom and responsibility while […]

• COUNTING THE (HOLI)DAYS: Department of Labor Confirms FMLA Leave Calculation for Weeks that Include Holidays

  June 7, 2023

  The Department of Labor recently issued an opinion clarifying when a holiday counts against an employee’s leave under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Although the opinion isn’t ground-breaking (indeed it restates what the regulations say and how the Act has been enforced), it’s still a good reminder of how to properly calculate intermittent FMLA […]

• National Labor Relations Board WADES INTO NON-COMPETE DEBATE

  June 1, 2023

  Financial Danger Ahead! Despite the fact that non-compete and non-solicitation agreements are specifically allowed by statute in the vast majority of the States, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) is poised to challenge the legality of many such agreements as a violation of employee rights under the National Labor Relations Act (the “Act”). In an […]

• Michigan’s Cannabis Regulatory Agency Proposes Changes to Cannabis Licensing Requirements

  May 30, 2023

  Michigan’s Cannabis Regulatory Agency (CRA) recently proposed amendments to the state’s Marihuana Rules that (if adopted) will change not only the licensure requirements that new applicants must meet, but could also create hurdles for existing licensees seeking renewal of their licenses. The proposed rules would impact different aspects of the current regulatory scheme, including licensing […]

• The End of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency Does Not Mean It’s Back to Business as Usual for Employers

  May 19, 2023

  It Ain’t Over ‘Till It’s Over! The Federal Government ended the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency on May 11, 2023. Many employers viewed the end of the emergency with anticipation and the hope that after three long years, they could finally return to business as usual and treat COVID issues other than periodic bouts of COVID-related […]

• National Labor Relations Board Changes Settlement Landscape

  February 27, 2023

  Time to Revamp Your Employee Severance and Release Agreements! On February 21, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) issued a decision that greatly alters the landscape relating to settlement agreements between Employers and Employees. In McLaren Macomb and Local 40 RN Staff Council, Office and Professional Employees, International Union (OPEIU), AFL-CIO, Case 07-CA-26304, the […]

• Rhoades McKee Files Amicus Brief Seeking to Protect Michigan Auto Accident Victims

  February 20, 2023

  Rhoades McKee attorney Stephen Hulst recently filed an amicus brief with the Michigan Supreme Court in the case of Andary v USAA. The Andary case involves challenges to certain provisions of Michigan’s no-fault reform law that was passed in June 2019. As part of the reform, the Michigan Legislature imposed new fee caps and limitations […]

• Court of Appeals Nixes Wage and Sick Time Hikes

  January 27, 2023

  Since the fall of 2018 Michigan employers have faced the prospect of significant increases in the minimum wage rate and in the amount of paid sick leave they had to offer to employees. Both of these potential increases were the result of successful voter petition campaigns to put the issues on the ballot for a […]

• The Death of Non-Compete Agreements?

  January 6, 2023

  On January 5, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced its proposed rule to eliminate non-compete agreements on the basis that they unduly suppress employee wages and stifle innovation and business dynamism. Whether this is a good idea or not depends upon whether you use non-competes to protect your business or whether the existence of […]

• New Year Rings in New Protections for Pregnant and Post-Partum Employees

  January 5, 2023

  On December 29, 2022, President Biden signed into law two bills that add protections for pregnant and post-partum employees—the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act (PUMP Act) and the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA). PUMP Act First, the PUMP Act amends the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to expand coverage to all employees […]