Publications

• 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 […]

• Internal revenue Service PENALTY RELIEF FOR 2019 AND 2020 LATE FILED TAX RETURNS AND INFORMATION RETURNS

  September 7, 2022

  The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued an Administrative Notice on August 24, 2022, providing for penalty relief for late filed tax returns and late filed information returns for the taxable years 2019 and 2020.  To qualify for the penalty relief, the taxpayers must submit any eligible tax return for these years on or before September […]

• Poking through the Clouds

  August 15, 2022

  Enter the Rainbow, Part Two: The Michigan Supreme Court Protects LGBTQ Rights The end of July 2022 found Michigan’s employment landscape clouded over with all kinds of legal and financial issues relating to the ruling by the Court of Claims that the state legislature acted unconstitutionally when it adopted but then amended two 2018 ballot […]

• UPDATE: Court Stays Enforcement of Revived Earned Sick Time Act and Minimum Wage Hike

  August 2, 2022

  Following last month’s decision from the Michigan Court of Claims effectively reinstating Michigan’s Earned Sick Time Act and Improved Workforce Opportunity Wage Act in their pre-amendment, ballot initiative form, the state defendant immediately filed a claim for appeal and moved to stay enforcement of the decision. On July 29, 2022, the Court granted a temporary […]

• Back to the Future: Michigan Court Revives Paid Sick Leave Requirements and Minimum Wage Hike

  July 22, 2022

  On Tuesday, July 19, 2022, the Michigan Court of Claims ruled that the state legislature acted unconstitutionally when it adopted but then amended two 2018 ballot initiatives providing earned sick leave for most Michigan workers and increasing the minimum wage for all employees, eliminating the sub-minimum wage for tipped workers. In 2018 the Michigan legislature […]