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The partial shutdown of the Federal Government has ended after 35 days, and about 800,000 federal employees are going back to work with backpay (or in some cases staying at work and getting paid for the the time they worked without pay). One of the many government programs now back up and running is E-Verify, the program under which employers may check out an employee’s ability to work legally in the United States.  The program’s website, e-verify.gov, warned that there…

In an unusual development, the United States Supreme Court ruled in favor of a worker in an arbitration case, ending a string of wins for employers in arbitration cases before the Court. In the case, New Prime, Inc. v. Olveira, a truck driver classified by a company as an independent contractor sued for wage and hour violations, and the company asked the court to order him to submit his claims to arbitration instead.  The driver claimed he did not have…

On January 1, 2019, San Antonio’s mandatory sick leave ordinance went into effect, except for Section 2 of the law, which contains the heart of the law, including the requirement that employers of various sizes to start providing paid sick leave to employees as early as August 1, 2019. San Antonio passed its sick leave ordinance in August 2018, months after Austin passed a similar ordinance.  Austin’s ordinance has been challenged by organizations like the Texas Association of Business as…

One of the casualties of the current shutdown of much of the Federal Government is the E-Verify system, which enables employers to check the eligibility of employees to work in the United States.  Use of E-Verify is optional for most employers, but those who have been using it cannot now do so while the shutdown is in effect. The Department of Homeland Security’s U.S.C.I.S. has relaxed some requirements for employers during the shutdown, but employers must still complete Form I-9’s for all…