Articles by Girish Anand

Uber Drivers Are Not Employees, NLRB Advises

May 15, 2019

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The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), in three cases involving ride-share drivers, has issued an "Advice Memorandum" concluding that the Uber drivers who filed the charges were "independent contractors," not employees. Therefore, the regions where the charges were filed should "dismiss the charges, absent withdrawal." The memo, written in April but released yesterday, lists ten criteria...

May 14, 2019

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OSHA Revises Safety and Health Standards

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) today issued a final rule revising 14 provisions in its recordkeeping, general industry, maritime and construction standards that it said might be "outdated, confusing or unnecessary." The rule, as published in the Federal Register, is said to reduce "regulatory burden while maintaining or enhancing worker safety and health, and improv...

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Washington State Adds Public Option Health Insurance

May 14, 2019

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As "Medicare for All" becomes the mantra of several candidates for president, all progressive Democrats, Washington State on Monday inaugurated its own version of a public option health insurance plan, based on expanding the qualifications for Medicaid to 500 percent of the federal poverty line, or $62,450 a year for a single person. The agency running Medicaid for the state is being instruc...

May 13, 2019

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Private Insurance Pays Double Medicare Rates

A Rand Corp. study has found that people with private insurance -- 156 million of them with health insurance from work -- pay, on average, twice more for hospital care than what those on Medicare pay. The study is based on payment rates by private insurers in 25 states to 1,600 hospitals, and concludes that had the rates been the same as Medicare across the board, the nation would have saved...

May 8, 2019

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After Four Months, EEOC Has a Quorum

Janet Dhillon was approved today by the U.S. Senate on a 50-43 party-line vote to assume the role of chairperson for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The current acting chair, Victoria Lipnic, will remain as a commission member. Janet Dhillon, new EEOC Chair Dhillon's approval brings the total numbe...

May 8, 2019

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EEO-1 Pay Data for 2017 and 2018 Due by Sept. 30

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), pursuit to a federal judge's order, has published a notice in the Federal Register stating that all affected companies must report their pay data for 2017 and 2018 (Component 2 of the EEO-1 Report) by Sept. 30, 2019. Businesses with at least 100 employees and federal contractors with at least 50 employees and a contract of $50,000 or more w...

DOL Not Backing Federal Minimum Wage Hike

May 7, 2019

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While Democrats in both houses of Congress are drafting legislation to basically double the federal minimum wage -- from $7.25 to $15 an hour -- Department of Labor (DOL) Secretary Alexander Acosta told legislators that "we do not support a change in the federal minimum wage at this time." Labor Secretary Acosta Appe...

May 7, 2019

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Employed Doctors Now Outnumber the Self-Employed

For the first time since the group began tracking physician employment trends, the American Medical Association (AMA) reports that the percentage of physicians who are employed -- working in a hospital, for instance -- now outpaces the percentage who own their own practices. According to the most recent survey, taken in September 2018, 47.4 percent of doctors are employed while 45.9 percent are...

April 30, 2019

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HHS to Base HIPAA Fines on Culpability

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in late April issued a notice of enforcement discretion regarding fines for violations of HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) and its privacy, security and breach rules. The fine structure was established in 2009 with a piece of legislation titled the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITEC...

April 29, 2019

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DOL Opinion Letter Offers Definition of Independent Contractor in Gig Economy

The Department of Labor (DOL) announced today that it has issued a new opinion letter that addresses compliance issues related to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). An opinion letter is an official, written opinion by the department's Wage and Hour Division (WHD) on how a particular law applies in specific circumstances presented by the individual person or entity that requested the lette...

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About author

Girish Anand

Recent Articles

Practical articles on HR, Safety, compliance, and people operations—written for real businesses, not legal textbooks.

U.S. Department of Labor Officially Restores Prior Overtime Exemption Rules

On May 14th, 2026, the Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced it has officially rescinded the 2024 overtime exemption rules. Specifically, the WHD published a technical amendment to restore previous 2019 regulations that dictated overtime exemptions for...

NLRB General Counsel Takes Action to Tackle Current Case Backlog

On May 6th, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and NLRB General Counsel Crystal Stowe Carey announced the bulk transfer of thousands of labor practice cases. Specifically, this action fulfills an initiative signed by the NLRB General Counsel earlier this year. Overall, the initiative...

Privacy Agency Invites Comments from Businesses on the CCPA’s Usage of Personal Data

Recently, the California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA) issued a call for comments on the current state of personal data collection under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). Specifically, the invitation to deliver remarks was issued on April 20th, 2026. The information provided by the...

DOL Proposes New Joint Employer Rule To Unify Standards Under Federal Labor Laws

In April 2026, the U.S. Department of Labor issued a proposed rule to establish a single, clear standard for determining when joint-employer status applies under three major federal laws: the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), and the Migrant and Seasonal...

DOL Updates Enforcement Approach for Employee Benefit Plans: What Employers Should Know

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently announced a significant change in its enforcement of employee benefit plan rules. The DOL will now focus more closely on serious violations that harm workers and retirees, meaning compliant employers may face less scrutiny under the updated approach.

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Articles by Girish Anand