by Cameron D. Ritsema, Bodman PLC
Under Michigan’s Improved Workforce Opportunity Wage Act (IWOWA), minimum wage increases in the state took effect on January 1, 2026.
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How do your employees see their jobs? Are they working in what they consider a “quality job”? Or are they going to work every day to a less-than-satisfying role—or maybe even a job that feels like drudgery? A recent...
Feb 01, 2026 · Employment Law Letter
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On January 21, 2026, the Supreme Court heard the next and perhaps most significant case testing the president’s power to summarily terminate any member of the executive branch and personally control the economy. Fed...
The National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) long period of forced obsolescence has ended with the swearing in of NLRB Members Scott Mayer and James Murphy and General Counsel (GC) Crystal Carey. Facing a huge backlog and...
After spending the first year of his second term demonizing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and retooling workplace agencies to focus on discrimination against white men, President Trump opened the second year by...
As Congress rushes to avoid another shutdown, it has a bipartisan agreement to provide the Department of Labor (DOL) with a budget of $13.7 billion for the remainder of fiscal year (FY) 2026. The budget would provide the...
For all the clamor about ending eight wars, invading Greenland, creating an “A+++++++” economy, pardoning friends and supporters by the bagful, converting the DOJ into a vehicle for personal retribution, even tariffs—if...
Christmas came early for one former employee when, on December 19, a Dallas jury awarded her a multimillion dollar verdict for a breach of an employment contract. Read on. Dem dry bones Andrea C. Avellan went to work at...
From pay transparency to remote work, employees are increasingly vocal about working conditions both in the office and online. The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) protects employees—union and nonunion alike—when they...
Feb 01, 2026 · Employment Law Letter
· Great Lakes
· Illinois
· Indiana
· Michigan
· Ohio
· Wisconsin
· Midsouth
· Kentucky
· North Carolina
· South Carolina
· Tennessee
· West Virginia
· Southeast
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· Hawaii
· Nevada
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In a new wave of lawsuits filed under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), four employers were sued during the recent holiday season for allegedly breaching ERISA fiduciary duties regarding their...
Feb 01, 2026 · Employment Law Letter
· Mid-Atlantic
· Delaware
· Maryland
· New Jersey
· Pennsylvania
· Virginia
· Midsouth
· Kentucky
· North Carolina
· South Carolina
· Tennessee
· West Virginia
· Midwest
· Arkansas
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· Idaho
· Montana
· New Mexico
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· Upper Midwest
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The flu is spreading like wildfire! So, is a flu-caused absence protected under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)? Calling out sick Here’s a typical scenario: Employee is off for four days. He calls in and says he...
Over the past year, I’ve responded to several “Notice of Payment Compliance Complaints” from the Industrial Commission of Arizona (ICA), the state agency responsible for enforcing Arizona wage payment compliance. These...
Here’s a case that presents retaliation basics in Texas. By basics, I mean what it is that you screen in looking for a way to dismiss a discrimination charge or a lawsuit. Let’s look at a few facts Kelli Smith worked as...
Words matter, and they matter a lot. As Mark Twain purportedly once said, “The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between a lightning bolt and a lightning bug.” So, I read with...
Feb 01, 2026 · Employment Law Letter
· Texas
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· Michigan
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· Mid-Atlantic
· Delaware
· Maryland
· New Jersey
· Pennsylvania
· Virginia
· Midwest
· Arkansas
· Kansas
· Missouri
· Oklahoma
· West
· Alaska
· Arizona
· Hawaii
· Nevada
· Oregon
· Washington
The new year, as always, brings with it new developments in labor and employment law. Likewise, the ever-growing labyrinth of state and local paid leave laws, including paid sick leave and family and medical leave laws...
The Frank Sinatra song “My Way” popped into my head as I was reading a case from the Houston area, where an employee argued her pregnancy must be the reason for her termination because her performance was excellent (if...
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