As promised, today the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a proposed rule under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) on the misclassification of employees as independent contractors. The proposed rule would replace the Trump-era rule of 2021, which has made it easier for employers to classify workers as independent contractors rather than employees by…

To our dedicated followers, if you are keeping score, we last reported that the U.S. Supreme Court temporarily blocked the Emergency Temporary Standard dictating larger employers implement a vaccine or testing mandate in its decision on January 13, 2022. (Supreme Court Blocks OSHA ETS But Upholds CMS Vaccine Mandate).  OSHA announced today that it is…

By Caren Stanley Whiting Petroleum filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on April 1, 2020 in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, Case No. 20-32021. In a Chapter 11 bankruptcy case, the debtor continues operations and attempts to restructure its debts as contrasted with a Chapter 7 bankruptcy case in which…