Author: Kara Maciel

Join Us at The Pabian Law-Seasonal Connect Staffing Summit

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Join us at this year’s Pabian Law-Seasonal Connect Staffing Summit. Hear from Conn Maciel Carey LLP’s Kara Maciel and Jordan Schwartz, among other workplace management and hospitality professionals.

The Pabian Law-Seasonal Connect Staffing Summit is a joint in-person event in collaboration with Pabian Law and Seasonal Connect. This 3-day event in Naples, Florida, features senior leadership and HR professionals from all over the country sharing their expertise. The summit features learning opportunities from national experts, industry leaders, hospitality professionals themselves, and through collaboration with fellow attendees. Continue reading →

CMC Attorney Mark Trapp Secures Favorable Ruling in $23M Pension Dispute

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Conn Maciel Carey LLP recently scored a major victory on behalf of Consumers Concrete Corp., convincing a federal judge to overturn a multimillion-dollar pension liability ruling in a complex and closely contested area of law.

In 2017, Consumers partially withdrew from the Central States, Southeast and Southwest Areas Pension Fund. The fund said the company owed $11.3 million (or monthly payments of $42,200 for 20 years) for its share of the fund’s shortfall. In 2019, the company fully pulled out of the fund. This time, the fund demanded $22.9 million (or $50,700 per month for 20 years). Consumers disagreed with how the second amount was calculated, arguing that the fund failed to properly account for the amounts paid as part of the prior partial withdrawal. But the arbitrator ruled for the pension fund, ordering the company to keep paying both sets of monthly payments. In 2023, Consumers filed a lawsuit to challenge that decision. The pension fund responded with its own lawsuit to enforce it. The court then combined both cases into one. Continue reading →

Positive Employee Relations, Protected Concerted Activity, and Union Organizing [Webinar Recording]

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On Wednesday, March 12th, 2025, Kara Maciel, and Letitia Silas presented a webinar on Positive Employee Relations, Protected Concerted Activity, and Union Organizing.

As companies continue to grow and employ diverse cohorts of skilled workers and professionals across all levels, understanding the legal landscape and mastering the rules of engagement in employee and labor relations is critical. Join us for an exclusive, engaging, and informative webinar featuring our seasoned labor and employment attorneys.

This webinar is tailor-made for in-house counsel, senior human resources leaders, and other key leaders within your organization. Whether you’re directly involved in employee relations or supporting those who are, this session will provide invaluable insights and practical strategies to enhance your leadership toolkit.

Participants in this webinar learned: Continue reading →

Newly-Confirmed Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer and Deputy Secretary Keith Sonderling Set to Lead U.S. Workplace Policy

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By Kara M. Maciel

On March 10, 2025, the U.S. Senate confirmed Lori Chavez-DeRemer as Secretary of Labor with Keith Sonderling joining her as Deputy Secretary of Labor in the new Trump Administration. The vote was 67 to 32, with 17 Democrats voting in her favor and 3 Republicans voting against.  As we previously reported on our blog, their appointments mark a shift in labor policy under President Trump’s second term, with a focus on business-friendly regulations and workforce development.

Lori Chavez-DeRemer: Second Latina Secretary of Labor

Lori Chavez-DeRemer, a former U.S. Representative from Oregon, will now lead the Department of Labor. She has emphasized a commitment to job growth, reducing regulatory burdens on businesses, and strengthening apprenticeship programs. Her confirmation aligns with the administration’s focus on creating a more flexible labor market and rolling back policies from the Biden Administration. The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee held her confirmation hearing on February 19, 2025, during which Ms. Chavez-DeRemer emphasized her commitment to working-class Americans. She cited her background as the daughter of a Teamsters union member and her experience as a small business owner. She also stressed the importance of expanding alternative career pathways, such as apprenticeships, to bolster the U.S. workforce.  She also expressed support for the H-1B visa program, which allows foreign workers to fill specialized roles in the U.S., while also acknowledging concerns from lawmakers regarding its impact on American workers.  The HELP Committee advanced her nomination by a vote of 13-9 to the full Senate.

Keith Sonderling: Deputy Secretary with a Business-Focused Agenda

Keith Sonderling, a former Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) vice-chair, will serve as Deputy Secretary of Labor. With experience in labor law and business regulation, Sonderling is expected to focus on policies supporting gig workers, AI in the workplace, and voluntary compliance for businesses. He previously served in the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division under Trump’s first term. His nomination received bipartisan support, particularly from the business community, and was praised by lawmakers such as Senator Bill Cassidy and Representative Tim Walberg.

As they take office, both Secretary Chavez-DeRemer and Deputy Secretary Sonderling will play key roles in shaping labor policies that prioritize employer flexibility and economic growth while navigating debates over worker protections.  Their leadership is expected to lead to a more deregulatory approach compared to the previous administration.

 

Image courtesy of Lori Chavez-DeRemer for Congress

[Webinar] The Future of Workplace Law: 2025 Predictions

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On Thursday, January 23, 2025, at 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT, join Kara Maciel, Letitia Silas, Mark Trapp, and Scott Hecker for a webinar about “The Future of Workplace Law: 2025 Predictions.”

The incoming Presidential administration and its agenda raise valid questions about the future roles, responsibilities, scopes of authority, and priorities of the Department of Labor, the EEOC, the NLRB, and the Federal Judiciary. Drawing from decades of legal and practical experience in workplace matters, attorneys from CMC’s national Labor and Employment practice group will highlight key developments to watch in Labor and Employment as the incoming administration looks to shake things up by restoring broad power and discretion to employers.

Participants in this webinar will learn: Continue reading →

Announcing Conn Maciel Carey LLP’s 2025 Labor & Employment Webinar Series

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The legal landscape facing employers seems as difficult to navigate as it has ever been.  Keeping track of the ever-changing patchwork of federal, state and local laws governing the workplace may often seem like a full-time job whether you are a human resources professional, in-house attorney or business owner.  Change appears to be the one constant.  As we enter the 2nd term of President Trump’s Administration, employers will continue to closely track the changes taking place at the NLRB, the DOL, the EEOC, and the Federal Judiciary.  At the same time, many states will continue introducing new laws and regulations governing workplaces across the country, making it more important than ever for employers to pay attention to the bills pending in the legislatures of the states where they operate.

Conn Maciel Carey’s complimentary 2025 Labor and Employment Webinar Series, which includes monthly programs (sometimes more often, if events warrant) put on by attorneys in the firm’s national Labor and Employment Practice, will focus on a host of the most challenging and timely issues facing employers, examine past trends and look ahead at the issues most likely to arise.​

To register for an individual webinar in the series, click on the link in the program description below. Continue reading →

NLRB Final Rule Expands Joint Employer Definition

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By Kara Maciel and Andrea Chavez

On October 26, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued its Final Rule (Final Rule) for determining joint-employer status under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The Final Rule expands the scope of when an entity can be deemed a joint employer to when it “possesses the authority to control (whether directly, indirectly, or both), or to exercise the power to control (whether directly, indirectly, or both), one or more of the employee’s essential terms and conditions of employment.” Joint employers may have a duty to bargain with unions and may be exposed to what would otherwise be unlawful secondary union activity (e.g., picketing during labor disputes) as well as unfair labor practice liability, both jointly and individually. This change significantly increases potential liability for any entity that contracts with contractors, temporary workers, vendors, franchisees, and others. The rule goes into effect on December 26, 2023.

The new rule repeals and replaces the current rule, promulgated in 2020 by the Trump-era Board.  The 2020 rule requires an entity to “possess and exercise such substantial direct and immediate control over one or more essential terms or conditions of their employment” to be deemed a joint employer, and only considers evidence of indirect and reserved control to the extent that such control “supplements and reinforces” evidence of direct and immediate control.

The new rule largely marks a return to Continue reading →

NLRB Returns to its Prior “Ambush” Election Rules

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By Kara Maciel and Samuel Rose

The National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) has issued its 2023 Rule related to union representation elections. Representation petitions can be filed by employees, unions, or employers and ask the NLRB to conduct an election to determine whether employees wish to be represented by a union in collective bargaining.

The 2023 Rule reverses many of the provisions in the NLRB’s 2019 Rule which extended the timeline that the parties had to conduct an election.  The 2019 Rule gave rise to extensive litigation resulting in the U.S. Court of Appeals for D.C. striking down significant portions of the rule. The NLRB had already rescinded the struck down provisions of the 2019 Rule, but the 2023 Rule makes additional changes, essentially returning the election process to the 2014 Rule. The NLRB says that the 2023 Rule “will meaningfully reduce the time it takes to get from petition to election in contested elections and will expedite the resolution of any post-election litigation.”

The 2023 Rule includes numerous differences from the 2019 Rule, including: Continue reading →

OSHA Expands Its Investigative Authority Under the Whistleblower Protection Program through U and T Visa Certifications

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By Kara Maciel, Eric J. Conn, and Darius Rohani-Shukla

OSHA has unveiled another tool that will enhance its ability to investigate potential workplace safety violations affecting vulnerable workers who are victims of criminal activity, including sex and labor trafficking. Effective March 30, 2023, OSHA can now issue an important certification used to support two nonimmigrant visas, the U and T visas, that grant individuals immigration status when working with officials during criminal investigations and proceedings. Immigration,Document.,3d,IllustrationBoth the U visa and T visa were created in 2000 as part of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act and are intended to provide undocumented workers or workers whose immigration status depends on their employer with the opportunity to report qualifying criminal activity (QCA) without jeopardizing their immigration status and/or risking retaliation by their employer. Now, OSHA can provide support to the visa applications of workers who bring forward credible allegations of a violation of a law that OSHA enforces, in situations where OSHA has detected specific QCA.

OSHA does not have the authority to issue U and T visas themselves. Rather, these visas are issued by Continue reading →

Conn Maciel Carey Submits Comments to the FTC Urging it to Revise the Proposed Rule Banning Non-Compete Clauses

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On April 19, 2023, Conn Maciel Carey LLP’s Labor & Employment partners, Kara Maciel and Jordan Schwartz, submitted public comments on behalf of a diverse coalition of employers urging the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) to revise its Proposed Rule banning non-competition clauses.  While we believe that the FTC does not have legal authority to promulgate the Proposed Rule in its current form, the coalition’s comments focused on three problematic portions of the Proposed Rule and proposed the FTC revise it in three primary respects: Continue reading →