Jenny R. Yang was sworn in on May 13, 2013, as Commissioner of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Yang was nominated by President Obama on Aug. 2, 2012, and was unanimously confirmed by the Senate on April 25, 2013, to serve a term expiring July 1, 2017.

 

With her arrival, the EEOC returns to its full complement of five commissioners. All five members of the commission are now women.

 

Yang was a partner of Cohen, Milstein, Sellers & Toll PLLC. Prior to joining Cohen Milstein, Yang served as a senior trial attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Employment Litigation Section. Yang previously served for over five years as vice chair and board member of the Asian Pacific American Legal Resource Center, a nonprofit organization that provides legal assistance to low-income Asian Pacific Americans and small business owners in Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia.

What do Millennial Workers Want?

PricewaterhouseCoopers has released "NextGen: A global generational study." The report revealed that the Millennial generation, those born between 1980 and 1995, want enhanced workplace flexibility and balance between work and home as the keys to improving their job satisfaction. Although workplace flexibility has its advantages, it also presents major issues for employers under existing labor and employment laws, especially wage and hour laws.

According to the report, while younger workers are more tech-savvy, globally focused, informal, and willing to share information, they do not feel more entitled or less committed than their non-Millennial counterparts, and are willing to work just as hard.

The study, which was conducted in conjunction with the University of Southern California and the London Business School, represents the most ambitious research into the millennial generation, or 'Generation Y'. The report included responses from 44,000 employees throughout PwC's global network of professional service firms, with almost one quarter of the responses coming from Millennials. The research, compilation and analysis of its findings took place over two years.

The U.S. Labor Department has announced that it obtained a consent judgment of more than $1 million for cable installers who worked for a Kentucky company that classified them as independent contractors when they were actually employees. Bowlin Services, a subsidiary of the Bowlin Group, based in Walton, Kentucky, will pay 196 employees for lost wages and damages after compensating them per piece of equipment installed instead of an hourly wage plus overtime.

Last week's judgment comes at a time when the department is zeroing in on identifying misclassified workers, with a particular focus on independent-contractor issues, through investigations, litigation, assessments and information-sharing initiatives.

Mary Beth Maxwell, acting deputy administrator for the Labor Department's Wage and Hour Division, said in a statement on the Bowlin judgment that misclassification is a "serious problem" for both workers and the economy. "Misclassified workers often are denied access to critical benefits and protections to which they are entitled," Maxwell said. "Misclassification of workers may also generate losses to the U.S. Treasury, and Social Security and Medicare funds, and to state unemployment insurance and worker compensation funds."

Companies who rely on independent contractors should examine their relationships with such workers, carefully scrutinize the contracts associated with those relationships and make sure that they are not exposed to liability for misclassification under labor and employment laws. 

John T. Andrishok john.andrishok@bswllp.com 225.381.8020	Murphy J. Foster, III murphy.foster@bswllp.com 225.381.8015	Leo C. Hamilton leo.hamilton@bswllp.com 225.381.8056
Joseph R. Hugg joseph.hugg@bswllp.com 504.584.5466	Rachael Jeanfreau rachael.jeanfreau@bswllp.com 504.584.5467	Steven B. Loeb steven.loeb@bswllp.com 225.381.8050
Eve B. Masinter eve.masinter@bswllp.com 504.584.5468	Yvonne R. Olinde  yvonne.olinde@bswllp.com 225.381.8026	E. Fredrick Preis, Jr. fred.preis@bswllp.com 504.584.5470
Jacob E. Roussel jacob.roussel@bswllp.com 225.381.3172	Melissa M. Shirley melissa.shirley@bswllp.com 225.381.3173	Jennifer D. Sims jennifer.sims@bswllp.com 225
Jerry L. Stovall jerry.stovall@bswllp.com 225.381.8042