Legal Focus

On January 10, 2024, the United States Department of Labor (the “DOL”) published it’s highly anticipated final rule on employee and independent contractor classification under the Fair Labor Standard Act (the “FLSA”). This final rule – the implementation of which was a primary goal of the Biden Administration – establishes a number of key changes to worker classifications, and rescinds the 2021 Independent Contractor Rule that was put into effect under the Trump Administration. Continue r...

The application period for the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) 2022 Clean School Bus (CSB) Rebate Program is open until August 19, 2022. The 2022 CSB Rebate Program will distribute $500 million in grant funds that can be used to replace certain diesel school buses with zero emission (electric) school buses and/or alternative fuel (propane or compressed natural gas (CNG)) school buses. But, some program requirements present challenges that are unique to independent school bu...

Despite continuing COVID limitations on access to the Nation’s Capitol, NSTA will once again be holding the annual bus-in in Washington DC April 6 through April 8, 2022. With the challenges of COVID, the critical driver shortage, and the aggressive push toward electric school bus fleets, there has never been a more critical need to educate law makers about the challenges and complexities of the school bus industry. Read further to learn how you can support advocacy efforts for the school bus i...

Despite the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) continued position that “the school bus is the safest vehicle on the road”, in 2019 the school bus industry has been the focus of increased attention from lawmakers and regulators. Following is a brief discussion of the evolving state and federal laws from the past year that matter most to Pennsylvania’s school bus contractors.

For school bus contractors, proper access to and handling of confidential student information is important. This is especially true when dealing with special issues related to a child’s care. Businesses and school districts often struggle to balance the protection of student privacy with the disclosure of information necessary for student health and safety. This article discusses access to and protection of confidential information.

Many remember the 2016 Obama era rule from the U.S. Dept. of Labor (US DOL) that sought to more than double the threshold for overtime pay by employers. That rule was contested in federal court and was ultimately withdrawn by the Trump administration. The U.S. Department of Labor is now again proposing a new rule that would increase the overtime pay threshold and the number of workers eligible for overtime pay and minimum wage.