News & Insights

How should school bus operators respond when a special needs student acts aggressively on the school bus? Of course, school bus operators want to be sensitive to the special needs of the student who may be exhibiting violent behavior. But, school bus operators must keep all students safe and, as employers, are obligated under OSHA to provide a safe work environment for their workers (29 U.S.C. 29 U.S.C. § 654.)

School Bus Contractors are well aware of the issues of diesel emissions and carbon footprints left behind by diesel motors. Government regulations and transportation agreements have evolved to ensure aging, environmentally hazardous, and inefficient vehicles are replaced with fleets equipped with the latest technology to minimize diesel emissions. Fleet replacement plans are a constant balancing act of contract compliance, vehicle efficiency, and costs. The Clean Air Act, 42 U.S.C. §7401 et seq....

In May 2016, the Department of Labor published its final rule, more than doubling the threshold for overtime pay. In December 2016, a federal court in Texas issued a nationwide injunction preventing enforcement.

The legal environment for the school bus industry was active in 2016. For a summary of the most talked about legal topics of the past year, contact RC Kelly Law Associates for our article titled "Legal Updates for School Bus Contractors The 2016 Year in Review"

Who is hourly and who is salary in your organization? That could all change soon. In July, 2015 the Department of Labor (DOL) gave notice of a proposed rule making that would increase the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) minimum salary threshold for employee exemptions from overtime protections. The proposed change is dramatic enough to affect 5 million workers and require most employers to restructure the nature of jobs and their workforce to comply with the Act. The changes are expected to be p...

A new statute, Pennsylvania (24 P.S. 14-1414.2) became effective in January 2015 addressing a school’s administration of EpiPens. As a result many schools are reviewing EpiPen handling expectations with their contractors. In some cases, there is confusion about exactly what the new statute means and how it interacts with an older Pennsylvania statute (42 Pa. C.S. 8337.1) that provides civil immunity in some situations to certain people who render emergency care. This article provides informatio...

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as amended prohibits employment discrimination and retaliation by employers against employees who file claims. Recently, retaliation claims have surpassed all other types of claims made by employees to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). While the EEOC guidance manual has not permitted employers to avoid claims of retaliation by the employer’s showing that there were other legitimate reasons for adverse action against an employee, the Un...