On August 23, 2024, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals struck down a final rule promulgated by the Department of Labor (“DOL”) restricting when employers could take a tip credit for tipped employees under the Fair Labor...more
8/29/2024
/ Administrative Agencies ,
Chevron Deference ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Food Service Workers ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Loper Bright Enterprises v Raimondo ,
Minimum Wage ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Tip Credit ,
Tipped Employees ,
Tips ,
Wage and Hour
As we previously reported, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued a Final Rule adjusting the minimum annual salary that an employee must be paid to qualify for the executive, administrative, and professional (“EAP”)...more
8/9/2024
/ Compliance ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Final Rules ,
Highly Compensated Employees ,
Minimum Salary ,
Pending Legislation ,
Salaried Employees ,
Threshold Requirements ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
EEOC Title VII Guidance Challenged -
On May 21, the Texas attorney general sought a permanent injunction to block the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (“EEOC”) enforcement guidance over gender identity and...more
5/24/2024
/ Bostock v Clayton County Georgia ,
Cemex ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Enforcement Guidance ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Final Rules ,
Gender Identity ,
Mercedes-Benz ,
Minimum Salary ,
Threshold Requirements ,
Title VII ,
UAW ,
White-Collar Exemptions
On April 23, 2024, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued its widely anticipated Final Rule adjusting the minimum annual salary that an employee must be paid as of July 1, 2024, in order to qualify under some of the FLSA’s...more
On January 9, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor released details of its final rule regarding the proper circumstances for independent contractor classification under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). On January 10,...more
1/12/2024
/ Biden Administration ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Economic Realities Test ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Final Rules ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
Multi-Factor Test ,
Trump Administration ,
Wage and Hour
The Department of Labor (DOL) has issued a proposed rule to increase the salary required to be “exempt” under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)....more
9/7/2023
/ Comment Period ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Highly Compensated Employees ,
Minimum Salary ,
Over-Time ,
Proposed Rules ,
Salaried Employees ,
Threshold Requirements ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
In recent weeks, both the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or the “Board”) and U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) have signaled or put into effect several pro-union initiatives. Collectively, these moves will...more
8/4/2023
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employment Policies ,
Labor Relations ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
NLRB General Counsel ,
Persuader Rules ,
Remedies ,
Taft-Hartley Act ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Union Organizers ,
Unions
On Tuesday, October 11, 2022, the Biden Administration’s Department of Labor ("DOL") issued a proposed rule revising the agency’s approach to evaluating independent contractor status under federal wage & hour law. The...more
On October 29, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued its final rule outlining the circumstances under which an employer is permitted to take a “tip credit” against its wage obligation to tipped employees, paying...more
On April 27, 2021 President Biden signed an Executive Order raising the minimum wage for federal contractors to $15 per hour by the end of March 2022. In response, and to supplement the Executive Order, the U.S. Department of...more
On June 21, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) introduced a proposed rule which, when effective, would impose increased limitations on when an employer can pay a tipped worker the “tipped minimum wage.” The proposed...more
6/23/2021
/ Comment Period ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Minimum Wage ,
Proposed Rules ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Tip Credit ,
Tipped Employees ,
Tips ,
Wage and Hour
On May 5, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor withdrew the pro-business Independent Contractor Final Rule published in the final days of President Trump’s administration. This withdrawal follows the Department of Labor’s...more
5/10/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Freelance Workers ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
Wage and Hour
On February 19, 2021, the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division withdrew its opinion letter that indicated gig economy workers who offer services in a virtual marketplace are independent contractors. The Wage and Hour...more
2/23/2021
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Economic Realities Test ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Gig Economy ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
Opinion Letter ,
Rescission ,
Virtual Marketplace Companies (VMCs) ,
Wage and Hour
On January 6, 2021, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) published its final rule clarifying who is an independent contractor, rather than an employee covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA). The factors are the same as...more
On September 22, 2020, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) released a proposed rule providing a more employer-friendly interpretation of independent contractor status under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
The proposed rule...more
On September 8, 2020, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York issued its opinion in New York v. Scalia et al., S.D.N.Y., No. 20-01689, vacating the Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) April 27, 2020 final rule...more
On January 12, 2020, the Department of Labor (Department) announced a final rule to revise and update its regulations interpreting joint employer status under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) (see prior alert on Department...more
On April 1, 2019, employers received good news with the Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) proposed regulation limiting joint employer liability. As expected (see prior alert regarding NLRB rulemaking), the proposed rule narrows...more
Obama-Era Persuader Rule is Finally Dead -
On July 17, 2018, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) formally announced what has appeared inevitable since President Trump’s election – the Obama-era “Persuader Rule” is officially...more
DOL Actions Undercut Obama Administration on Joint Employers and Independent Contractors
In the past week, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) under new Labor Secretary Alex Acosta has moved to dismantle a series of the...more
On January 20, 2017, President Trump took a step to fulfill his campaign promise to reduce regulations on businesses when his Chief of Staff, Reince Priebus, directed federal agencies to freeze all pending regulations....more