With the nation’s heightened focus on DEI programs and policies, U.S. employers should carefully evaluate the legal risks associated with their DEI-related wage and hour practices....more
On February 14, 2025, the Fifth Circuit denied the appellants’ petition for rehearing en banc in Mayfield v. United States Dep’t of Labor—a September 2024 decision holding that the U.S. Department of Labor’s authority to...more
2/24/2025
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Minimum Salary ,
Over-Time ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Salary/Wage History ,
SCOTUS ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Wage and Hour
On November 15, 2024, in State of Texas v. United States Dep’t of Labor, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas ruled that the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) exceeded its rulemaking authority by...more
As expected, the White House issued a directive to the heads of all executive departments and agencies within the first few hours after President Trump’s inauguration on January 20, requesting that they halt all non-emergency...more
In E.M.D. Sales, Inc. v. Cabrera, issued on January 15, 2025, the Supreme Court held that the “preponderance of the evidence” standard—and not the more difficult-to-satisfy “clear and convincing evidence” standard—applies...more
We appear to be on the precipice of another federal government shutdown. Absent a political compromise, the federal government’s funding will run out on December 21, 2024. During previous government shutdowns, government...more
12/20/2024
/ COBRA ,
Compliance ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
E-Verify ,
Employment Policies ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Government Agencies ,
Government Shutdown ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
Vacation Pay ,
Wage and Hour ,
WARN Act
For the second time in seven years, a federal court in Texas has struck down a U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) rule aimed at expanding the scope of overtime eligibility to workers across the country. On November 15, 2024, in...more
In its September 11, 2024 opinion in Mayfield v. Department of Labor, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that the U.S. Department of Labor’s explicitly delegated authority to “define” and “delimit”...more
On Friday, June 24, 2024, the business day before the Biden Department of Labor’s new overtime rule was scheduled to take effect, a federal district judge granted the State of Texas’s motion for a preliminary injunction to...more
On June 17, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court announced that it will tackle a 6-1 circuit split and decide an important wage and hour issue for employers: what burden of proof an employer must satisfy to demonstrate that its...more
The U.S. Department of Labor issued its long-awaited new rule on independent contractor classification on January 9, 2024. It will be published in the Federal Register on January 10, and take effect on March 10, 2024. ...more
On January 2, 2024, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) completed its review of the U.S. Department of Labor’s final rule on independent contractor classification under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The...more
In an opinion issued on December 7, 2023, a federal district court in the Northern District of Illinois held that time spent in COVID screening activities was not compensable under federal or Illinois law.
In the...more
On August 30, 2023, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) released its proposed new rule on the “white collar” overtime exemptions. The new rule, which would be codified in a revised 29 C.F.R. Part 541, will be published...more
In this blog series, we look at a variety of activities and items and discuss whether an employer has an obligation to pay for them (or the time employees spend in them). In our first installment of this series, we looked at...more
On May 9, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) secured its largest Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) jury verdict in history, when a jury in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania awarded $22 million to a class of approximately...more
In the wake of the recent news of bank failures, businesses—and their investors—are rightly concerned about the implications of a missed or delayed payroll. Let’s look at those implications, and strategies for minimizing...more
In the wake of the recent news of bank failures, businesses—and their investors—are rightly concerned about the implications of a missed or delayed payroll. Let’s look at those implications, and strategies for minimizing...more
It’s always exciting when the Supreme Court takes up a wage and hour issue—at least for us. Earlier this week, in Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. v. Hewitt, the court tackled the question of whether a daily rate can...more
It’s two months into argument season at the Supreme Court, and we’re always keeping our fingers crossed that the justices will take up a wage and hour issue and clear up some ambiguities in the law or a circuit split. ...more
Twice a year (in the spring and the fall), each federal agency publishes a “Regulatory Agenda” that discloses the proposal and final rules it has recently issued, together with those that it plans to issue. Back in the fall...more
It’s been a bumpy road for the federal rules on independent contractor status under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
In the courts, the test has always focused on the “economic reality” of the relationship between a worker...more
A number of companies suffered collateral damage last winter as a result of a cyber attack on a major provider of time and attendance software. With your timekeeping systems compromised, how do you determine what to pay your...more
10/27/2022
/ Attendance ,
Compensation ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Over-Time ,
Payroll Records ,
Ransomware ,
Real Time Payment (RTP) ,
Risk Management ,
Software ,
Timekeeping ,
Vendors ,
Wage and Hour
Who says wage and hour law is boring? Not us. We came across two wage and hour stories this year that are too awesome not to share.
Auto-Repair Shop Owner Pays Employee’s Final Wages in Pennies, Is Sued by DOL -
As...more
In the first reported decision we’ve seen addressing the issue head on, a federal district court in California dismissed a putative collective action claim under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) seeking payment for time...more