Washington is poised to become the ninth state to pass a law that would prohibit employers from asking job applicants about their salary history....more
In an opinion letter issued April 29, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division concluded that a “virtual marketplace company” (“VMC”) that connects service providers with consumers is not the employer of...more
4/30/2019
/ Act or Omission ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Economic Realities Test ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Gig Economy ,
Good Faith ,
Independent Contractors ,
Liquidated Damages ,
Minimum Wage ,
On-Demand Services ,
Third-Party Service Provider ,
Unpaid Overtime ,
Virtual Marketplace Companies (VMCs) ,
Wage and Hour
Even at a gathering of employment lawyers, HR professionals, and compensation veterans, one of the easiest ways to clear the room is to begin a discussion on the regular rate of pay. Few other topics, even within the general...more
4/11/2019
/ Bonuses ,
Call-Back Pay ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Minimum Wage ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Public Comment ,
Rate of Pay ,
Wage and Hour
On March 26, 2019, New York’s highest court delivered a victory for employers in the home care industry, clarifying that employers need only compensate home health aides for 13 hours of a 24-hour shift, provided the employees...more
4/1/2019
/ Agency Deference ,
Appeals ,
Class Certification ,
Home Health Care ,
Home Healthcare Workers ,
Legislative History ,
New York Court of Appeals ,
NYDOL ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Remand ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Reversal ,
State Labor Departments ,
Wage and Hour
As we previously reported, pursuant to a recent amendment to the New York City Human Rights Law, covered employers must now develop and implement a written policy regarding the provision of a lactation room, to be distributed...more
On March 14, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued an opinion letter, FMLA 2019-1-A, addressing compliance issues under the Family and Medical leave Act (FMLA). The FMLA provides eligible employees with up to 12...more
The U.S. Department of Labor’s proposed new overtime rule was published in the Federal Register on March 22nd. As described in our earlier post, the proposed new rule would...more
3/25/2019
/ Bonuses ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Final Rules ,
Highly Compensated Employees ,
Incentive Compensation ,
Minimum Salary ,
Misclassification ,
Over-Time ,
Sales Commissions ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
It’s here. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division unveiled its proposed new overtime rule today. We skipped the 200-plus pages of preamble and jumped right to the proposed regulatory amendments themselves...more
In yet another legal development calling into question a traditional independent contractor relationship in the U.S., the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit determined that off-duty police officers were employees of a...more
2/14/2019
/ Appeals ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Economic Realities Test ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
Over-Time ,
Payroll Records ,
Police ,
Risk Assessment ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Security Guards ,
Wage Statements
Our friends at Bloomberg Law are reporting that the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has sent a proposed new federal overtime rule to the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA). OIRA is part of the...more
On December 12, Proskauer partners Allan Bloom, Elise Bloom, and Harris Mufson delivered a webinar focused on how recent developments in the law impact the ground rules and key strategies for settlement in four distinct areas...more
12/21/2018
/ #MeToo ,
Class Action ,
Collective Actions ,
Confidentiality Agreements ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employment Contract ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
FRCP 23 ,
FRCP 41 ,
Judicial Review ,
Non-Disparagement Provisions ,
OSHA ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Trump Administration ,
Wage and Hour ,
Whistleblowers
As discussed previously, New York State’s annual increases for overtime exemption and minimum wage go into effect on December 31, 2018....more
In this episode of The Proskauer Brief, senior counsel Harris Mufson and partner Allan Bloom discuss recent developments in federal overtime rules. The Trump administration recently released its fall 2018 regulatory agenda,...more
The New York City Council recently passed two bills that would amend the NYC Human Rights Law to expand the requirements of employers with four or more employees to provide lactation space for breastfeeding employees. The...more
Since 1966, Section 3(m) of the Fair Labor Standards Act permits an employer to take a tip credit toward its minimum wage obligation for tipped employees equal to the difference between the required cash wage (currently...more
10/22/2018
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Minimum Wage ,
Obama Administration ,
Rescission ,
Tip Credit ,
Tip-Pooling ,
Tipped Employees ,
Tips ,
Trump Administration ,
Wage and Hour
The Trump Administration unveiled its Fall 2018 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions (the “Regulatory Agenda”) earlier this week. That’s the biannual report from the federal administrative agencies on the...more
It doesn’t seem that long ago that employers were busily preparing for the new overtime rule that would have doubled the minimum salary level for the “white collar” exemptions from $23,660 to nearly $48,000. That new...more
10/16/2018
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Minimum Salary ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
NPRM ,
Obama Administration ,
Over-Time ,
Secretary of Labor ,
Trump Administration ,
White-Collar Exemptions
It’s that time of year again! New York State’s annual threshold increases for overtime exemption and minimum wage go into effect on December 31, 2018. ...more
In two decisions issued on September 19, the Second Circuit relied on the Supreme Court’s instruction in Encino Motorcars, LLC v. Navarro, 138 S. Ct. 1134, 1140 (April 2, 2018) that FLSA exemptions are not to be construed...more
9/21/2018
/ Appeals ,
Drivers ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Navarro v Encino Motorcars ,
Over-Time ,
Reaffirmation ,
Salespersons ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Summary Judgment ,
Taxi Cabs ,
Unpaid Overtime ,
Wage and Hour
As Hurricane Florence makes landfall in the Carolinas, it’s the right time to revisit employer rights and responsibilities during a weather-related emergency or other major disruption. Here are some typical scenarios that...more
9/17/2018
/ Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Rights ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Flooding ,
Hurricane Florence ,
Local Ordinance ,
Natural Disasters ,
Non-Exempt Employees ,
Paid Leave ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Payroll Records ,
Salaried Employees ,
Severe Weather ,
State Labor Laws ,
Unpaid Leave ,
Wage and Hour
Summer’s not over yet! On August 28, 2018, the U.S. Department of Labor issued four new letters in response to requests for opinions under the Fair Labor Standards Act. In this most recent slate of letters, the DOL offers...more
As we have previously reported, pursuant to provisions of the state budget signed into law this past April, effective October 9, 2018, all New York State employers will be required to adopt written sexual harassment...more
8/24/2018
/ Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Comment Period ,
Complaint Procedures ,
Confidentiality Agreements ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Governor Cuomo ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Non-Disclosure Agreement ,
Public Comment ,
Required Forms ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State Labor Laws
Hawaii Governor David Ige has signed into law a bill that will restrict employers from inquiring about applicants’ salary history during the hiring process. In addition, the law prohibits employers from retaliating or...more
Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy has signed into law a bill that will restrict employers from inquiring about applicants’ salary history during the hiring process. The law will take effect on January 1, 2019....more
In its eagerly-awaited opinion in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis, the U.S. Supreme Court held on May 21 that class action waivers in arbitration agreements between employers and employees do not violate the National Labor...more
5/22/2018
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Collective Actions ,
Epic Systems Corp v Lewis ,
Ernst & Young v Morris ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Freelance Isn't Free Act (FIFA) ,
Murphy Oil v NLRB ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Preemption ,
SCOTUS ,
Wage and Hour