As we previously reported, in November 2016, NYC Mayor De Blasio signed into law the Freelance Isn’t Free Act, establishing protections for freelance workers, including the right to receive a written contract for work valued...more
On July 5, 2017, Washington became the latest state to enact a paid family and medical leave law, with benefits to go into effect beginning on January 1, 2020....more
Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Labor filed a reply brief in further support of its appeal of the November 22, 2016 order in State of Nevada v. United States Dep’t of Labor, No. 4:16-CV-00731 (E.D. Tex.). That order,...more
7/1/2017
/ Appeals ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Lack of Authority ,
Minimum Salary ,
Over-Time ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Request For Information ,
Secretary of Labor ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
On June 27, 2017, the U.S. Department of Labor sent a Request for Information related to the now-enjoined overtime rule to the Office of Management and Budget for review. After OMB completes its review, the RFI will be...more
6/28/2017
/ Appeals ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Minimum Salary ,
OMB ,
Over-Time ,
Public Comment ,
Request For Information ,
Secretary of Labor ,
Stays ,
Trump Administration ,
White-Collar Exemptions
In what likely signals the end of the era of “Administrator’s Interpretations,” the DOL announced today that it will return to the practice of issuing opinion letters to provide guidance to employers and employees on Fair...more
The Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit held earlier this week that a plaintiff who received at least the minimum wage and any overtime pay owed could not sue under the FLSA for withheld tips....more
Employers across the U.S. were troubled by the sub-regulatory guidance issued by the DOL in 2015 and 2016 on independent contractors and joint employment. Today, the DOL announced the withdrawal of that guidance...more
A Pennsylvania federal district court has dismissed a lawsuit seeking to declare unconstitutional a Philadelphia ordinance making it unlawful for employers to inquire into a job applicant’s wage history during the hiring...more
On May 30, 2017, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio signed a bill package into law that will impose new restrictions on retail and fast food employers with regard to employee scheduling, hiring, and pay practices. The laws...more
6/5/2017
/ Fair Workweek ,
Fast-Food Industry ,
Flexible Work Arrangements ,
Food Service Workers ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Local Ordinance ,
Mayor de Blasio ,
New Legislation ,
On-Call Employees ,
Part-Time Employees ,
Retail Workers ,
State and Local Government ,
Temporary Employees ,
Wage and Hour ,
Work Schedules
Even the Supreme Court doesn’t want to talk about the regular rate of pay.
The City of San Gabriel, California, provides a flexible benefits plan to its employees under which they receive a designated monetary amount to...more
5/17/2017
/ Appeals ,
Cash-in-Lieu of Benefits ,
Denial of Certiorari ,
Employee Benefits ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Flexible Work Arrangements ,
Liquidated Damages ,
Over-Time ,
Police ,
Remand ,
SCOTUS ,
State and Local Government ,
Wage and Hour ,
Willful Violations
In the private sector, the ability of employers to offer “comp time” for nonexempt employees—future time off as a reward for working extra hours, in lieu of overtime pay—is quite limited. To avoid having to pay for overtime...more
Philadelphia has indefinitely delayed implementation of its new ordinance that that will make it unlawful for employers to inquire into an applicant’s wage history during the hiring process....more
As we previously reported, on September 7, 2016, the New York State Department of Labor (“NYSDOL”) published final regulations on the methods by which employees must be paid, including with respect to direct deposit of wages...more
Remember the new federal overtime rule that was going to double the minimum salary for the “white collar” exemptions? In November, a Texas district court issued a nationwide injunction preventing the rule from taking effect....more
The City of Philadelphia has passed an ordinance that will make it unlawful for employers to inquire into an applicant’s wage history during the hiring process. The law, which amends the city’s current Fair Practices...more
One of the recurring themes in workplace law in 2016 was the continued crackdown on independent contractor misclassification. Both federal and state agencies, as well as the plaintiffs’ bar, invested significant resources to...more
1/6/2017
/ Administrative Appeals ,
Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Appeals ,
Audits ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Independent Contractors ,
Judicial Review ,
Misclassification ,
NYDOL ,
Unemployment Insurance ,
Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board
Yesterday, Judge Amos Mazzant of the Eastern District of Texas denied the motion of the U.S. Department of Labor to stay further district court proceedings in the overtime litigation. The DOL had asked the district...more
1/4/2017
/ Appeals ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Interlocutory Appeals ,
Minimum Salary ,
Motion To Intervene ,
Motion To Stay ,
Over-Time ,
Permanent Injunctions ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
The New York State Department of Labor formally adopted new wage orders today that raise the weekly salary thresholds for exemption as an executive or administrative employee from the current $675 per week ($35,100 annually)...more
This month Richard Zall, Chair of Proskauer's Health Care Department, explores developments likely to occur with respect to the Affordable Care Act as a result of the new administration. In our Rulings, Filings and...more
12/21/2016
/ 21st Century Cures Act ,
Affordable Care Act ,
CEOs ,
CMMI ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Flexible Spending Accounts ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Health Insurance ,
Health Insurance Exchanges ,
Health Savings Accounts ,
Individual Mandate ,
Local Ordinance ,
Medicaid ,
Medical Devices ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Advantage ,
Pay Ratio ,
Pay Ratio Tax ,
Payroll Taxes ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Qualified Small Employer Health Reimbursement Plan (QSEHRAs) ,
Repeal ,
Subsidies ,
Tax Credits ,
Trump Administration
The New York State Department of Labor is still sitting on proposed new wage orders that raise the weekly salary thresholds for exemption as an executive or administrative employee from the current $675 per week ($35,100...more
With winter storms around the corner, it’s the right time to revisit employer rights and responsibilities during a weather-related emergency or other major disruption. We discuss below some typical scenarios that you are...more
12/21/2016
/ Commute Time ,
Document Destruction ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Military Service Members ,
Non-Exempt Employees ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Payroll Records ,
Severe Weather ,
State of Emergency ,
Vacation Pay ,
Wage and Hour
In a summary order issued on December 7, the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit–in Chowdhury v. Hamza Express Food Corp., No. 15-3142-cv–held that an award of liquidated damages under both the Fair Labor Standards Act...more
The Portland, Oregon City Council has passed an ordinance that will impose a tax surcharge on publicly traded companies whose chief executive officers are paid at least 100 times more than the median pay of other company...more
On December 8, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals granted the U.S. Department of Labor’s motion seeking an expedited briefing schedule on its appeal of the district court injunction of the overtime rule that was scheduled to...more
As we noted in an earlier post, the election of Donald J. Trump likely means that states and municipalities—and not the federal government—will lead the charge on worker-protection issues for the next four years. In this...more
12/7/2016
/ City Councils ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Fair Work Act ,
Fast-Food Industry ,
Flexible Work Arrangements ,
Food Service Workers ,
Pending Legislation ,
Presidential Elections ,
Retail Workers ,
State and Local Government ,
Work Schedules