Seyfarth Synopsis: On September 11, 2024, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held in Mayfield v. U.S. Department of Labor that the Secretary’s salary test for evaluating overtime exemptions are valid...more
9/13/2024
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Final Rules ,
Highly Compensated Employees ,
Minimum Salary ,
Non-Exempt Employees ,
Over-Time ,
Regulatory Authority ,
Salaried Employees ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
The DOL’s revised overtime exemption rule took effect yesterday, July 1, 2024. While several lawsuits are challenging the rule, a last-minute injunction was ultimately granted for only one employer: the State of Texas. The...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The first challenge to the Department of Labor’s overtime rule has landed, but what the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas will do with it and how any decision will affect businesses...more
5/28/2024
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Labor Reform ,
Minimum Salary ,
Non-Exempt Employees ,
Over-Time ,
Salaried Employees ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
Yesterday, the U.S. DOL unveiled its final overtime rule. The rule significantly increases the minimum salary for so-called “white collar” employees to be exempt from the federal FLSA’s overtime pay requirements. This...more
4/24/2024
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Final Rules ,
Highly Compensated Employees ,
Labor Reform ,
Minimum Salary ,
Over-Time ,
Proposed Rules ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
Seyfarth Synopsis: Child labor laws remain fertile ground for government enforcement as evaluate key issues for 2024. Late last year, the Wage Hour Division released guidance for new processes to assess greater penalties...more
2/1/2024
/ Child Labor ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Penalties ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage & Hour Division (WHD) ,
Wage and Hour
Seyfarth Synopsis: Last week, the U.S. DOL issued a final rule limiting use of the FLSA’s tip credit for tipped employees who sometimes perform non-tipped work. Declining a more flexible approach advocated by many employers...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Texas Governor Greg Abbott has issued an Executive Order prohibiting public and private employers from requiring employees or customers to receive the COVID-19 vaccine if such individuals object for “any...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: If the gist of a proposed regulation is made final, the 80/20 rule will be back, and with a vengeance. Employers who take a tip credit for their tipped employees will have to ensure that those employees...more
Seyfarth Synopsis. In the final hours of 2020, the U.S. DOL’s Wage & Hour Division issued an opinion letter containing guidance on the compensability of time commuting to the office, or tending to personal matters, for...more
As follow-up to our overview “Emergency Childcare: A Guide for Health Care Providers,” below is a deeper dive on some state-specific considerations. There are some impactful measures that some states have already taken which...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Smoke produced during surgical procedures is carcinogenic and can carry pathogens. Employers who fail to abate surgical smoke hazards may face liability from employee injuries and OSHA citations....more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Arbitration of employment claims continues to be a hot topic at the Supreme Court. In a unanimous 8-0 decision (Justice Kavanaugh recused), the Supreme Court ruled in New Prime Inc. v. Oliveira...more
1/17/2019
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Commercial Truck Drivers ,
Employment Contract ,
Exceptions ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Independent Contractors ,
Motion to Compel ,
New Prime v Oliveira ,
Question of Arbitrability ,
Reaffirmation ,
SCOTUS
Seyfarth Synopsis: Courts across the country have frequently weighed in on the unpaid interns/ trainees versus paid employee debate. Now, the 10th Circuit has jumped into the fray with a decision affirming that a massage...more
11/29/2018
/ Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Massage Therapists ,
Minimum Wage ,
Multi-Factor Test ,
Operator Training ,
Over-Time ,
State Labor Laws ,
Students ,
Unpaid Interns ,
Unpaid Trainee ,
Wage and Hour
The Eleventh Circuit recently affirmed the district court’s grant of summary judgment to two Florida counties in an action brought against former sheriff deputies under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and Florida Minimum...more
7/12/2018
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Doffing ,
Donning ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Florida ,
Job Duties ,
Law Enforcement ,
Summary Judgment ,
Travel Time ,
Uniforms ,
Wage and Hour
Seyfarth Synopsis: In a first impression case, the Eleventh Circuit held that an “opt-in” plaintiff is only required to file a written consent to become a party-plaintiff in a collective action under the FLSA, and that the...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: A recent decision by the Southern District of New York clarifies common questions arising from the use of the fixed salary for a fluctuating workweek method of compensation (the “FWW”)...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that telecommuting can be a reasonable accommodation under the ADA when the employee is able to perform the essential functions of the position remotely and...more
3/2/2018
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Back Pay ,
Compensatory Damages ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Essential Functions ,
Job Descriptions ,
Physical Presence Test ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Telecommuting
Seyfarth Synopsis: A case out of the District of Oregon recently dismissed a Plaintiff’s sexual harassment and retaliation claims where the allegations relied on manufactured text messages that Plaintiff failed to produce. ...more
2/13/2018
/ Electronically Stored Information ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Evidence ,
Hostile Environment ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Retaliation ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Telecommunications ,
Text Messages ,
Workplace Romances ,
Wrongful Termination