Earlier this year we shared that the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) was launching its Payroll Audit Independent Determination (PAID) program. This month the program was extended and the agency wasted no time beginning its...more
In a case that refuses to go away, the Ninth Circuit, now sitting en banc, has held that the plaintiff in Marsh v. J. Alexander's stated an FLSA minimum wage claim based on the USDOL's so-called "20% Rule" limiting a tipped...more
9/28/2018
/ 20% Rule ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Job Duties ,
Minimum Wage ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Tip Credit ,
Tipped Employees ,
Tips ,
Wage and Hour
It's that time of year when families (yes, already) are making back-to-school preparations for the upcoming school year, and employers (ideally, already) are evaluating potential pay and policy changes for the upcoming...more
The federal Fair Labor Standards Act has been within the purview of the U.S. Department of Labor for 80 years now. As I understand it, the traditional gift for an 80-year marriage is "oak" on the premise that the strong oak...more
The Trump administration just announced an ambitious plan to overhaul the federal bureaucracy that would include the merging of the Department of Labor (USDOL) with the Department of Education. The 132-page proposal announced...more
The latest regulatory agenda shows four wage-hour items on the U.S. Labor Department's (USDOL) plate. In addition to revisiting the federal Fair Labor Standards Act's (FLSA) white-collar exemptions and tips-related...more
5/10/2018
/ Apprenticeships ,
Child Labor ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Minors ,
Over-Time ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Tips ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
It is hard to believe that it has been three years now since the federal Fair Labor Standards Act’s (FLSA) “companionship” exemption was strictly limited to direct-hire caregivers engaged in a narrower scope of activities,...more
It has been a busy month for the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) with respect to, among other things, the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). From enforcement programs to compliance resources, the agency has stepped up...more
Last week the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) announced its Payroll Audit Independent Determination (PAID) pilot program to mixed reactions. The PAID program is meant to provide a framework for employers to proactively...more
4/3/2018
/ Back Wages ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Pilot Programs ,
Minimum Wage ,
Misclassification ,
Off-The-Clock ,
Over-Time ,
Payroll Audit Independent Determination program (PAID) ,
Self-Reporting ,
Wage and Hour
The U.S. Department of Labor rang in the new year by announcing that it will abandon its rigid six-part test for determining whether interns qualify as employees under federal wage and hour law, introducing some much-needed...more
3/8/2018
/ Appeals ,
Colleges ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Economic Realities Test ,
Educational Institutions ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Internships ,
Minimum Wage ,
Misclassification ,
Over-Time ,
Primary Beneficiary Test ,
Students ,
Universities ,
Wage and Hour
This week marked the close of the period for public comment on the U.S. Department of Labor's (USDOL) proposed rescission of the hotly-debated regulatory text that, essentially, extended certain tip credit restrictions to...more
If Congress cannot approve a budget by this Friday at midnight, the federal government will shut down. What will this mean for employers across the country? A look back at the most recent government shutdown will provide...more
1/18/2018
/ Budget Reconciliation ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
E-Verify ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Government Shutdown ,
Green Cards ,
Labor Relations ,
NLRB ,
OSHA ,
PERM ,
Small Business ,
Trump Administration ,
US State Departments ,
USCIS ,
Visas ,
Wage and Hour ,
Work Visas ,
Workplace Safety
This week the U.S. Department of Labor published increases in the civil money penalties it can impose for certain violations of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.
These new levels, approximately 2% higher than those...more
It’s hard to keep up with all the recent changes to labor and employment law. The law always seems to evolve at a rapid pace, and September 2017 was no different. In order to make sure that you stay on top of the latest...more
10/7/2017
/ Appeals ,
Class Action ,
DACA ,
Dear Colleague Letter ,
Delivery Drivers ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Equal Pay ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
First Amendment ,
Gig Economy ,
Google ,
GrubHub ,
Hurricane Irma ,
Janus v AFSCME ,
Misclassification ,
Obama Administration ,
OFCCP ,
Over-Time ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Public Sector Unions ,
Rescission ,
SCOTUS ,
Secretary of Labor ,
Sexual Assault ,
Shop Fee Arrangements ,
Title IX ,
Travel Ban ,
Trump Administration ,
White-Collar Exemptions
Fisher Phillips filed its own, extensive remarks yesterday in response to the U.S. Department of Labor's Request for Information seeking additional public comment regarding the 2016 compensation revisions to the agency's...more
9/27/2017
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Final Rules ,
Minimum Salary ,
Non-Exempt Employees ,
Notice and Comment ,
Over-Time ,
Public Comment ,
Request For Information ,
White-Collar Exemptions
The U.S. Labor Department has published the 2018 wage-rate floor required by Executive Order 13658, "Establishing A Minimum Wage for Contractors". Beginning on January 1, 2018, the minimum rate will increase by 15 cents per...more
It’s hard to keep up with all the recent changes to labor and employment law. While the law always seems to evolve at a rapid pace, there have been an unprecedented number of changes each month in 2017. August was no...more
9/9/2017
/ Affirmative Action ,
Appeals ,
Audio Recording ,
Class Action ,
Classification ,
College Admissions ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Data Breach ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
EEO-1 ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Gig Economy ,
Green Cards ,
Hardship Distributions ,
Hurricane Harvey ,
Identity Theft ,
Independent Contractors ,
NLRB ,
On-Demand Services ,
Online Platforms ,
Over-Time ,
Pay Data ,
Popular ,
Standing ,
Trump Administration ,
Unions ,
Vetting ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wellness Programs
This list of frequently asked questions was originally prepared by the law firm of Fisher Phillips in 2005, in response to Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma. It has been updated several times over the course of the past 12...more
9/8/2017
/ COBRA ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Disaster Preparedness ,
Donations ,
Emergency Response ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Form I-9 ,
Hardship Distributions ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Hurricane Harvey ,
Hurricane Irma ,
Hurricane Season ,
Labor Relations ,
Military Leave ,
Natural Disasters ,
Plant Closures ,
Popular ,
Retirement Plan ,
Severe Weather ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
Wage and Hour ,
WARN Act ,
Workers' Compensation Claim ,
Workplace Hazards ,
Workplace Safety
A federal judge in Texas struck down the controversial Obama-era change to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act that was intended to substantially raise the minimum salary threshold required for employees to qualify for the...more
9/7/2017
/ Abeyance ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Lack of Authority ,
Minimum Salary ,
Minimum Wage ,
Motion To Intervene ,
Obama Administration ,
Over-Time ,
Summary Judgment ,
Trump Administration ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
A federal judge in Texas today struck down the controversial Obama-era change to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act that was intended to substantially raise the minimum salary threshold required for employees to qualify for...more
9/2/2017
/ Appeals ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Injunctions ,
Lack of Authority ,
Minimum Salary ,
Over-Time ,
Summary Judgment ,
Trump Administration ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
Since last November, employers have waited with bated breath for a resolution of the status of the U.S. Department of Labor's salary-threshold increase for an executive, administrative, professional, or derivative "white...more
As employers wait to see whether, when, and to what extent the federal Fair Labor Standards Act's minimum wage might increase in the near future, many other jurisdictions have continued to raise their rates to levels higher...more
This holiday season, many employers were thankful for the preliminary injunction that blocked the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) exemption changes from going into effect on December 1 as scheduled. Those changes would have...more
The U.S. Department of Labor has filed its notice to appeal last week's preliminary injunction that prevented the salary-related changes in the federal Fair Labor Standards Act's "white collar" exemptions from taking effect...more
Employers are returning from their Thanksgiving holiday weekend grappling with thorny questions following last week’s surprising and momentous court decision preliminarily blocking the Department of Labor’s overtime rule from...more