Real World Impact: On November 15, 2024, United States District Judge Sean Jordan granted a motion for summary judgment invalidating the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) rule in its entirety which had increased the salary...more
Real World Impact: The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals' recent decision vacating the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) rule regarding tipped employees means the rule is no longer in effect nationwide. This is a major victory...more
Executive Summary: On July 1, 2024, the federal court for the Northern District of Texas issued a decision in Flint Avenue, LLC v. U.S. Department of Labor, denying the plaintiff employer’s request for a nationwide...more
7/3/2024
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Final Rules ,
Highly Compensated Employees ,
Labor Reform ,
Minimum Salary ,
Non-Exempt Employees ,
Over-Time ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Salaried Employees ,
Unpaid Overtime ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
Real World Implications of Challenges to the Rule: A federal district court in Texas has enjoined the DOL’s 2024 Salary Rule (which takes effect today, July 1, 2024) for employees of the state of Texas, and we anticipate a...more
7/1/2024
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Highly Compensated Employees ,
Minimum Salary ,
Over-Time ,
Salaried Employees ,
Texas ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
Executive Summary: On September 5, 2022, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed A.B. 257, the Fast Food Accountability Recovery Act or FAST Recovery Act. The law was strongly supported by unions and will impact more than...more
Note: On January 24, 2022, the DOL removed Fact Sheet #84 from its website. For more information please see our follow-up Alert.
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has issued Fact Sheet #84 addressing the compensability...more
1/24/2022
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Infectious Diseases ,
New Guidance ,
Screening Procedures ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) on January 24, 2022 removed, without explanation, from its website Fact Sheet #84 addressing the compensability of time spent undergoing COVID-19 health screenings, testing, and vaccinations...more
On October 29, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published its Final Rule related to tipped employees. It is effective December 28, 2021. DOL had issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on June 21, 2021,...more
11/24/2021
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Final Rules ,
Food Service Workers ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
Minimum Wage ,
NPRM ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Tip Credit ,
Tipped Employees ,
Tips ,
Wage and Hour
On September 23, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued its latest rule related to tip pooling. The rule modifies and clarifies aspects of a rule previously issued by the Trump administration. ...more
10/4/2021
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Food Service Workers ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
Minimum Wage ,
New Guidance ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Tip Credit ,
Tip-Pooling ,
Tipped Employees ,
Tips ,
Wage and Hour
Executive Summary: On November 5, 2019, a federal district court in Ohio issued a decision clarifying the law governing whether owners of 73 Papa John’s franchised locations violated the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) by...more
11/11/2019
/ Compensation & Benefits ,
Delivery Drivers ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Field Operations Manual ,
Food Service Workers ,
Franchises ,
Mileage Reimbursement ,
Papa John's International ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Wage and Hour
Executive Summary: As summer is now in full swing, we find it timely to distribute our Restaurant Employment Law Compliance Checklist. The following 12 topics create compliance challenges in the restaurant industry –...more
7/8/2019
/ #MeToo ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Ban the Box ,
Child Labor ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Equal Pay Act ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Food Service Workers ,
Joint Employers ,
Marijuana ,
Minimum Wage ,
Misclassification ,
Over-Time ,
Paid Leave ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Public Accommodation ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Wage and Hour
Employers in the restaurant industry have seen an increasing trend of litigation over reimbursement policies for delivery drivers. ...more
The Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) has announced it will no longer apply the “80/20 rule” to tipped employees, and will no longer require employers to pay the full minimum wage for time spent by a tipped...more
11/13/2018
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Deregulation ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Food Service Workers ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Minimum Wage ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Tip Credit ,
Tipped Employees ,
Tips ,
Wage and Hour
On September 18, 2018, a year after a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of Marsh v. J. Alexander’s LLC, 869 F.3d 1108, a larger en banc panel of the court has...more
10/4/2018
/ Appeals ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Dismissals ,
Food Service Workers ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
Job Descriptions ,
Minimum Wage ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Tipped Employees ,
Tips ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wages
On April 2, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in Encino Motorcars, LLC v. Navarro that service advisors at automotive dealerships are exempt from overtime. The exemption at issue involves “any salesman, partsman or...more
4/3/2018
/ Appeals ,
Automotive Industry ,
Car Dealerships ,
Congressional Intent ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Legislative History ,
Navarro v Encino Motorcars ,
Over-Time ,
Reversal ,
Salespersons ,
SCOTUS ,
Service Advisors ,
Statutory Construction Test ,
Wage and Hour
On February 16, 2018, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit granted en banc review of Marsh v. J. Alexander’s LLC, 869 F.3d 1108, creating a new layer of uncertainty for hospitality employers....more
3/16/2018
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
En Banc Review ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Food Service Workers ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Minimum Wage ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Tip Credit ,
Tipped Employees ,
Tips ,
Wage and Hour
The National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “Board”) has vacated its decision in Hy-Brand Industrial Contractors, Ltd., (“Hy-Brand”), thereby reinstating the joint employer standard created by the Obama Board in the...more
3/1/2018
/ Browning-Ferris Industries of California Inc. ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Deregulation ,
Franchises ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Joint Employers ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Staffing Agencies ,
Unions ,
Vacated ,
Wage and Hour
The National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “Board”) has reversed the controversial joint employer standard created by the Obama Board in the Browning-Ferris Industries of California, Inc. ("BFI") decision, restoring the...more
On September 6, in Marsh v. J. Alexander’s LLC, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals refused to give deference to the U.S. Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) tip-credit guidance under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). The...more
On June 30, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit ruled in Marlow v. The New Food Guy, Inc. d/b/a Relish Catering (Relish) that neither the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) nor a Department of Labor (DOL)...more
On January 9, 2017, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in Navarro v. Encino Motorcars, for the second time, that service advisors at automotive dealerships are not exempt from overtime. In 2015, the Ninth Circuit...more
1/11/2017
/ Appeals ,
Automotive Industry ,
Car Dealerships ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Minimum Salary ,
Navarro v Encino Motorcars ,
Non-Exempt Employees ,
Over-Time ,
SCOTUS ,
Service Advisors ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
On August 27, 2015, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) issued its long-awaited decision in Browning-Ferris Industries (BFI) substantially changing and expanding the standard for finding a joint-employer...more
8/31/2015
/ Browning-Ferris Industries of California Inc. ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Franchisee ,
Franchisors ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Joint Employers ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
OSHA ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour
Over the last two years fast-food workers have engaged in walkouts and other activities protesting their wages and seeking an increase to $15/hr. Numerous unfair labor practice charges have been filed with the National Labor...more
8/7/2014
/ Employee Rights ,
Franchisors ,
Joint Employers ,
Minimum Wage ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Popular ,
Resorts & Restaurants ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wages