A federal district court in Arizona held this week that courts are not required – or even authorized – to grant judicial approval of settlement agreements resolving individual claims brought under the Fair Labor Standards Act...more
The employer must prove the applicability of an exemption from overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) with “clear and convincing” evidence, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit...more
The “Dual Jobs” Final Rule, which regulates when employers may take a tip credit under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), is a valid and reasonable exercise of the Department of Labor’s (DOL) authority, a federal district...more
According to the latest report from the U.S Department of Labor (DOL) regarding its regulatory agenda, released this week, the DOL has now set the publication of the new proposed Overtime Rule for August 2023. However, given...more
In a June 9, 2023 filing with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) stated that its Independent Contractor (IC) Final Rule, addressing the standard for determining whether a...more
Labor Secretary nominee Julie Su continues to face close scrutiny by Republican members of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, at least some of whom believe she is not qualified for the position....more
Affirming an en banc decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, the U.S. Supreme Court has held that an employer’s day-rate pay structure did not satisfy the “salary basis” component of the “white collar”...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has issued guidance on the application of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to employees who telework from home or from another location away from...more
In 2022, federal and state laws regulating wages and hours of work continued to change and develop. In “2022 Wage and Hour Developments: A Year in Review,” we look back on significant wage and hour developments at the federal...more
1/12/2023
/ ABC Test ,
Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Day of Rest Laws ,
Day-Rate Pay ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Drug Testing ,
Employer Mandates ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Fast-Food Industry ,
Independent Contractors ,
Minimum Wage ,
Non-Exempt Employees ,
Over-Time ,
Paid Leave ,
Pay Transparency ,
Pregnant Workers Fairness Act ,
Prime Contractor ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Subcontractors ,
Tip Credit ,
Tipped Employees ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
Virus Testing ,
Wage and Hour
On October 13, 2022, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), seeking to revise the standard for determining whether a worker is an employee or “independent contractor” under the...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), seeking to revise the standard for determining whether a worker is an employee or “independent contractor” under the Fair Labor Standards...more
Does a plaintiff’s allegation, that he was about to join a pending Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) collective (class) action against his former employer, combined with the employer’s knowledge that he was a potential class...more
For 40 years, the majority of federal courts have followed the holding of Lynn’s Food Stores, Inc. v. U.S., 679 F.2d 1350 (11th Cir. 1982), that FLSA claims may be settled only through approval by the U.S. Department of Labor...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has announced its intention to issue a new final rule regarding the employee-vs.-independent contractor analysis under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)....more
In April 2020, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that paying an employee a set amount for each day that he works (i.e., on a “day rate” basis) does not satisfy the “salary basis”...more
A Miami restaurant’s mandatory 18% service charge did not constitute a “tip” under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and therefore was properly applied toward satisfying the FLSA’s employee wage requirements, the U.S. Court...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) unlawfully delayed and then withdrew the Independent Contractor (IC) Final Rule, published in the waning days of the Trump Administration, a federal court in Texas has held. Coalition for...more
Who doesn’t like free samples when shopping? But are the representatives providing those samples actually “selling” them so that they are exempt from overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) as outside salespersons?...more
Recently we reported on the efforts of the Restaurant Law Center (RLC), an independent public policy organization affiliated with the National Restaurant Association, to invalidate the Dual Jobs Final Rule published by the...more
Several recent lawsuits have been filed in federal court, one challenging the Dual Jobs Final Rule published by the Department of Labor (DOL) that became effective in late December 2021, and two others filed this week by...more
The list of laws and regulations governing vaccinations and testing is growing and changing at a frenetic pace. Employers can add U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) guidance on the compensability of time spent undergoing testing...more
1/26/2022
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Register ,
OSHA ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Exemption ,
SCOTUS ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing
Last week, Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) was absent from the meeting of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee – and that spelled good news for the Biden Administration’s nominee to head the Wage and Hour Division...more
In 2021, wage and hour laws continued to change and develop, expanding in some areas and contracting in others. In “2021 Wage & Hour Developments: A Year in Review,” we look back on significant wage and hour developments at...more
1/10/2022
/ Class Action ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Rights ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Independent Contractors ,
Joint Employers ,
Labor Code ,
Minimum Wage ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Service Contract Act ,
State Labor Laws ,
Tip Credit ,
Tipped Employees ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage Theft
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit recently affirmed the dismissal of a plaintiff’s Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and New York Labor Law (NYLL) overtime pay claims in federal court, after she previously had...more
On October 28, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a Final Rule establishing limits on the amount of time tipped employees can spend performing work that is not “tip- producing work” and still being paid at the...more