On March 2, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) formally delayed the effective date of the Independent Contractor Final Rule, from March 8, 2021 to May 7, 2021. The Final Rule, published during the last two weeks of the...more
As expected, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has formally delayed the effective date of the Tip Regulations Final Rule, from March 1, 2021 to April 30, 2021. The Tip Regulations Final Rule, issued in late December 2020,...more
Making good on President Biden’s campaign promise, the House of Representatives has included in its $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief bill, known as the “American Rescue Plan Act of 2021,” revisions to the Fair Labor Standards...more
One day after President Biden entered office, the White House issued a memorandum directing all agencies to review, and consider delaying, any rules that had been issued by the former administration but that were not yet...more
On January 29, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced that it was abandoning the Payroll Audit Independent Determination (PAID) program, effective immediately. PAID was introduced in 2018 as a self-audit program,...more
On January 19, 2021, eight states (Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania), along with the District of Columbia, filed a lawsuit seeking to enjoin the Tip Regulations...more
In 2017, then-Department of Labor (DOL) Secretary Alexander Acosta, appointed by former President Donald Trump, announced the Wage and Hour Division (WHD) would be reviving the practice of issuing Opinion Letters, seeking to...more
In 2020, federal and state laws regulating wages and hours of work continued to change and develop, expanding in some areas, and contracting in others. In “2020 Wage & Hour Developments: A Year in Review,” we look back on...more
1/18/2021
/ Collective Bargaining ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure ,
Fluctuating Workweek ,
Independent Contractors ,
Joint Employers ,
Minimum Wage ,
Misclassification ,
Opinion Letter ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
State Labor Laws ,
Tip Credit ,
Tip-Pooling ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour
The Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division has formally released a Final Rule defining “independent contractors” under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The regulation provides that “an individual is an...more
On the last day of 2020, the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) ushered out the year with two new Opinion Letters. These may be the final two Opinion Letters of the Trump Administration and perhaps...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has issued its long-awaited Final Rule addressing who may share tips under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the circumstances under which employers may use a tip credit.
The Final...more
As President-elect Joe Biden selects members of his Cabinet and prepares for his transition into the presidency, he and a Democratic majority in the House of Representatives may pursue a number of significant pieces of...more
11/10/2020
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Arbitration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Immigration ,
Joe Biden ,
NLRB ,
Sexual Stereotyping ,
STEM
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has issued a new proposed regulation setting forth the proper standard for determining a worker’s status as an “independent contractor” under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)...more
With specific, limited exceptions set forth in Section 207(e) of its regulations, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires that all compensation provided to a non-exempt employee must be included when determining the...more
Continuing the practice it reinstituted during the current administration, on August 31, 2020 the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage Hour Division (WHD) issued four new Opinion Letters, addressing a variety of topics. That...more
The 18 states challenging the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) new “joint employer” rule may proceed, a district court has decided, over the DOL’s motion to dismiss the case. State of New York v. Scalia, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS...more
On May 20, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a Final Rule expressly permitting employers to provide additional pay, such as bonuses, commissions, or premiums, to employees when utilizing the “fluctuating...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) withdrew its interpretative rules setting forth the types of businesses either not qualifying, or only possibly qualifying, as “retail or service establishments” when determining whether a...more
Federal and state laws regulating the payment of wages continue to develop at a rapid pace. States continue to increase their minimum wage, despite the federal minimum wage remaining stagnant at $7.25 per hour since 2009.
...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has released its Final Rule updating regulations governing “joint employer” status under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The regulations have not been updated in more than 60 years....more
The Department of Labor (DOL) has issued its Final Rule revising the regulations governing the calculation of the “regular rate” of pay, used to calculate overtime, under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The Final Rule,...more
Concluding that it too broadly defined “employer” and raised a myriad of due process concerns that subjected it to risks of unconstitutionality, on December 31, 2019, Governor Andrew Cuomo Governor Cuomo vetoed a bill that...more
In New York, 2020 will be the last year employers who employ tipped employees in car washes, nail salons, and parking garages, among other establishments, will be permitted to pay such employees a rate below the minimum wage...more
Persistent confusion over the Department of Labor’s (DOL) “fluctuating workweek” (FWW) pay method to satisfy employers’ obligation to pay overtime has deterred many from using it. Now, the DOL has proposed changes to clarify...more
The Department of Labor (DOL) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on October 8, 2019, to eliminate the “20% Rule,” or “80/20 Rule,” under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
The 20% Rule, which first appeared...more
10/8/2019
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Food Service Workers ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Minimum Wage ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Tip Credit ,
Tip-Pooling ,
Tipped Employees ,
Tips ,
Wage and Hour