On November 15, 2024, a district judge for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas issued a significant, albeit somewhat unsurprising, opinion in Texas v. Department of Labor, vacating the U.S. Department of...more
On April 23, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) announced a new final rule through which it has significantly raised the bar for businesses to continue to classify their employees as exempt from overtime pursuant to...more
On March 23, 2023, Utah Governor Spencer Cox signed into law Senate Bill 73 (“SB 73”) expanding the group of employees eligible for tip pooling by allowing employers to include non-tipped employees in a bona fide tip pooling...more
The lingering morning chill in the air (at least, here, in the Northeast) suggests that summer is not quite here, but as the daylight persists through the evening hours, businesses small and large are gearing up for yet...more
The Biden Administration continues to increase administrative agency enforcement initiatives....more
On January 29, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor announced the immediate termination of its Payroll Audit Independent Determination Program (PAID). Launched in March 2018 by the Wage and Hour Division (WHD), PAID was...more
In a provocative decision in the case known as Swales v. KLLM Transport Servs., L.L.C., No. 19-60847 (5th Cir. 2021), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit broke from the pack by upending the standard two-step...more
On September 22, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) released its highly anticipated proposed rule for distinguishing independent contractors from employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”)....more
On September 8, 2020, a federal district court struck down the U.S. Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) Final Rule on joint employer liability, concluding that the Rule violated the Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”) by...more
While the COVID-19 pandemic remains a challenge to employers nationwide, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (“WHD”) continues to field non-COVID-related wage and hour questions. ...more
With summer rapidly approaching and COVID-19 shelter-in-place orders still in effect, many companies face an important and difficult decision of canceling this year’s summer programs, delaying start dates or conducting...more
In addition to its recent, exigent responsibility of preparing guidance on the protections and relief offered by the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (“WHD”) has...more
4/3/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Opinion Letter ,
Rate of Pay ,
Relief Measures ,
Sick Leave ,
Sick Pay ,
Wage and Hour
Given the number of states that have already ordered the closure of non-essential businesses due to the COVID-19 pandemic, employers fortunate to remain operational are likely dealing with the myriad challenges of a remote...more
In response to the spreading 2019 novel coronavirus (“COVID-19”) pandemic, which has now been declared a national emergency by President Trump, the Department of Labor has released guidance to employers, summarized more fully...more
In its first installment of opinions letters in 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (“WHD”) addressed two issues under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”): (i) the salary basis requirements in the...more
1/16/2020
/ Bonuses ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
Lump Sum Payments ,
Minimum Salary ,
Over-Time ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Salaried Employees ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
Over the past six months, Congress has made two notable attempts to amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (the “FLSA”). In July, U.S. Representative Elise Stefanik (R-NY) introduced The Modern Worker Empowerment Act...more
12/20/2019
/ Common Law Claims ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Gig Economy ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Misclassification ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Strict Compliance ,
Wage and Hour
On December 6, 2019, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals held that judicial approval is not required for offers of judgment to settle Fair Labor and Standards Act (“FLSA”) claims made pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil...more
On August 26, 2019, we wrote of the plan by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (“WHD”) to update the Fair Labor Standard Act (“FLSA”) regulations on calculating overtime pay for salaried non-exempt workers...more
11/8/2019
/ Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Fluctuating Workweek ,
Labor Regulations ,
Non-Exempt Employees ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment ,
Rate of Pay ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Salaried Employees ,
Wage and Hour ,
Work Schedules
Rules relating to tip credit and pooling have resulted in significant debate among legislators, regulators, and the courts, leading to confusion, further litigation, and, in many cases, substantial liability or settlements...more
10/9/2019
/ Comment Period ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Food Service Workers ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Job Duties ,
Labor Regulations ,
Minimum Wage ,
New Guidance ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Tip Credit ,
Tip-Pooling ,
Tipped Employees ,
Tips ,
Wage and Hour
On September 24, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued its highly anticipated final rule regarding amendments to the overtime exemption criteria for the administrative, executive, and professional (“EAP”)...more
10/1/2019
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
EAP ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Final Rules ,
Minimum Salary ,
New Rules ,
Over-Time ,
State and Local Government ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
What is considered compensable travel time pursuant to the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) is not always clear or intuitive to employers, even for those who usually have a good handle on wage and hour laws. This blog post...more
On September 10, 2019, the Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court for the First Department ruled in Vega v. CM & Associates Construction Management, LLC that “manual workers” who receive full pay but are paid “late”...more
9/30/2019
/ Cause of Action Accrual ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Failure To Pay ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Late Payments ,
Liquidated Damages ,
Minimum Wage ,
Non-Exempt Employees ,
Pleading Standards ,
Private Right of Action ,
Railroads ,
State Labor Departments ,
State Labor Laws ,
Underpayment ,
Unpaid Wages ,
Wage and Hour
Hospitality remains at the forefront of demanding industries where employers must be ever vigilant in their efforts to ensure full compliance with federal, state, and local employment laws and regulations. We highlight below...more
5/15/2019
/ Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Compliance ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Internships ,
Joint Employers ,
New Rules ,
NLRB ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
Primary Beneficiary Test ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
Arguably, the very first workplace regulation, dating back thousands of years, was one involving wage and hour issues—the mandatory day of rest. While much has changed over the great many years since then, the centrality of...more
10/2/2018
/ Arbitration Agreements ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Epic Systems Corp v Lewis ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Independent Contractors ,
Navarro v Encino Motorcars ,
Opinion Letter ,
Tipped Employees ,
Unpaid Overtime ,
Wage and Hour
In a move allowing increased flexibility for employers and greater opportunity for unpaid interns to gain valuable industry experience, the United States Department of Labor (“DOL”) recently issued Field Assistance Bulletin...more