On August 15, the U.S. Labor Department’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) issued proposed regulations that would expand some federal contractors’ ability to claim exemption from discrimination...more
Interstate truck drivers are generally exempt from the overtime requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act. However, this statutory exemption does not apply to minimum wage obligations, and employers are therefore required...more
The U.S. Department of Labor’s new Wage and Hour Administrator Cheryl Stanton recently released her first series of opinion letters on various wage payment topics. Of interest to some employers was a letter asking about...more
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) provides federal whistleblower protections against retaliation for employees of publicly held companies who complain about fraudulent activities. However, not all employee complaints are protected...more
In their recent regulatory agendas, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and U.S. Department of Labor indicated upcoming rulemakings that could have significant impacts on employer practices under the Americans with...more
With the advent of Uber, Lyft, and other so-called “gig economy” jobs, a niche industry has arisen for plaintiffs’ lawyers who file suit against these companies alleging that their workers are misclassified employees. The...more
A special provision of the Fair Labor Standards Act allows hospitals and other health care institutions to average employee hours over a 14-day period instead of the usual single workweek overtime basis. Last week, the...more
Human resources professionals’ eyes sometimes start to glaze over when the discussion turns to technical definitions of overtime calculations. However, the meaning of the term “regular rate” under the Fair Labor Standards Act...more
In recent years, both the Obama administration’s Department of Labor and some federal courts issued interpretations of joint employer status that vexed many companies, especially franchisors. Joint employment means that two...more
The Department of Labor’s decision to again issue opinion letters in response to employer questions has resulted in some interesting agency positions. Two recent letters address unusual situations not accounted for in federal...more
Last week, we reported on new proposed Department of Labor regulations that would raise the minimum salary for claiming the “white collar” overtime exemptions to $35,308 per year. In addition to the new salary level, the...more
3/18/2019
/ Comment Period ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Minimum Salary ,
Over-Time ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
Last year, the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division clarified its position regarding work by tipped employees that allows the employer to claim the employee’s tips in order to constitute the full federal minimum wage....more
3/14/2019
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Food Service Workers ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Minimum Wage ,
New Guidance ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Tip Credit ,
Tipped Employees ,
Tips ,
Wage and Hour
On Thursday, the federal Department of Labor released long-awaited proposed regulations that would replace Obama-era increases to the salary level required for employers to claim the Part 541 Executive, Administrative, and...more
Most human resources professionals are generally familiar with the saga surrounding the U.S. Department of Labor’s attempts to increase the minimum salary for claiming overtime exempt status under the Fair Labor Standards...more
Nonprofit entities often question the dividing line between volunteer work and work considered compensable employment. On December 21, the federal Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division issued an opinion letter...more
As previously reported in EmployNews, litigation involving pay for tipped employees continues to vex employers in the hospitality industry. Many of these cases involve varying interpretations of the Fair Labor Standards Act’s...more
11/19/2018
/ Collective Actions ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Food Service Workers ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Minimum Wage ,
Obama Administration ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Reversal ,
Tip Credit ,
Tipped Employees ,
Tips ,
Trump Administration ,
Wage and Hour
Last year, President Trump revoked Obama-era regulations that limited the ability of states to mandate drug testing as a condition of receiving unemployment insurance benefits. Those regulations from 2012 and 2016 basically...more
Many employers rely on the fluctuating workweek (FWW) method to reduce their overtime obligations. FWW allows employers to pay a fixed salary and a half-time overtime premium to employees whose working hours significantly...more
Employers in the hospitality industry continue to face class and collective action lawsuits based on alleged violations of minimum wage requirements for tipped workers. Most of this litigation involves interpretation of the...more
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs has made the review of federal contractor’s compensation practices a top enforcement priority. On August 24, OFCCP issued a new directive...more
Last month, the federal Department of Labor issued a series of opinion letters addressing various questions under the Family and Medical Leave Act and Fair Labor Standards Act. One interesting interpretation involved whether...more
In March, Congress nullified prior U.S. Department of Labor regulations that significantly limited states’ ability to mandate drug testing as a condition of receiving unemployment benefits. The joint resolution stated that...more
Last month, the U.S. Department of Labor drove a stake into the heart of the Obama administration’s so-called “persuader” rule. This rule interpreted federal labor law to require employers to disclose their use of legal...more
What should a Human Resources Department do in the following circumstance? An employee requests family and medical leave to care for a child with a serious health condition and is provided DOL forms, including the medical...more
As we previously reported, the recent federal budget legislation includes a new amendment to the Fair Labor Standards Act that resolves a dispute over tip pooling practices. The law overrules a 2011 Department of Labor...more