The Department estimates that the changes will affect approximately 4.3 million employees in the first year of implementation and cost employers $803 million over the first 10 years of implementation.
Under a two-step...more
The Final Rule, if it survives significant legal challenges and the challenges yet to come, will ban all existing and future non-compete agreements with workers, with only narrow exceptions.
The FTC Final Rule imposes a...more
4/26/2024
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Bans ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
FTC Act ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Non-Disclosure Agreement ,
Non-Solicitation Agreements ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Trade Secrets
On January 10, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor published a final rule (the Rule) replacing the current test for determining whether a worker is an employee or independent contractor under the Fair Labor Standards Act....more
The Department of Labor has proposed raising the minimum salary threshold for “white-collar” exemptions under the FLSA to $55,068 annually.
The proposed rule would also raise the threshold for “highly compensated...more
A new DC law restricts DC employers from entering into non-compete agreements with employees earning less than $150,000 as of October 1, 2022, whereas the prior iteration of the law would have imposed a near universal ban on...more
9/29/2022
/ Bonuses ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Damages ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Enforcement ,
Highly Compensated Employees ,
Incentive Compensation ,
Incentives ,
Minimum Salary ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Penalties ,
Proprietary Information ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Retaliation ,
Stocks ,
Wages
The Executive Order is projected to increase the hourly wage paid to hundreds of thousands of Federal contractor employees.
President Biden issued an Executive Order raising to $15.00 per hour the minimum wage that Federal...more
Late on December 27, 2020, President Trump signed into law an omnibus stimulus bill. The new legislation contained much needed extensions of unemployment benefits that have supported many Americans who have experienced...more
12/30/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Financial Stimulus ,
IRS ,
New Legislation ,
Paid Leave ,
Relief Measures ,
Sick Leave ,
Tax Credits ,
Trump Administration
The Department of Labor, Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) issued guidance concerning recently issued Executive Order 13950 (EO) which prohibits federal contractors from including certain concepts related...more
As states reopen and employees return to work, OSHA updates its interim enforcement plan and issues revised guidance that requires all employers to investigate whether employee COVID-19 illnesses were contracted in the...more
New DOL questions and answers provide much needed clarity to employers struggling to understand this new law.
Documentation of the employee’s need to take FFCRA leave is required for employers to claim a tax credit.
...more
Published materials, including questions and answers and the required workplace poster, are now available.
The U.S. Department of Labor has clarified that the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) is to...more
The 2019 Final Rule formally rescinds the Obama Administration’s 2016 Final Rule and increases the current minimum salary level by almost 50 percent and the current exemption salary level for highly compensated employees by...more
10/10/2019
/ Best Practices ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Final Rules ,
Highly Compensated Employees ,
Minimum Salary ,
Obama Administration ,
Over-Time ,
Salaried Employees ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
The proposed changes seek to formally rescind the Obama Administration’s 2016 Final Rule, which more than doubled the minimum salary levels for exemption for overtime requirements. Instead, the Trump Administration proposes...more
3/19/2019
/ Comment Period ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Minimum Salary ,
NPRM ,
Obama Administration ,
Public Comment ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Standard Duties Test ,
Trump Administration ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
With a checkered reputation in Silicon Valley, the Department of Labor (DOL) holds “listening sessions” stating “OFCCP Wants to Help.”
DOL’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has made several...more
DOL Opinion Letter confirms that volunteer status not jeopardized by nonprofit payment of expenses.
Department of Labor Opinion Letter endorses non-employee classification of member volunteers at nonprofit, without...more
9/19/2018
/ 501(c)(6) ,
Charitable Organizations ,
Classification ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Definition ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Nonprofits ,
Opinion Letter ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Religious Institutions ,
Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) ,
Volunteers ,
Wage and Hour
Sweeping new legislation in New York aims to prevent and shine light on sexual harassment.
New York State employers will soon be prohibited from mandating arbitration of sexual harassment claims. They must also obtain...more
5/22/2018
/ #MeToo ,
Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Commission on Human Rights ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Harassment ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
New Hires ,
New Legislation ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State Labor Laws
The U.S. Department of Labor has endorsed a seven-factor test for determining whether an intern is considered an employee under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has announced it has...more
Having shaken the prospect of a merger with EEOC, and facing a smaller budget, the OFCCP offers a glimpse into its priorities and invites contractors to suggest changes. -
Takeaways -
Compliance letters have been...more
9/28/2017
/ Affirmative Action ,
Audit Policies ,
Chamber of Commerce ,
Construction Contracts ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
EEO-1 ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Non-Discrimination Rules ,
OFCCP ,
OMB ,
Public Comment ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Town Hall Meetings ,
Trump Administration ,
Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA) ,
Voluntary Compliance
On October 24th, 2016, United States District Judge Marcia A. Crone issued a preliminary injunction that suspends the implementation of certain portions of President Obama’s Executive Order 13673, called the Fair Pay and Safe...more
10/27/2016
/ Arbitrary and Capricious ,
Blacklist ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Executive Orders ,
Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Final Rules ,
First Amendment ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Pay Transparency ,
Pre-Dispute Arbitration ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Title VII ,
Wage and Hour
On September 30, 2016, the Department of Labor (DOL) published the Final Rule implementing President Obama’s 2015 Executive Order 13706, “Establishing Paid Sick Leave for Federal Contractors” (EO 13706) requiring federal...more
10/7/2016
/ Barack Obama ,
Davis-Bacon Act ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Executive Orders ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Paid Leave ,
Service Contract Act ,
Sick Leave ,
Wage and Hour
On August 25, 2016, the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council issued final rules and the Department of Labor (DOL) published final guidance implementing President Obama’s 2014 “Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces” Executive Order...more
8/31/2016
/ Administrative Merits Determinations ,
Amended Regulation ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Executive Orders ,
Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Final Guidance ,
Final Rules ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Subcontractors
On May 18, 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued its much-anticipated Final Rule amending the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) regulations implementing the exemption from minimum wage and overtime pay for executive,...more
Employers in the hospitality industry have been increasingly assessing and updating their tipping practices over the past several years, with some even eliminating tipping all together, affecting both their bottom lines and...more
Two recent developments have added to the list of the Obama Administration’s compensation-related initiatives. On Labor Day, September 7, 2015, President Obama issued an Executive Order that will require federal contractors...more
On July 15, 2015, the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued Administrator’s Interpretation No. 2015-1, adopting a very expansive interpretation of the definition of employees under the Fair Labor...more