Employers were granted a reprieve last fall when a federal court invalidated the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) final rule increasing the minimum salary requirements for the “white collar” or “EAP” exemptions (executive,...more
President Donald Trump has rescinded President Joe Biden’s executive order (EO) increasing the minimum wage for employees of federal contractors. The rescission was one of numerous Biden EOs revoked by Trump in a second wave...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has reversed a Texas federal court’s decision that invalidated President Joe Biden’s executive order increasing the hourly minimum wage for employees of federal contractors. The...more
2/11/2025
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Appeals ,
Biden Administration ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Executive Orders ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Minimum Wage ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Split of Authority ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
Employers do not have to meet a heightened standard of proof to establish that an employee is exempt from the minimum wage and overtime requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the U.S. Supreme Court held...more
1/16/2025
/ Appeals ,
Burden of Proof ,
EMD Sales Inc v Carrera ,
Employee Rights ,
Employment Litigation ,
Evidentiary Standards ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Minimum Wage ,
Over-Time ,
SCOTUS ,
Wage and Hour
The Supreme Court on Monday, Jan. 13, 2025, declined to take up a decision addressing the president’s authority under the Procurement Act to issue a minimum wage mandate for employees working on federal government contracts....more
1/15/2025
/ Biden Administration ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Denial of Certiorari ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employment Litigation ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Labor Regulations ,
Minimum Wage ,
SCOTUS ,
Wage and Hour
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published a final rule on Dec. 17, 2024, restoring the pre-2021 language of the “dual jobs” regulation for tipped employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). This is a technical...more
12/19/2024
/ Chevron Deference ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Final Rules ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Job Duties ,
Loper Bright Enterprises v Raimondo ,
Minimum Wage ,
Tip Credit ,
Tipped Employees ,
Wage and Hour
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has issued a proposed rule to end the practice of paying subminimum wages to certain workers with disabilities. The proposed rule, announced December 3, 2024, marks the first rulemaking...more
Federal contractors may need to be prepared to increase pay for employees working on, or in connection with, covered federal government contracts. The hourly minimum wage for employees performing work on federal contracts...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit vacated two district court decisions involving how pizza delivery drivers should be reimbursed for vehicle-related expenses under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Parker v....more
President Joe Biden exceeded his authority under the Procurement Act when he issued an executive order (EO 14026) raising the minimum wage rate for employees of federal contractors to $15 per hour, a federal court in Texas...more
10/18/2023
/ Administrative Authority ,
Administrative Procedure Act ,
Davis-Bacon Act ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Joe Biden ,
Louisiana ,
Minimum Wage ,
Procurement Guidelines ,
Texas
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
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
A forensic photographer who enrolled in a county training program was an intern and not an employee, a three-judge panel of the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals has held in a divided opinion. As a result, her minimum wage...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
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
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
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
The Department of Labor (DOL) has issued a new Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), again seeking to regulate the circumstances under which an employer may pay a tipped employee a direct wage below the minimum wage. The NPRM...more
Unsurprisingly, on May 5, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) withdrew its Independent Contractor Final Rule, published in the last days of the previous administration.
The Final Rule, which never took effect, would...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
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
Agreeing with the district court, the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has concluded that the mandatory service charges imposed by a restaurant on dining parties of six or more were not “tips” under the FLSA. However,...more
In recent years, one significant issue that has plagued industries employing tipped employees is whether the employers must ensure that tipped employees retain all of their tips even if the company is not using the employee’s...more
While Department of Labor regulations interpreting the FLSA remain the primary source of employer guidance regarding the Act’s requirements, they are not necessarily the final word on what federal wage law requires. This is...more