President Trump just rescinded an executive order that mandated a higher minimum wage for workers on federal contracts. The Biden-era order initially set the wage to $15 an hour in 2022, and it was ultimately raised to $17.75...more
Now that President Donald Trump has returned to the oval office, federal contractors should be on the lookout for big changes that are likely to continue in the coming days and months. The president has already curtailed...more
The Supreme Court just handed businesses a win when it weighed in on how much evidence an employer needs to show a court to prove it correctly classified employees as exempt from minimum wage and overtime pay. As we correctly...more
1/16/2025
/ Clear and Convincing Evidence ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Evidence ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Minimum Wage ,
Misclassification ,
Over-Time ,
Preponderance of the Evidence ,
SCOTUS ,
Standard of Proof ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
As the year wraps up, we’re rounding up the new workplace laws that will take effect on January 1. With so many laws about to kick in, it can be hard to keep track of it all. Here’s a guide to some of the federal and state...more
What evidence does an employer need to show a court to prove it correctly classified employees as exempt from minimum wage and overtime pay? The Supreme Court recently heard oral arguments in a case raising this question and...more
11/22/2024
/ Clear and Convincing Evidence ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Minimum Wage ,
Misclassification ,
Non-Exempt Employees ,
Oral Argument ,
Over-Time ,
Preponderance of the Evidence ,
Standard of Proof ,
Wage and Hour
Certain federal construction contractors and subcontractors should take the time now to review new labor requirements impacting most large-scale federal construction projects. A final rule, which the Biden administration...more
12/29/2023
/ Biden Administration ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Construction Industry ,
Construction Project ,
Contract Negotiations ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Final Rules ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Project Labor Agreements ,
Subcontractors ,
Unions
Employers may need to adjust their pay practices now that the Labor Department has issued its long-anticipated proposal to raise the salary threshold for exempt employees – a change that could make more of your employees...more
The Department of Labor released new Davis-Bacon Act regulations on August 8 that significantly alter the methodology for setting prevailing wage rates for contractors and subcontractors working on federally funded...more
Welcome to FP Snapshot on Manufacturing Industry, where we take a quick snapshot look at the most significant workplace law developments over the past month with an emphasis on how they impact manufacturers. This edition is...more
High-earning workers making more than $200,000 a year might be eligible for overtime pay thanks to a new Supreme Court ruling yesterday morning. The decision is a wake-up call for all employers to review their OT exemptions...more
Imagine this scenario: You pay an employee a substantial daily rate — which works out to more than $200,000 a year. Still, the employee claims they’re entitled to overtime pay because they were paid a daily — rather than...more
Federal officials recently outlined prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements that projects need to adopt if they want to take advantage of the enhanced tax credits and deductions created by the Inflation Reduction Act...more
12/19/2022
/ Apprenticeships ,
Carbon Capture and Sequestration ,
Construction Project ,
Davis-Bacon Act ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Energy Efficiency ,
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) ,
IRS ,
Physical Work Test ,
Prevailing Wages ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Renewable Energy ,
Tax Credits ,
Tax Deductions ,
Wage and Hour
Any business that retains independent contractors as part of their workforce may have a harder time maintaining their business model under a proposed rule that the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) just released yesterday. The...more
10/12/2022
/ Comment Period ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Economic Realities Test ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment ,
Totality of Circumstances Test
The nation’s workplace safety and health watchdog agency recently announced that it will now cast a wider net to include even more workplaces in its enhanced inspection program known as the “Severe Violator Enforcement...more
Evidence is mounting that federal workplace safety officials are placing healthcare organizations under increasing scrutiny – and that means you need to develop a proactive plan to put yourself in the best position to...more
Employers may be shocked to learn that a supervisor who earns $200,000 a year could be entitled to overtime pay, but the Supreme Court might very well decide you could be on the hook for such payments in the near future....more
For years now, healthcare employers have been particularly attractive targets when it comes to wage and hour compliance actions. Not only is the industry one of the largest in the country, there are some issues unique to...more
4/15/2022
/ Back Wages ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Independent Contractors ,
Minimum Wage ,
Misclassification ,
On-Call Employees ,
Over-Time ,
Rate of Pay ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Traveling Employee ,
Unpaid Wages ,
Wage & Hour Division (WHD) ,
Wage and Hour
Federal wage and hour officials recently issued proposed rules that will make it easier for unions to have their hourly rates of pay established as the prevailing wage rates and will increase the Department of Labor’s...more
3/31/2022
/ Comment Period ,
Construction Industry ,
Davis-Bacon Act ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Enforcement Authority ,
Federal Contractors ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
Prevailing Wages ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Retaliation ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Subcontractors ,
Unions ,
Wage & Hour Division (WHD) ,
Wage and Hour
While some employees and retirees have been asking to have cryptocurrencies included in their 401(k) retirement plans, federal authorities recently issued a strong and direct warning that such a plan might run afoul of...more
When President Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act into law this past November, he not only committed a historic amount of funding for the nation’s infrastructure, he kickstarted a process that will...more
3/17/2022
/ Covered Employer ,
Davis-Bacon Act ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Federal Contractors ,
Fringe Benefits ,
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) ,
Liquidated Damages ,
Misclassification ,
Over-Time ,
Prevailing Wages ,
Prime Contractor ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Subcontractors ,
Wage and Hour
The new leadership of the Department of Labor has strongly signaled its intent to pursue employers for claims of retaliation – which means that employers need to beef up their compliance initiatives to avoid committing a...more