Wage and hour compliance often presents complex challenges for employers, with unclear regulations and changing enforcement priorities. Addressing these issues proactively and resolving potential disputes are vital for...more
This week, we take a closer look at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit’s decision to strike down the Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) tip credit rule but to uphold the agency’s authority to set a minimum salary...more
On August 23, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued its much-anticipated decision in Restaurant Law Center v. United States Department of Labor. In one of the very first federal appellate court...more
On December 27, 2023, and just in time for the 2024 ball to drop, the New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) finalized the salary thresholds for exempt employees that were proposed as a part of Minimum Wage Order Updates...more
1/3/2024
/ Employer Liability Issues ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Labor Reform ,
Minimum Salary ,
Minimum Wage ,
New York ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Salaried Employees ,
State Labor Departments ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
This week, we’re getting up close and personal with the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and the contentious new rules that it is rushing to put into effect:
The DOL is racing ahead with its agenda, with several rules that...more
On August 30, 2023, in one of the U.S. Department of Labor’s most highly anticipated rulemakings of the year, the Wage and Hour Division announced the details of its forthcoming Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding the...more
8/31/2023
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Highly Compensated Employees ,
Labor Reform ,
Minimum Salary ,
Non-Exempt Employees ,
Over-Time ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
A little over two years ago, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit became the first federal appellate court in the country to reject the widespread and longstanding two-step approach of first “conditionally”...more
Neither fish nor fowl
Salaried with overtime
Brings pain and regret
We don’t see a lot of wage and hour poetry these days, but if we did, it would probably look a bit like the foregoing example from an anonymous...more
Before ringing in the New Year, employers should carefully evaluate whether they need to adjust their current practices to ensure that they remain compliant with state and local laws, including those relating to minimum wage...more
More than three years after its landmark decision in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis, the United States Supreme Court has granted certiorari in Viking River Cruises, Inc. v. Moriana to determine whether Epic Systems extends to...more
On June 21, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced a new proposed rule related to when an employer may take a tip credit and pay a lower minimum wage to tipped employees performing so-called tipped and non-tipped...more
For more than 80 years, federal law has provided a general right to premium pay for working overtime hours, originally just for covered employees, then later for employees of covered enterprises. The laws of more than 30...more
I had planned to focus this month’s installment of “Time Is Money” on the practice of rounding timeclock entries, addressing the history behind the practice as well as factors that make rounding today a riskier proposition...more
This week on our special podcast series, Employers and the New Administration, we look at how the Biden administration’s approach to wage and hour issues will impact employers. Special podcast episodes air every other...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
On January 6, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor released its much-anticipated Final Rule addressing independent contractor status under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The Department indicates that the rulemaking should...more
During the Covid-19 pandemic, companies should focus in the first instance on health and safety issues for workers, customers, and the public at large during a pandemic, but they cannot lose sight of the wage and hour risks...more
For the second time this week, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (“WHD”) has issued a Final Rule involving the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (the “FLSA”). ...more
From the time of its original enactment in 1938, the Fair Labor Standards Act has contained an exemption for certain employees of a “retail or service establishment.” ...more
On Thursday, January 16, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (“WHD”) published in the Federal Register the much-anticipated Final Rule regarding joint employer status under the Fair Labor Standards...more
1/22/2020
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Final Rules ,
Franchises ,
Franchisors ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Joint Employers ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
NPRM ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Wage and Hour
As winter once again approaches, employers, particularly those in cold-weather states, face the recurring specter of inclement weather affecting business operations and employee attendance. While the weather may create...more
12/17/2019
/ Absenteeism ,
Attendance ,
Business Interruption ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Labor Regulations ,
Non-Exempt Employees ,
Opinion Letter ,
Salaried Employees ,
Severe Weather ,
Wage and Hour ,
Weather Policy
On December 16, 2019, the United States Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (“WHD”) published in the Federal Register a Final Rule updating the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) regulations that govern, among other...more
12/17/2019
/ Compensation & Benefits ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Final Rules ,
Labor Regulations ,
Non-Exempt Employees ,
Over-Time ,
Rate of Pay ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Rulemaking Process ,
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
For the past four-plus years, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) has actively pursued revisions to the compensation requirements for the executive, administrative, and professional exemptions to the Fair Labor Standards...more
9/30/2019
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Final Rules ,
Highly Compensated Employees ,
Labor Regulations ,
Minimum Salary ,
Non-Exempt Employees ,
Over-Time ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
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