Quick Takeaways From the 2024 Proposed Hospice Wage Index Rule
The issue of whether expense reimbursements should be included as “wages” when computing the regular rate for overtime has been around for many years. Sometimes, an employer will seek to “disguise” wages as expenses in order...more
While the focus of the Department of Labor ebbs and flows based on the administration, the DOL remains committed to enforcing the Fair Labor Standards Act. Now that we know that Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh is in place, we...more
As a general rule, employee expense reimbursements are not includible in the regular rate for purposes of overtime computation. When the reimbursements, however, are unreasonable or out of whack (i.e. too high) as regards...more
It’s common knowledge that an employee’s overtime rate is “time and a half” the regular rate of pay. But that truism begs the question: what exactly is the regular rate of pay? Earlier this week, the Ninth Circuit analyzed...more
Over the past few years, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has investigated the misuse of per diem payments as a substitute for compensation in a number of industries. At a recent event for employment lawyers in Pittsburgh,...more
Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, overtime pay is calculated based on the employee’s “regular rate.” The regular rate includes not just base compensation, but bonuses, incentive pay, commissions and other forms of cash and...more
Last year, the DOL announced an eye-popping $2 million Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) settlement with Hutco, Inc, a labor services firm, for Hutco’s miscalculation of “per diem” payments to temporary workers and contractors....more
A recent U.S. Labor Department press release highlights a growing area of scrutiny under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act: Paying "per diem" amounts to non-exempt employees....more