In Walters v. Professional Labor Group, LLC, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit will decide whether employee travel time to and from remote jobsites that requires an overnight stay is compensable....more
We are pleased to present our annual End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” Lists. This year, we present our “To Do” Lists in four separate Employee Benefits Updates. This Part 1 covers year-end health and welfare plan issues....more
As COVID-19 restrictions have continued to loosen or be lifted altogether, employees have gradually resumed working in the office—and traveling away from it for work-related reasons. When it comes to travel time in the...more
It is estimated that as many as 75% of Arizona contractors are not paying their employees overtime properly. If the U.S. Department of Labor ("DOL") conducts an audit, the results can be devastating to an employer. The...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
According to U.S. Department of Labor regulations issued under the Fair Labor Standards Act, if a non-exempt employee reports to work in the morning and then travels during the working day to another worksite, that travel...more
On the last day of 2020, the US Department of Labor (DOL) issued an opinion letter impacting employers using telework arrangements in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. While a vaccine is now rolling out and we will hopefully...more
DOL Issues Guidance Regarding Compensable Time for Time Spent Traveling - The Department of Labor closed probably one of the most challenging years in the labor and employment law world by issuing an opinion letter...more
On December 31, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) issued two opinion letters—one on home-to-office travel time and one on live-in caregivers. Such “lame duck” opinion letters—issued...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued two Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) opinion letters on December 31, 2020. One of those letters addresses travel time that occurs when employees schedule personal appointments during...more
On December 31, 2020, the Administrator of the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division issued an opinion letter addressing whether certain travel time that occurs on a partial telework day is compensable under the FLSA....more
I blogged the other day about a USDOL travel time Opinion Letter for the construction industry and foremen in that industry. The employer seeking the advice posed three scenarios and wanted answers about the foremen and the...more
In November, the DOL released a few opinion letters answering questions related to employee continuing education (reviewed in “Is Training Time Paid? DOL Reiterates Standard Position”) and ongoing questions involving employee...more
I have stated many times that I am pleased that the USDOL has taken again to issuing Opinion Letters which guide employers in complying with the Fair Labor Standards Act. I am particularly happy that the agency has issued an...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published an opinion letter, FLSA 2020-16, considering whether the travel time of foremen and laborers is compensable in three different scenarios. The DOL makes clear that, for some...more
On November 3, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (“WHD”) issued new opinion letters addressing the compensability of time spent by employees attending voluntary training programs and in work-related...more
What is considered compensable travel time pursuant to the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) is not always clear or intuitive to employers, even for those who usually have a good handle on wage and hour laws. This blog post...more
There may be instances where non-exempt employees are required to travel for business. This is a common practice in the fashion industry where regular trips to factories throughout the world are a regular part of the...more
When Traveling Employees Are Due Compensation (Or Not) - Welcome to Part 2 of our series on the Department of Labor’s three new opinion letters. Last week, we looked at the new opinion letter on FMLA intermittent breaks....more
It may not have been showering minimum wage, tip, and overtime developments in April, but there was a sprinkling at the federal, state, and local levels. ...more
In January 2018, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) returned to its practice of issuing opinion letters in response to specific employer inquiries, after an almost 10-year hiatus. Under the Obama administration, the DOL...more
The Labor Department, Wage & Hour Division, issued an Opinion Letter earlier this week answering questions about the compensability of travel time for hourly technicians under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The...more
For more than 70 years, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division provided employers and attorneys with a valuable resource for determining how to comply with the federal laws and regulations the agency enforces....more
On April 12, 2018, the United States Department of Labor issued three opinion letters that provide guidance on how employees without “normal working hours” should be compensated for travel time involving an overnight stay,...more
Returning to its long-standing practice of issuing opinion letters (which had ceased in 2010), and after reissuing 17 previously withdrawn opinion letters on January 5, 2018, the Department of Labor (DOL) yesterday issued...more