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Betty S.W. Graumlich

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The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to review a case on appeal from the Fourth Circuit involving the burden of proof required for an employer to show that an employee’s job position is exempt from overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The high court’s decision will have a notable impact on the ability of employers to defend misclassification claims brought under the FLSA.

While the Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Ninth, Tenth, and Eleventh Circuits have applied the “preponderance of the evidence” standard, the Fourth Circuit has repeatedly applied the notably higher “clear and convincing” standard, including most recently in Carrera v. EMD Sales, 75 F.4th 345 (4th Cir. Jul. 27, 2023). The Court agreed to review the Fourth Circuit’s decision in Carrera to resolve this split among the federal circuits on the appropriate burden of proof for FLSA exemptions.Continue Reading U.S. Supreme Court agrees to resolve the split between the Circuits on the burden of proof for FLSA exemptions

On April 23, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced a final regulatory rule that will raise the minimum salary threshold for employees who are classified as “exempt” under the white-collar exemptions to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) in two steps: first in July 1, 2024, and then again in January 1, 2025. The new rule also creates a mechanism for subsequent automatic increases every three years thereafter based on then-current economic data, with the next increase slated for July 1, 2027. 

This new rule comes after the DOL proposed these changes last year in August 2023. Under the FLSA and DOL regulations, for an employee to be properly classified as “exempt” from overtime, the employee must be paid at least the minimum salary threshold and the employee’s job position must also meet certain tests regarding their job duties (namely exemptions for job duties performed by executive, administrative, professional, outside sales and computer employees, commonly referred to as the “white collar” exemptions).Continue Reading U.S. Department of Labor mandates two salary threshold increases for white collar FLSA exemptions and a mechanism for future automatic increases

On March 14, 2024, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin (R) vetoed identical bills passed by the Virginia legislature barring employers from asking about a job applicant’s salary history and requiring pay information to be included in job listings.

Senate Bill 370 and House Bill 990, introduced by Senator Jennifer Boysko (D) and Delegate Michelle Maldonado (D), respectively, add a new “salary history ban” statute to the Chapter of the Virginia Code that provides protections for employees. The legislation passed along party lines, with support from Democratic majorities in both the House and the Senate.

The proposed legislation prohibits prospective employers from (i) asking job applicants for their wage or salary history; (ii) relying on that history in determining the applicant’s starting wage or salary; (iii) considering wage or salary history when making a hiring determination; and (iv) refusing to interview, hire, employ, promote, or otherwise retaliate against an applicant for not providing wage or salary history. It also requires prospective employers to disclose the wage, salary, or wage or salary range for public and internal job postings. The legislation also creates a cause of action for aggrieved applicants and employees and provides for statutory damages between $1,000 and $10,000 or actual damages, whichever is greater, reasonable attorney’s fees and costs, and other appropriate relief.Continue Reading Virginia governor vetoes “salary history ban” statute legislation

Following a number of other states, the District of Columbia Council passed The Wage Transparency Omnibus Amendment Act of 2023 (the 2023 Act), which was approved by Mayor Muriel Bowser on January 12, 2024, and is pending Congressional review. The 2023 Act amends the D.C. Wage and Transparency Act of 2014 (the 2014 Act) to compel openness in compensation by requiring employers to publish wage bands for advertised positions, prohibiting wage screening of applicants, and requiring disclosure of the existence of healthcare benefits prior to interviews.Continue Reading Show them the money: D.C. law to require employers to disclose compensation to job candidates

On October 26, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board issued a final rule to replace and essentially reverse the joint employer test issued under the Trump Administration. The new test drastically lowers the standard for companies to qualify as joint employers, making them responsible for labor violations and saddling them with obligations with respect to union negotiations. The final rule, which rescinds and replaces the prior regulation, is set to take effect on December 26, 2023, on a prospective basis only.

The 2020 rule required that a company have “substantial direct and immediate control” over the “essential terms or conditions” of a worker’s employment in order to be held liable as a joint employer. In a major “about face”, the new rule provides that even reserved, unexercised, or indirect control, such as through an intermediary, over one or more terms or conditions of employment is sufficient to establish joint employment. The Board published an “exhaustive list” of seven categories of terms or conditions that it will consider “essential” for purposes of the joint employer inquiry:

  • Wages, benefits, and other compensation;
  • Hours of work and scheduling;
  • Assignment of duties to be performed;
  • Supervision of the performed duties;
  • Work rules and directions governing the manner, means, and methods of the performance of duties and the grounds for discipline;
  • Tenure of the employment, including hiring and discharge; and
  • Working conditions related to the safety and health of employees.

Continue Reading NLRB Issues Final Rule Replacing Joint Employer Test

On August 30, 2023, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) proposed a regulatory rule that would raise the minimum salary threshold for employees who are classified as “exempt” under the white collar exemptions to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) by nearly 55 percent. The proposed rule would also create a new mechanism for subsequent…

Beginning August 1, 2023, the U.S Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) have now established a new procedure to allow employers who participate in E-Verify and are in good standing, to conduct remote inspection of an employee’s documents when completing Form I-9. USCIS has also released an updated version of…

In an opinion letter published this week, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (“DOL”) clarified how employers should calculate an employee’s Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) leave entitlement when the leave is taken during a week that includes a holiday.

The FMLA regulations are clear that when an employee takes a…

The General Counsel for the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) issued a landmark memorandum yesterday broadly opining that most non-compete agreements violate Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”) and directing the NLRB’s various regions to make challenging overbroad non-compete agreements an enforcement priority. After the NLRB’s sweeping decision this February in McLaren …

As the 2023 Virginia legislative session comes to a close, Governor Glenn Youngkin signed into law two new pieces of legislation that will expand the Commonwealth’s existing restriction on employee confidentiality agreements and restrict how employers may use employee social security numbers. Both new laws go into effect July 1, 2023.

Expanded prohibition on confidentiality…