This week, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) proposed a new rule that would create a uniform approach to the way companies classify workers as independent contractors or employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The notion of classifying workers as independent contractors versus employees has continued to gain importance in recent years, given … Continue Reading
On May 20, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published a final rule explaining that bonuses and other incentive payments—paid in addition to an employee’s weekly salary—are compatible with the fluctuating workweek (FWW) method of calculating overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The final rule went into effect on August 7, 2020. … Continue Reading
Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a rule updating its interpretation of the “joint employer” doctrine under federal wage and hour law. Yesterday, however, a New York federal judge struck down a significant portion of the rule. Judge Gregory H. Woods’ 62-page decision delivers a significant blow to businesses that had … Continue Reading
The Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) Wage and Hour Division recently issued three new opinion letters addressing the Fair Labor Standards Act’s (FLSA’s) sales exemptions. Two letters address the outside sales exemption, and the third addresses the retail or service establishment exemption. FLSA2020-6: Do salespeople who travel to different locations to sell their employers’ products using … Continue Reading
The U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division (WHD) recently announced it will no longer automatically pursue pre-litigation liquidated damages from employers. WHD now takes the position that recovering pre-litigation liquidated damages should only occur in a limited number of cases and it will more selectively pursue such additional recoveries. WHD issued this new … Continue Reading
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) exempts certain highly-compensated employees (HCEs) from the requirement that they receive overtime pay for hours worked over 40 in a workweek. To be considered highly compensated, the employee must receive both (1) at least $684 per week paid on a salary or fee basis; and (2) at least $107,432 … Continue Reading
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) exempts employees with certain executive, administrative, or professional job duties from the requirement that they receive overtime pay for hours worked over 40 in a workweek. Determining whether one or more of these “white collar” exemptions apply to a particular employee requires a fact-intensive analysis of the employee’s job … Continue Reading
On January 12, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued its final rule updating and revising its interpretation of joint employer status under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The new rule simplifies the FLSA joint employer analysis with a four-factor test for determining whether workers are jointly employed by associated businesses or persons. … Continue Reading
On December 16, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published its first significant revision since 1968 to its interpretation of the calculation of the “regular rate” under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).[1] The regulations address whether certain fringe benefits must be included in calculating an employee’s regular rate for overtime purposes. With the … Continue Reading
Shortly after the U.S. Department of Labor’s new overtime rule was finalized, the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry (L&I) followed suit and finalized its own proposed overtime rule. Regulation 12-106 was set to exceed the new federal rule regarding the minimum salary to be paid to employees who are exempt from overtime. The new … Continue Reading
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals issued an opinion last week holding for the first time that a “day rate” in excess of $455 paid to a highly compensated employee meets the requirements of the “salary basis” test under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Specifically, in Faludi v. U.S. Shale Solutions, No. 17-20808, 2019 … Continue Reading
The National Labor Relations Board (the Board) issued a 3–1 decision in Cordúa Restaurants, Inc., 368 NLRB No. 43 (2019), on Wednesday that provides significant new guidance regarding the intersection of arbitration agreements and the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The Board’s decision expressly authorizes employers to implement arbitration agreements that include collective waivers in … Continue Reading
The Acting Administrator for the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (“WHD”) issued two new opinion letters on Friday, December 21, 2018. The first opines on whether a home health aide service’s compensation plan, which pays an average hourly rate that may vary from workweek to workweek, complies with the Fair Labor Standards … Continue Reading
This post was written by Cindy S. Minniti and Mark S. Goldstein. Today’s New York employment law landscape is increasingly dynamic, with a constant stream of newly issued legislation and judicial opinions. To keep our readers current on the latest developments, we will share regular summaries of recent developments affecting Empire State employers. Here’s what … Continue Reading
As previously reported, the Fifth Circuit recently enforced a private settlement of certain FLSA claims. More recently, however, Judge Christopher Conner of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania reached the opposite conclusion and agreed with the majority view of courts that unsupervised FLSA settlements are not enforceable.… Continue Reading
Recently, the Fifth Circuit created a crack in a thirty-year old doctrine, based on the Eleventh Circuit’s Lynn’s Food Stores, Inc. v. United States decision and followed by nearly all federal courts, that wage and hour claims brought by individuals under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) can be settled only with the signoff of … Continue Reading
On June 26 and 27, 2012, the Pennsylvania legislature passed an amendment to the Pennsylvania Minimum Wage Act to allow medical facilities to pay overtime to its employees for time worked over 8 hours per day or 80 hours in a 14-day period. The employer must provide advance notice to its employees before taking advantage of … Continue Reading
On June 18, 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court resolved a split among the U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals, holding that pharmaceutical sales representatives are exempt outside sales employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). Thus, such employees are not entitled to overtime protection.… Continue Reading
The United States Supreme Court has held that under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), the federal law that requires proper payment of wages and overtime pay, an employer cannot retaliate against an employee who complains about a possible violation of that law, even where the complaint is oral rather than in writing. Kasten v. … Continue Reading
This post was also written by Daniel J. Moore. A little-noticed provision of the 2010 health care reform legislation requires employers to provide nursing mothers with “reasonable break time” to express breast milk for one year after a child’s birth. Section 4207 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (P.L. 111-148), 29 U.S.C. § 207(r)(1) … Continue Reading
