The U.S. Supreme Court recently held that a rig oil worker paid at a daily rate that amounted to $200,000 annually was entitled to overtime pay because he was not paid on a “salary basis” as required by the Fair Labor...more
The Year Ahead in Caffeinated Organizing- With a White House and National Labor Relations Board that are more pro-labor than most recent past administrations, a “labor renaissance” will be the overarching theme of 2023....more
On February 22, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Helix Energy Solutions v. Hewitt that highly compensated employees paid on a daily rate basis, rather than on a salary basis, are not exempt from the Fair Labor Standards...more
In 2022, federal and state laws regulating wages and hours of work continued to change and develop. In “2022 Wage and Hour Developments: A Year in Review,” we look back on significant wage and hour developments at the federal...more
This is a day I have been waiting for. The Supreme Court has decided to take on a case in which it will decide whether someone earning more than $200,000 per year, albeit paid on a day rate, can nonetheless meet the FLSA test...more
On May 2, 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States (“SCOTUS”) granted an employer’s petition for review to determine whether highly compensated employees are entitled to overtime compensation under the Fair Labor...more
On May 2, 2022, the United States Supreme Court granted certiorari in Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. v. Hewitt, a case that deals with the Section 13(a)(1) and 29 C.F.R. § 541.601 highly compensated employee exemption...more
In April 2020, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that paying an employee a set amount for each day that he works (i.e., on a “day rate” basis) does not satisfy the “salary basis”...more
The fundamental premise of being an exempt employee is that the worker is paid by a “salary” as that term is defined in the FLSA regulations. Even paying someone an exorbitant amount of money, if it is not (at least in part)...more
Are you paying employees using a day rate under the FLSA? If so, you may want to read the Fifth Circuit’s recent ruling in the latest string of Helix Energy cases. According to the Fifth Circuit, companies who do business in...more
The issue of the proper application of the highly compensated employee exemption under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), as it applies to employees paid on a “day-rate” basis in the oil and gas industry, has been a hotly...more
Wage and hour law is full of traps for the unwary. Even compensation practices that are well-accepted across an entire industry can sometimes create huge headaches for employers in the face of a legal challenge....more
In a decision that will impact pay practices in the oil and gas and many other industries in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and beyond, the en banc U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed on Sept. 9, 2021, that...more
Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, what is required for an employee to be exempt from overtime pay? Ordinarily, it’s a guaranteed minimum salary. As the Department of Labor has explained, being paid on a “salary basis” means...more
In a significant and favorable ruling for employers, especially in the oil and gas industry, a federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado recently ruled that the plaintiff in Scott v. Antero...more
The U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado decided that a sufficiently high day rate, although not a “salary” per se, was sufficient to satisfy the “salary basis” requirement for the FLSA’s white collar exemptions....more
In April 2020, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that paying an employee a set amount for each day he works (i.e. on a “day rate” basis) does not satisfy the “salary basis” component...more
The construction industry has had a long history of wage violations, whether of prevailing wage laws or just “ordinary” wage hour laws. Another example of this trend has emerged in New Jersey where an entity (and its...more
In a significant and adverse ruling for employers, especially in the oil and gas industry, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on April 20, 2020, held that a "day rate" does not satisfy the salary basis test for...more
In many states, the practice of paying nonexempt employees a “day rate,” “shift rate” or “job rate,” is gaining in popularity. A day rate occurs when a set amount of pay is guaranteed for a shift without regard to the hours...more
The United States Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, administers the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). That authority includes the power to investigate employers, their customers and payroll practices. ...more
A wave of FLSA collective (class) actions have been filed against scores of marine shipping and towing companies in the Gulf States for violation of the FLSA. Specifically, these suits claim that the commonly used “day-rate”...more
Our Quick Quiz Answer discussing day-rate plans led one reader to observe that the federal Fair Labor Standards Act does not always bar employers from paying non-exempt employees a fixed sum that "builds in" some FLSA...more
The Big Corporation decides that it will start paying its Field Service Technicians on a day-rate basis, instead of on an hourly basis. Under the day-rate plan, a Technician will now receive a fixed amount of money for each...more