In true 2020 style, this year’s general election was one for the history books. While the presidential race has been called in favor of President-Elect Joe Biden, the inevitable legal challenges are looming. Meanwhile,...more
11/12/2020
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Independent Contractors ,
Minimum Wage ,
NLRB ,
State and Local Government ,
Wage and Hour
Whether a worker is an employee covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) (and potentially entitled to overtime pay or benefits) or an independent contractor who is not covered has been the center of an ongoing legal...more
10/5/2020
/ Comment Period ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Regulations ,
Misclassification ,
Proposed Rules ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Wage and Hour
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, we have been talking about things to do to keep your employees safe and what laws apply in that arena. Recently, OSHA started handing out fines to companies for employee outbreaks...more
It’s September, which for most means the beginning of fall and the start of a new school year. This school year not only looks different than those in the past, but it has also added to the stress and uncertainty facing...more
As the country moves closer to fully opening businesses, the Department of Labor wants to remind all employers that their obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act are still in place for workers with disabilities....more
8/26/2020
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
High Risk Covid Employees ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Remote Working ,
Sick Employees ,
Social Distancing ,
Telecommuting ,
Workplace Safety
In a shocking example of good news these days, the Wage and Hour Division has revised its optional forms that employers can use on various FMLA issues. The new forms can be filled out electronically and have cut down on the...more
The U.S. Department of Labor issued a Field Assistance Bulletin on June 24, 2020, announcing that it will not routinely assess pre-litigation liquidated damages as part of the settlement process for claims under the Fair...more
For those of you craving a non-COVID-19 issue to chew upon, the Department of Labor opened the floodgates of debate by withdrawing the partial lists of establishments that could either be “recognized as retail” or “having no...more
In Part I of this post we covered some of the logistics you need to get started with the FFCRA paid leave provisions. Today we will continue our review of the Department of Labor’s FFCRA temporary regulations and discuss the...more
At the end of last week, the Department of Labor issued 125 pages of FFCRA guidance, including actual temporary regulations and 20 new Q&As (so we are now up to 79 — but who’s counting?). While a full summary of these...more
The DOL is clearly plugged in to the issues and questions employers are running into as everyone plans to give notice of and grant paid leave under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). The DOL’s first round of...more
The Department of Labor now has issued guidance, questions and answers, and a poster for those employers covered by the recently enacted Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA)...more
As more municipalities and states that are dealing with COVID-19 issue orders mandating the closing of non-essential businesses such as bars, restaurants and gyms, many hourly employees are looking at a long period of...more
A February 2020 jury verdict against county music star Martina McBride’s production company highlights – albeit indirectly – the perils of unpaid internship programs and the issues they can cause under the Fair Labor...more
2/27/2020
/ Compensatory Damages ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Internships ,
Jury Verdicts ,
Motion for Summary Judgment ,
Multi-Factor Test ,
Primary Beneficiary Test ,
Retaliation ,
Unpaid Interns ,
Wage and Hour ,
Whistleblowers
When the Department of Labor (DOL) withdraws one of its previous opinion letters and issues a new interpretation, should a court to change its ruling? No — not according to a federal judge in Arkansas....more
The Department of Labor recently issued a final rule about how to calculate an employee’s regular rate of pay for overtime purposes under the Fair Labor Standards Act. As everyone knows, under the FLSA you have to pay...more
1/13/2020
/ Compensation & Benefits ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Final Rules ,
Labor Regulations ,
New Rules ,
Over-Time ,
Rate of Pay ,
Wage and Hour
Here’s to hoping all our readers have a great New Year’s, but do not forget that the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division is changing the threshold amount of salary necessary to meet the numerous overtime exemptions....more
When do your business relationships make you a joint employer? Fortunately, the DOL recently published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking with changes to regulations regarding when two or more entities should be treated as...more
12/20/2019
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Franchisee ,
Franchisors ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Joint Employers ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
Proposed Rules ,
Subcontractors ,
Wage and Hour
Yesterday, the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division issued a final rule regarding the threshold amount of salary necessary to exempt an employer from the obligation to pay overtime. The threshold since 2004 was $455...more
9/25/2019
/ Bonuses ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Final Rules ,
Highly Compensated Employees ,
Incentive Compensation ,
Minimum Salary ,
Over-Time ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
If an employee asks for time off to attend a meeting at his or her child’s school, is that covered by FMLA? Maybe not but it depends on the nature of the meeting. If the child is disabled and the school meeting is for the...more
When is sleeping working? According to a recent DOL Opinion Letter, probably not when it occurs off duty in a sleeper berth of an over-the-road truck.
A trucker’s job is to haul a load from Point A to Point B, which often...more
Before everyone gets out of the office to their various homes and families to celebrate the holiday, we wanted to review the year and count our blessings. Not only are we thankful that our families and colleagues in our...more
11/22/2017
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Drug Testing ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Independent Contractors ,
Joint Employers ,
Marijuana ,
Medical Leave ,
NLRB ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Social Media Policy ,
Wage and Hour
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published an interim final rule on July 1, 2016, that increases the maximum penalties for citations by more than 75 percent. This is the first increase in OSHA...more
The wait is over and the new overtime regulations are finally here. Although it will take some time to digest the more than 500 pages of the Final Rule, based on the DOL’s fact sheet, here is what you need to know...more
For those of you wondering when the Department of Labor’s (DOL) new overtime salary basis thresholds will become effective, we are one step closer to an answer. This week the DOL submitted the rules to the Office of...more