There’s been a lot of buzz about tipped wages as Election Day approaches – and hospitality employers will want to track key proposals that may have a huge impact on pay practices. Former President Trump and Vice President...more
9/3/2024
/ Ballot Measures ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Income Taxes ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Minimum Wage ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Service Charges ,
State Labor Laws ,
Tax Credits ,
Tip Credit ,
Tip-Pooling ,
Tipped Employees ,
Tips ,
Wage and Hour
A federal appeals court just delivered some good news to hospitality employers by blocking the Department of Labor’s infamous 80/20/30 rule, providing immediate relief to employers around the country by vacating the...more
8/26/2024
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Appeals ,
Arbitrary and Capricious ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Final Rules ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Minimum Wage ,
Tip Credit ,
Tipped Employees ,
Tips ,
Wage & Hour Division (WHD) ,
Wage and Hour
As the AI revolution takes hold, employers are hiring for jobs we never imagined just a few years ago. This may leave you in the dark when trying to figure out if your new hires, including Prompt Engineers, will truly meet...more
8/19/2024
/ Administrative Exemption ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Highly Compensated Employees ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Descriptions ,
Job Duties ,
Machine Learning ,
Misclassification ,
Over-Time ,
Wage and Hour
The Supreme Court’s recent landmark ruling that gives employers a powerful tool to fight back against regulatory overreach will have a broad impact on just about every area of workplace law – and every industry. We’re looking...more
7/18/2024
/ Agricultural Sector ,
Agricultural Workers ,
Chevron Deference ,
Government Agencies ,
H-2A ,
Loper Bright Enterprises v Raimondo ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
SCOTUS ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
Many restaurants utilize tip pools to encourage teamwork, consistency, and customer-focused service – but you may be confused about who can and can’t participate in the pool. You feel confident that your servers and...more
5/17/2024
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Minimum Wage ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Tip Credit ,
Tip-Pooling ,
Tipped Employees ,
Tips ,
Wage and Hour
Hotel staff often include a mix of tipped and non-tipped jobs, but following wage and hour rules isn’t always easy, particularly if employees perform a variety of tasks. Some workers — such as servers and bartenders — may...more
9/13/2023
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
Minimum Wage ,
Tip Credit ,
Tip-Pooling ,
Tipped Employees ,
Tips ,
Wage & Hour Division (WHD) ,
Wage and Hour
Employers may need to adjust their pay practices now that the Labor Department has issued its long-anticipated proposal to raise the salary threshold for exempt employees – a change that could make more of your employees...more
A federal court just refused to block the U.S. Department of Labor’s infamous 80/20 rule, which applies to employers that take the tip credit toward their minimum wage obligation under federal wage and hour law – which means...more
Do you utilize a tip pool in your restaurant? If so, you are likely aware of the various rules on maintaining a valid, lawful tip pool under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and applicable state laws. You surely...more
More than a year after the US Department of Labor announced the return of the time-keeping nightmare that is the 80/20 rule with new tweaks that encourage even more litigation, the agency just released new guidance that...more
High-earning workers making more than $200,000 a year might be eligible for overtime pay thanks to a new Supreme Court ruling yesterday morning. The decision is a wake-up call for all employers to review their OT exemptions...more
Employers in the hospitality industry have been through it all in recent years – from the devastation of the pandemic to ongoing labor shortages to an impending recession. These challenges and dramatic changes have surely...more
1/19/2023
/ Bonuses ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Managers ,
Over-Time ,
Rate of Pay ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Salaried Employees ,
Service Charges ,
Supervisors ,
Tip Credit ,
Tip-Pooling ,
Tipped Employees ,
Tips ,
Unpaid Overtime ,
Wage and Hour
Imagine this scenario: You pay an employee a substantial daily rate — which works out to more than $200,000 a year. Still, the employee claims they’re entitled to overtime pay because they were paid a daily — rather than...more
Employers may be shocked to learn that a supervisor who earns $200,000 a year could be entitled to overtime pay, but the Supreme Court might very well decide you could be on the hook for such payments in the near future....more
Laying any doubt to rest that employers would miss out on the chance to enjoy a business-friendly interpretation of the standard to determine joint employment status, a federal appeals court on Friday put the final nail in...more
Standing in line waiting to have your temperature taken – at some point over the last year, most of us have had this experience. At youth sports games, at the gym, at daycare, and of course, at your place of employment. A...more
Striking another blow against the Trump-era joint employer rule that briefly created a new and more business-friendly standard to wage and hour compliance, the Department of Labor today proposed rescinding the rule...more
It’s hard to keep up with all the recent changes to labor and employment law. While the law always seems to evolve at a rapid pace, there have been an unprecedented number of changes for the past few years—and this past month...more
9/10/2020
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Independent Contractors ,
Medical Leave ,
Misclassification ,
NLRB ,
Paid Leave ,
Payroll Taxes ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Remote Working ,
Telecommuting ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wrongful Death
In a move sure to frustrate employers and usher in a wave of confusion, a New York federal court judge just struck down critical portions of the Labor Department’s new joint employer rule that went into effect a few months...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) just released a Wage and Hour Opinion Letter yesterday addressing the fluctuating workweek, reiterating its position that an employee’s work hours do not need to fluctuate above and below...more
The U.S. Department of Labor’s final regulations addressing the FLSA’s fluctuating workweek (FWW) method reminded us that (1) legal principles control and (2) illustrative examples merely demonstrate application. The agency...more
The U.S Department of Labor’s final regulations addressing the Fluctuating Workweek (FWW) method of payment finally, explicitly confirm that you can pay an employee via the FWW method and still pay a bonus, commission, etc....more
The U.S. Department of Labor just finalized its rule that attempts to limit the scope of joint employment liability for wage and hour matters. Although much remains to be seen, this rule may usher in a new era, and could lead...more
1/14/2020
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Final Rules ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Joint Employers ,
Labor Regulations ,
Minimum Wage ,
New Rules ,
Wage and Hour ,
Work Schedules
For the last several months, we have all been eagerly awaiting USDOL’s final “Overtime Rule” – to hopefully finally put to bed the confusion that has filled the air for nearly three years. As of Tuesday, the suspense is over...more
9/26/2019
/ Bonuses ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Final Rules ,
Highly Compensated Employees ,
Incentive Compensation ,
Minimum Salary ,
Non-Exempt Employees ,
Over-Time ,
Salaried Employees ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
The Labor Department is busy.
Yes, that is a stand-alone paragraph. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for the “Overtime Rule” was published on March 22, 2019, followed shortly thereafter by proposals regarding regular rate...more