There are many exemptions under the Fair Labor Standards Act and an interesting one, one that does not get a lot of attention or “play” is the domestic worker exemption. This exemption applies to someone who works for...more
Someone who works in the home of their employer as a nanny or in another domestic service role is exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) wage requirements, right? Not according to Blanco v. Samuel, a recent 11th...more
Over these last years, there have been a number of lawsuits by domestic employees against their employers and I have defended some of those. They present a unique kind of case as these domestic servants are usually on very...more
In a case with far reaching implications, Cowell v. Utopia Home Care, Inc., 2:14-cv-00736-LDW-SIL, Magistrate Judge Steven Locke of the Eastern District of New York (covering Brooklyn, Queens and Long island) ruled that...more
Claims by home care workers for unpaid overtime have risen steadily since the U.S. Department of Labor, in 2015, eliminated the federal overtime exemptions that allowed agency employers essentially to pay no overtime wage...more
As 2014 wound to a close, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia issued a significant decision impacting third-party agencies that provide in-home care to the elderly and ailing. On December 22, 2014,...more
In an order dated October 20, 2015, pursuant to the D.C. Circuit’s mandate issued on October 13, 2015, U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon entered summary judgment in favor of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) in Home...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), due to pending litigation, had not begun to enforce the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) final rule on protections relating to most home care workers, which rules had an effective date of...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit recently reinstated regulations from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), extending federal minimum wage and overtime requirements to home health workers employed by third-party...more
The U.S. Labor Department has now announced that, beginning on November 12, it will start enforcing its revised regulations governing the Fair Labor Standard Act's Section 13(a)(15) "companionship" exemption and Section...more
On December 22, 2014, in Home Care Association of America v. Weil, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia vacated a key portion of a U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) regulation amending the minimum wage and...more
A U.S. Department of Labor final regulation prohibiting third-party home care agencies and other third-party employers from taking advantage of the Companionship and Live-In Domestic Worker minimum wage and overtime...more
Agencies and other third-party employers of live-in household employees and home companionship providers, take note: the long-delayed regulations reclassifying many of these workers as non-exempt employees entitled to minimum...more
Last week, a Manhattan Supreme Court Justice denied a motion to dismiss a class action lawsuit against Chinese–American Planning Council Home Attendant Program, Inc., brought for unpaid wages, overtime, and failing to pay...more
As we recently reported, the U.S. Department of Labor's changes in its regulations governing the Fair Labor Standard Act's Section 13(a)(15) "companionship" exemption and Section 13(b)(21) overtime exemption for "live-in...more
Earlier this year, we brought news that the DOL had revised its regulations applicable to home health care workers. Those regulations, which related to domestic workers who provide “companionship services,” narrowed...more
The latest twist in the ongoing saga involving the U.S. Department of Labor's changes in its regulatory provisions affecting the Fair Labor Standard Act's Section 13(a)(15) "companionship" exemption and the FLSA's Section...more
As we reported earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Labor has been fighting nearly 14 months of legal challenges in connection with its attempt to modify the FLSA’s companionship exemption. On Friday, the U.S. Circuit...more
The D.C. Court of Appeals ruled today that the US Department of Labor's ("DOL") Final Rule on the Application of the Fair Labor Standards Act to Domestic Service (the "Final Rule") is valid, because it is "grounded in a...more
We have reported that the U.S. Labor Department's changes in its regulatory provisions affecting the federal Fair Labor Standard Act's Section 13(a)(15) "companionship" exemption and the FLSA's Section 13(b)(21) overtime...more
Individuals and families who for years have directly employed domestic workers to care for elderly or ill family members will see their labor costs increase dramatically beginning January 1, 2015. Under the U.S. DOL's Final...more
Many groups that have lobbied for change as it relates to home care aides seem to have received some victory. Specifically, the Labor Department announced a Final Rule on September 17, 2013 that extends overtime and wage...more
As a working mom, I am lucky to have a husband who is a stay-at-home parent. Rarely do I have to worry about being late to work because I have to drop my child off at school, or leaving work early to take my child to an...more