On March 28, 2024, in Sutton v. Jordan’s Furniture, Inc., the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) upheld a Massachusetts Superior Court decision finding the furniture retailer’s commission-based compensation scheme...more
If you answered no, then you’d better have the records needed to prove the number of overtime hours worked by your employees and the rates paid for them. If you don’t have the records, then borrowing a rhyme from the legal...more
Although the plaintiff cable technicians, who were paid by the completed job and not by the hour, were covered employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), they nonetheless were bona fide commissioned employees and...more
Reversing summary judgment in favor of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), the Eighth Circuit has held that jury questions exist as to whether the defendant employed drivers who provide non-emergency medical transport...more
Second of two on the FLSA. NOTE FROM ROBIN: In March, I began a series of very basic explanations of the federal laws that govern the workplace. The first installment covered discrimination in general, the second...more
Several years ago, the payment structure for numerous salon and spa employees was turned on its head, as these salons and spas faced liability for paying employees a commission when they were not involved in sales. ...more
Although the employer’s pay system for its auto repair technicians was complicated and at times redundant, it nevertheless constituted a bona fide commissions compensation method subject to exemption from the overtime pay...more
Two of the more complicated areas of California wage-and-hour law involve commission plans and overtime exemptions. Commission plans are complex animals – long gone are the days where Joey gets 5 cents for each widget he...more
Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, retail or service establishment employees can be exempt from overtime pay requirements if they are paid more than one and a half times the minimum wage and more than half of their...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
On Monday, May 19, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) withdrew the non-exhaustive lists of establishments that were potentially eligible for or excluded from the retail or service establishment exemption to overtime under...more
On May 18, 2020, the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a final rule eliminating a list of businesses prohibited from taking advantage of the commission sales exemption to the overtime...more
On May 19, 2020, the United States Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) implemented a final rule withdrawing partial lists of establishments that it previously interpreted as either having “no retail concept” or...more
On May 18, 2020, the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced a new final rule to govern the determination of whether an employer qualifies as a “retail or service” establishment for purposes of...more
Earlier this month, the Department of Labor (DOL) announced a proposed rulemaking that will make fluctuating workweek pay—FWW—more beneficial for employers and employees alike....more
The Department of Labor (“DOL”) has revised its Overtime Rule that updates the earnings thresholds necessary to exempt executive, administrative and professional employees from the Fair Labor Standards Act’s (“FLSA”) minimum...more
In 2015, the U.S. Department of Labor introduced a proposed rule which would, in part, double the salary threshold required under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) to maintain exempt status under the “white-collar”...more
On September 24, 2019, the United States Department of Labor (DOL) issued its final rule revising the overtime exemptions that cover employees designated as executive, administrative and professional – the so-called...more
On September 24, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced a final rule that, effective January 1, 2020, will increase the salary threshold, by approximately 50%, that so-called “white collar” employees must be paid...more
After years of uncertainty, on September 24, 2019, the Department of Labor released a Final Rule making changes to the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) overtime regulations. BACKGROUND - Since 2004, there had been no...more
The U.S. Department of Labor issued its final rule amending the overtime regulations today, without any significant changes from the proposed rule the agency issued in March 2019. Here’s the bottom line....more
Massachusetts law permits employers to pay inside salespeople on a commission only basis, provided that the employer guarantees at least the minimum wage for all regular hours worked. However, according to a recent decision...more
In a blow to employers, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) recently clarified the overtime and Sunday premium pay rights of non-exempt inside sales employees paid solely by commissions or advances on commissions,...more
Massachusetts law requires that non-exempt employees be paid at least 1.5 times their hourly rate for hours worked beyond the first 40 hours per week, and that certain employees be paid at least 1.5 times their hourly rate...more
On May 8, 2019, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) issued a unanimous opinion holding that salespeople who are paid solely on draws and commissions are entitled to separate and additional overtime and Sunday pay...more