Back in January, we reported that the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) was reviving the agency’s practice of issuing opinion letters at the request of employers. The WHD stopped the practice of issuing opinion letters under the Obama administration back in 2010. After nearly a decade, the WHD finally issued new opinion … Continue reading this entry
Tags: Consumer Credit Protection Act, Department of Labor, DOL opinion letter, Family and Medical Leave Act, FMLA, Trump, Wage and Hour Division
What keeps employers up at night? The prospect of collective action overtime lawsuits under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is right at the top of the list of human resources nightmares. While overtime and other wage and hour lawsuits aren’t going away any time soon, on April 2, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court handed … Continue reading this entry
Tags: Fair Labor Standards Act, FLSA, Overtime, Pro-Employer, Wage and Hour
It is a dilemma that many employers have faced. You discover that your company violated federal law on minimum wage or overtime payments. You want to fix the problem, but you do not know how to do so without prompting employee demand letters, a Department of Labor audit or, perhaps worst, a class action lawsuit. … Continue reading this entry
Tags: Department of Labor, DOL, Litigation, Minimum Wage, PAID, Payroll Audit Independent Determination, Wage and Hour, Wage and Hour Division, WHD
There is no question that the use of robots, along with other similar technological changes in the workplace, will continue to eliminate or downgrade jobs. Indeed, it has been estimated that on average, each workplace robot eliminates six jobs. This article will examine (1) the impact such changes will have on women and (2) whether … Continue reading this entry
Tags: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Gender Discrimination, Gender Pay Gaps, Robots, Women in the Workplace
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is turning back the clock in a move that it believes will provide clarity for employers who seek to comply with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). On January 5, 2018, the DOL reinstated 17 opinion letters to employers that were published in January 2009, during the final month … Continue reading this entry
Tags: Department of Labor, DOL, Fair Labor Standards Act, FLSA, Wage and Hour, Wage and Hour Division
As we have reported in the past, utilizing temporary staffing agencies to fill gaps in labor needs can be an efficient and economically beneficial way for companies to meet business demands. This is particularly true in today’s “gig economy,” where short-term staffing needs are high but small or mid-size companies do not have the resources … Continue reading this entry
Tags: Gig Economy, Staffing Agencies, Temporary Employees
Halloween has passed and we are now squarely approaching the holiday season. While this time of year brings many good things, it can also bring unwanted headaches for employers wanting to spread some “holiday cheer,” especially those who forget how bonuses may affect payment of overtime. So, while we recently discussed bonuses in general, now … Continue reading this entry
Tags: employee gifts, Holiday Bonus, non-exempt, Overtime
Many employers offer compensation packages that include a mix of both base compensation (guaranteed wages or salary) and incentive compensation (at-risk variable compensation). While base pay tends to be relatively straightforward, incentive compensation presents unique challenges and planning opportunities.… Continue reading this entry
Tags: Benefits, compensation, Employee Bonus, Incentive Compensation
Bitcoin, the most popular form of digital or crypto-currency, is gaining traction as an investment vehicle and a way to pay for goods and services. More than 100,000 merchants worldwide now accept Bitcoin, allowing consumers to book a hotel stay, take a taxi, or buy a car. The buzz around crypto-currency continues to grow as … Continue reading this entry
Tags: Bitcoin, crypto-currency, FLSA, W-2, Wages
California’s Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) allows aggrieved employees to recover civil penalties on behalf of themselves, other employees, and the State of California for Labor Code violations. On July 13, 2017, the California Supreme Court issued its anticipated ruling on the scope of discovery in PAGA cases. In a blow to employers, the Court … Continue reading this entry
Tags: California Supreme Court, Contact Information, Discovery, PAGA, Private Attorneys General Act
On Wednesday, June 7th, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) withdrew two highly provocative interpretive guidance letters issued under President Obama’s administration. The two letters, issued by the Wage & Hour Division (WHD) Administrator, sought to limit instances of misclassification of workers, and expand the instances where a business might be considered a joint employer … Continue reading this entry
Tags: Department of Labor, independent contractor, Joint Employer, Obama, Trump
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 worked. The appeal is obvious. For the employee, a guaranteed day rate means the … Continue reading this entry
Tags: day rate, hourly pay, job rate, shift rate, wage
Rudyard Kipling famously noted, “East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet.” Many employers may feel that this quote aptly describes the relationship between immigration law and wage & hour law — certainly, it is not often that these two areas are discussed in the same article, let alone the … Continue reading this entry
Tags: immigration, Minimum Wage, U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services, Wage and Hour
Unfortunately, many employers from time to time face the need to restructure or downsize their workforce. While the business climate or customer needs are often the driving force in a restructuring or layoff, there are a number of other factors that employers must consider when planning for the actual implementation of such a change. As … Continue reading this entry
Tags: Age Discrimination in Employment Act, automotive, layoffs, Pennsylvania, restructuring
As if the start-again, stop-again saga with the U.S. Department of Labor’s rules increasing the minimum salary threshold for exempt workers wasn’t confusing enough, at least one state has jumped into the fray and changed its own overtime rules — New York. Effective December 31, 2016, the New York Department of Labor amended its minimum … Continue reading this entry
Tags: Department of Labor, DOL, Employment Law, New York, New York City, Overtime
A trio of recent court decisions staying implementation of the controversial persuader rule, most of the much-criticized Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces (“FPSW”) executive order, and the Department of Labor’s highly publicized overtime rule are a breath of fresh air for employers who have been struggling to keep up with the onslaught of new regulatory … Continue reading this entry
Tags: EEO-1, exempt status, Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces, Federal Contractors, FPSW, independent contractor
Yesterday, a federal judge in Texas issued a temporary nationwide injunction preventing the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) overtime rule from taking effect on December 1. We discussed both the lawsuit and the final rule previously, and also provided a Q&A about these changes.… Continue reading this entry
Tags: exempt employee, overtime rule injunction, salary threshold, White Collar Exemption
On October 20, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) jointly issued antitrust guidance for human resources professionals. The agencies also released a list of high-level red flags for the unwary. The DOJ and FTC’s guidance reminds HR professionals to avoid entering into agreements concerning wages, employee benefits, or terms of … Continue reading this entry
Tags: ancillary restraint, antitrust, naked wage-fixing, no-poachng agreements
The long and contentious presidential campaign is over. So, now what? What does President-elect Trump’s victory mean for employers? To explore this question, Foley and Lardner LLP’s Labor & Employment Practice group hosted a webinar titled “What Will Happen When the Smoke Clears? HR Strategies for 2017 and Beyond” on November 10, 2016. The team … Continue reading this entry
Tags: Affordable Care Act, executive orders, joint employer doctrine, OFCCP, OSHA, roght-to-work, statutory employees, Whistleblower
Long gone are the days where individuals required computer access in order to connect to the internet. Smartphones are everywhere, and the internet of things (IoT) means that common objects such as cars and phones can now easily connect to the internet to send and receive data. Unsurprisingly, it feels like most people have access … Continue reading this entry
Tags: Internet of Things, non-exempt, Privacy, waiting time
We have reported time and time again on the national trend of mandating paid sick leave for workers. As we noted last March, in a 2015 Executive Order, President Obama directed the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to issue regulations requiring federal contractors to provide paid sick leave to their employees. The DOL issued a final rule … Continue reading this entry
Tags: accrued sick time, contractor workers, government contract, mental illness, preventive care, sick leave
You may not even know the technical name for workers at the local car dealership who diagnose what is wrong with your vehicle and tell you how it can be repaired. They are called auto service advisors, and whether they are entitled to overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) has been the … Continue reading this entry
Tags: adminstrative rulemaking, deference, DOL opinion letter, exempt status, FLSA, overtime pay
With a December 1 deadline looming, millions of employers across the country are scrambling to implement new compensation and classification practices in response to the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) new overtime rule, announced in May. This past Tuesday, a duo of federal lawsuits was filed in Texas as a response to strong objections from … Continue reading this entry
Tags: Chamber of Commerce, EAP employees, FLSA, notice-and-comment, overtime exemptions, preliminary injunction, salary threshold, Texas, white collar workers
With the new, increased salary requirements set to take effect later this year for exempt employees, many employers are asking how they might reduce their overtime obligations. One possible approach is the fluctuating workweek method of compensation. However, prior to implementing such an approach, employers would be wise to seek guidance from counsel because the … Continue reading this entry
Tags: Department of Labor, Fluctuating Workweek, FWW
Posted in Wage and Hour
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Posted in Antitrust; Wage and Hour
Posted in New and Recent Legislation; Wage and Hour