Shannon D. Farmer

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On November 15, 2024, a federal judge blocked the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) attempt to raise the minimum salary level for the executive, administrative, and professional (EAP) exemptions from minimum wage and overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).  The ruling issued by the Honorable Sean D. Jordan of the U.S.… Continue Reading

Reversing decades of precedent, the National Labor Relations Board (“Board”) issued two recent decisions that will significantly restrict the right of employers to provide information to their employees about the impact of unionization.  Both cases were decided by a 3-1 majority of the Board’s Democratic members, in what appears to be an eleventh-hour push to change well-settled law in advance of the Trump administration taking the reins next year.… Continue Reading

On September 11, 2024, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued its opinion in Mayfield v. Department of Labor, upholding the authority of the Department of Labor (“DOL”) to establish a minimum salary level for the white-collar exemption for overtime eligibility.

The white-collar exemption excludes employees in bona fide executive, administrative, or professional roles from being subject to the overtime requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”).… Continue Reading

In its continuing repudiation of policies developed under the Trump Administration, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “Board”) has published its Fair Choice-Employee Voice Final Rule.

In April of 2020,  the Board published a final rule addressing various union representation issues: (1) union elections while unfair labor practice (“ULP”) charges are pending, (2) voluntary recognition procedures, and (3) Section 9(a) recognition in the construction industry.… Continue Reading

As we previously reported, the Department of Labor (DOL) published its final rule, “Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales, and Computer Employees,” on April 23, 2024, which raised the salary thresholds for “white-collar” and highly compensated employees, rendering millions of employees eligible for overtime.… Continue Reading

On July 11, 2024, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled in Johnson v. NCAA that certain college athletes may qualify as employees of their schools or the NCAA under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). Being classified as employees could entitle college athletes to minimum wages and overtime pay, among other rights under the FLSA.… Continue Reading

On April 29, 2024, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued final guidance on workplace harassment subject to federal employment discrimination laws.  Aptly titled, “Enforcement Guidance on Harassment in the Workplace” (915.064), this guidance addresses how harassment based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, or genetic information is defined under EEOC-enforced statutes and provides the analysis for determining whether employer liability is established. … Continue Reading

On April 23, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published its final rule, “Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales, and Computer Employees,” which raises the salary thresholds for “white-collar” and highly compensated employees, rendering millions of employees eligible for overtime. The final rule phases in the new thresholds beginning July 1, 2024.… Continue Reading

On April 1, 2024, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) published its final rule – known informally as the “walk around rule” – which makes two changes to its Representatives of Employers and Employees regulation (29 C.F.R. § 1903.8(c)) to significantly expand who an employee can bring in to join a workplace safety inspection.… Continue Reading

On August 25, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board issued its decision in Cemex Construction Materials Pacific LLC (N.L.R.B., Case 28-CA-230115) – upending over fifty years of established law and setting forth a new, union-friendly framework for determining when employers are required to recognize and bargain with unions without a representation election. … Continue Reading