An Essential Resource for Employers
The United States Department of Labor (DOL) Wage and Hour Division just launched a new initiative called “Essential Workers, Essential Protections” that provides workers with information about the wage and hour laws that apply to them, including instructions on how to contact the DOL with questions or complaints.
In conjunction with this new initiative, the DOL released a set of FAQs regarding pay, hours worked, and job-protected leave during the pandemic.… Continue Reading
In another policy change that is designed to benefit workers and penalize businesses that violate the law, the federal government announced that employers who violate the overtime or minimum wage provisions of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) may be liable for both the unpaid wages and an additional equal amount as liquidated damages. … Continue Reading
On Tuesday, the Department of Labor (DOL) announced that it had issued two Notices of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) concerning tipped workers’ compensation. If adopted, the NPRM would delay, for a second time, the effective date of several rules the agency published during the Trump Administration. Though for now the move is merely a delay, it sets the stage for the Biden Administration to put its own presumably employee-friendly stamp on regulations concerning tipped workers’ wages and the practice of tip pooling in the near future.… Continue Reading
On March 2, 2021, the United States Department of Labor (“DOL”) announced that it is officially delaying the effective date of the rule titled “Independent Contractor Status under the Fair Labor Standards Act.” The effective date for the rule has now been delayed 60 days from March 8, 2021, to May 7, 2021.… Continue Reading
On February 19, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) withdrew two FLSA opinion letters, further signaling a return to more employee-friendly policies.
The first, FLSA2019-6, addressed the status of independent contractors for an unnamed virtual marketplace company (VMC) and took a more expansive view of independent contractors than the WHD’s approach during the Obama Administration.… Continue Reading
On January 26, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) suspended the Final Rule on tipped employees that it had issued on December 22, 2020. The Final Rule would have clarified tip-pooling for employees in the food service and hospitality industry, as well as how the tip credit applied to employees who perform both tipped and non-tipped duties.… Continue Reading
The DOL abruptly ended the Payroll Audit Independent Determination (PAID) program on January 29, 2021. The program, which was adopted during the Trump administration, allowed employers to self-report FLSA violations before a complaint, pay back pay and avoid liquidated damages, penalties or fines. Employees were prohibited from bringing private actions to recover additional damages for these violations. … Continue Reading
The DOL issued an opinion letter on January 19, 2021, finding a wider group of journalists and media personnel qualify for the creative professional exemption under the FLSA. Traditionally, the DOL and courts found that exemptions under the FLSA should be narrowly construed. In 2018, the United States Supreme Court upended that standard, finding that exemptions should be given a “fair reading.” … Continue Reading
When someone should be treated as an independent contractor has huge implications for companies under a variety of state and federal laws that have their own standards. Unfortunately for employers, the DOL’s view of how the so-called economic reality test under tCathe FLSA should be interpreted is in flux, making compliance very challenging.… Continue Reading
Ballard Spahr Labor attorneys Meredith Dante, Steve Suflas, and Chris Kelly discuss what a Biden-Harris administration means for employers in the area of labor and employment law. The team discusses what they expect to see from a new administration regarding: potential changes to the National Labor Relations Act; the priorities of a new National Labor Relations Board; wage and hour impacts, and worker classification, at the federal level; and evolving equal employment opportunity, and equal pay, issues.… Continue Reading
