Law and the Workplace

Tag Archives: department of labor

Proposed New Federal Overtime Rule: Update

By Allan Bloom on Posted in FLSA, Wage and Hour
The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking with respect to the U.S. Department of Labor’s proposed updated overtime exemptions rule was published in the Federal Register on September 8, 2023.  The 60-day public comment period closes on November 7, 2023.  Comments can be submitted electronically here, and all submitted comments can be viewed here. Proskauer’s Wage and Hour Group is … Continue Reading

DOL Proposes Updated Overtime Exemptions Rule, Raising Minimum Salary to $55,086

By Allan Bloom and Philippe A. Lebel on Posted in FLSA, Wage and Hour
On August 30, 2023, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) released its proposed new rule on the “white collar” overtime exemptions.  The new rule, which would be codified in a revised 29 C.F.R. Part 541, will be published shortly as a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the Federal Register, at which time a public comment … Continue Reading

Department of Labor Issues Updated FLSA and FMLA Posters

By Evandro Gigante and Laura Fant on Posted in Workplace Policies and Procedures
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has released updated posters regarding the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).  Employers covered by these laws are required to display copies of the posters in a conspicuous place where employees and applicants for employment can see them. The FLSA Minimum Wage … Continue Reading

New York State Releases Updated Model Sexual Harassment Prevention Policy and Training

By Evandro Gigante, Jurate Schwartz, Laura Fant, Arielle E. Kobetz and Hannah Morris on Posted in Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation, Workplace Policies and Procedures
The New York State Department of Labor (“DOL”) has released its long-awaited updated model sexual harassment prevention policy that addresses issues such as gender identity, remote work, and bystander intervention. As we previously reported, the DOL published proposed changes to the model policy in January of this year, and the updated policy largely mirrors those … Continue Reading

SCOTUS:  Daily Rate Doesn’t Satisfy FLSA’s Salary Basis Test for Exemption, Even If It’s Huge!

By Allan Bloom on Posted in Wage and Hour
It’s always exciting when the Supreme Court takes up a wage and hour issue—at least for us.  Earlier this week, in Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. v. Hewitt, the court tackled the question of whether a daily rate can satisfy the “salary basis” test for exemption under the Fair Labor Standards Act as an executive, … Continue Reading

DOL’s New Independent Contractor Rule: A Return to 2020

By Allan Bloom on Posted in Biden Administration Coverage, FLSA, Independent Contractor, Misclassification, Wage and Hour
It’s been a bumpy road for the federal rules on independent contractor status under the Fair Labor Standards Act. In the courts, the test has always focused on the “economic reality” of the relationship between a worker and the entity that benefits from the services provided to determine whether the worker is an employee or … Continue Reading

What to Do When Your Timekeeping System Crashes

By Allan Bloom on Posted in Wage and Hour
A number of companies suffered collateral damage last winter as a result of a cyber attack on a major provider of time and attendance software.  With your timekeeping systems compromised, how do you determine what to pay your non-exempt employees, particularly with a payroll processing deadline looming? The Governing Principles To properly pay overtime-eligible employees, … Continue Reading

Federal District Court Says Pre-Shift COVID Screening Time Not Compensable

By Allan Bloom on Posted in FLSA, Wage and Hour
In the first reported decision we’ve seen addressing the issue head on, a federal district court in California dismissed a putative collective action claim under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) seeking payment for time spent in pre-shift COVID screening. Prior to clocking in each day, the plaintiff—a non-exempt truck driver whose job duties included … Continue Reading

Do We Have to Pay for That?  Part 2—Travel and Commute Time (in a Post-Pandemic World)

By Allan Bloom on Posted in FLSA, Wage and Hour
In this blog series, we look at a variety of activities and discuss whether an employer has to pay its non-exempt (i.e., overtime-eligible) employees for their time spent engaging in them.  We’ll focus on federal law, but as with all wage and hour issues, applicable state and local laws must be considered as well.  Also, … Continue Reading

Do We Have to Pay for That?  Part 1—COVID-19 Vaccination, Testing, and Screening Activities (Updated Jan. 13, 2022)

By Allan Bloom on Posted in Class/Collective Action, FLSA, Wage and Hour
In this blog series, we’ll look at a variety of activities and discuss whether an employer has to pay its non-exempt (i.e., overtime-eligible) employees for their time spent engaging in them.  We’ll focus on federal law, but as with all wage and hour issues, applicable state and local laws must be considered as well.  Also, … Continue Reading

DOL Rescinds Trump-Era Joint Employer Rule

By Heylee Bernstein and Allan Bloom on Posted in Biden Administration Coverage, FLSA, Independent Contractor, Wage and Hour
The U.S. Department of Labor announced on July 29 that it will rescind the March 2020 rule on Joint Employer Status under the Fair Labor Standards Act (the “2020 Rule”).  The DOL’s action removes the regulations established by the 2020 Rule and will become effective on September 28, 2021. 2020 Joint Employer Rule The 2020 … Continue Reading

Trump-Era Independent Contractor Rule Never to See Light of Day

By Allan Bloom on Posted in Biden Administration Coverage, FLSA, Wage and Hour
Remember the Trump administration’s new rule for classifying workers as independent contractors?  The one issued on January 6, 2021, only weeks before President Biden took office?  The one that would have revised the U.S. Department of Labor’s test for determining worker status under the Fair Labor Standards Act to focus on two “core factors” (control … Continue Reading

OSHA Issues Guidance on Employer Recording Obligations Regarding Mandatory Vaccination Programs

By Harris Mufson and Arielle E. Kobetz on Posted in Coronavirus, Workplace Policies and Procedures
***UPDATE: On May 21, 2021, OSHA published a new FAQ establishing that employers do not need to record adverse reactions from COVID-19 vaccines on their OSHA 300 Logs, at least through May of 2022.  The enforcement position applies regardless of whether an employer requires, recommends, or incentivizes employees to receive the vaccine. On April 20, … Continue Reading

DOL and Liquidated Damages: The Breakup Only Lasted 9 Months

By Allan Bloom on Posted in Biden Administration Coverage, FLSA, Wage and Hour
On April 9, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) rescinded the Trump-era enforcement practice of abstaining from seeking liquidated damages in connection with pre-litigation investigations and settlements of wage and hour claims.  In Field Assistance Bulletin No. 2021-2, issued by the Wage and Hour Division’s Principal Deputy Administrator, Jessica Looman, the agency announced that … Continue Reading

Business Groups Challenge Biden Administration’s Delay of Trump-era Independent Contractor Rule

By Allan Bloom and Eric Novak on Posted in Biden Administration Coverage, FLSA, Independent Contractor, Wage and Hour
In a complaint filed on March 26, 2021, business groups challenged a U.S. Department of Labor March 4, 2021 final rule to delay the effective date of the Trump-era regulation on independent contractor classification.  As we previously reported, that Trump-era rule, which was finalized two weeks before President Biden took office, was initially scheduled to … Continue Reading

Biden Administration Wage and Hour Update:  50 Days In…

By Allan Bloom on Posted in Biden Administration Coverage, FLSA, Independent Contractor, Wage and Hour
We’re 50 days into the Biden administration.  Here’s an update on where things stand with respect to wage and hour law at the federal level: On March 11, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD)—as expected—announced its proposals to rescind the Trump-era rules on independent contractor classification and joint employment. WHD’s … Continue Reading

DOL Takes First Step to Revisit Independent Contractor and Tip Rules

By Allan Bloom on Posted in Biden Administration Coverage, FLSA, Wage and Hour
In accordance with the Biden administration’s January 20 regulatory freeze memorandum, the U.S Department of Labor issued proposals to delay the effective dates of the Final Rules on independent contractor classification and tip regulations by 60 days, to allow the agency “the opportunity to review and consider the questions of law, policy, and fact raised … Continue Reading

DOL Ends PAID Program

By Allan Bloom on Posted in Biden Administration Coverage, FLSA, Wage and Hour
On January 29, the U.S. Department of Labor announced that it was discontinuing the Payroll Audit Independent Determination (“PAID”) program, effective immediately.  Under the program, which began in 2018, employers could self-report wage and hour violations to the DOL with the promise that the agency would supervise a settlement of the violations without seeking liquidated … Continue Reading

Biden Continues to Address Administration’s Top Labor Positions, Plans to Nominate Julie Su as Deputy Labor Secretary

By Allan Bloom and Heylee Bernstein on Posted in Biden Administration Coverage
***UPDATE: The United States Senate confirmed Julie Su to serve as Deputy Labor Secretary on July 13, 2021. Su’s nomination was approved by a vote of 50-47, along party lines.*** ***UPDATE: According to a Bloomberg Law Report, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee will hold a confirmation hearing for Julie Su on March … Continue Reading

DOL Begins Withdrawal of Trump-Era Opinion Letters

By Allan Bloom on Posted in Biden Administration Coverage, FLSA, Independent Contractor, Wage and Hour
As expected, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) announced the withdrawal of three opinion letters issued in the waning days of the Trump administration.  The opinion letters being withdrawn are: FLSA2021-4, which addressed whether a restaurant may institute a tip pool under the Fair Labor Standards Act that includes both servers, … Continue Reading
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