Law and the Workplace

Tag Archives: overtime

The New Federal Overtime Rule:  What You Need to Know

By Allan Bloom on Posted in FLSA, Wage and Hour
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: The salary minimum for exemption as an executive, administrative, or professional employee will jump from $455 per week ($23,660 per year) to $684 … Continue Reading

Dems Introduce Bills to Raise Salary Minimum for Overtime Exemption

By Allan Bloom on Posted in FLSA, Wage and Hour
Members of the House and Senate introduced companion bills on June 11, 2019 to amend the Fair Labor Standards Act to raise the minimum salary threshold for exempt executive, administrative, and professional (“EAP”) employees to north of $50,000 and to automatically update the threshold every three years. The “Restoring Overtime Pay Act of 2019” (H.R. … Continue Reading

Retail Salespeople Paid on Commission Are Entitled to Overtime and Sunday Pay, Massachusetts SJC Says

By Mark W. Batten and Thomas B. Fiascone on Posted in Wage and Hour
On May 8, 2019, Massachusetts’ highest court held that retail salespersons who are paid entirely on a commission or draw basis, may nevertheless be entitled to additional overtime or pay for work on Sundays. The Supreme Judicial Court considered these questions in Sullivan v. Sleepy’s LLC, SJC-12542. The narrow questions the Court considered were whether … Continue Reading

DOL Validates Independent Contractor Relationships in the On-Demand Marketplace

By Allan Bloom on Posted in FLSA, Wage and Hour
In an opinion letter issued April 29, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division concluded that a “virtual marketplace company” (“VMC”) that connects service providers with consumers is not the employer of the service providers.  The opinion should be a welcome one not only for VMCs and businesses in the “gig economy,” … Continue Reading

Proposed Overtime Rule Published; Public Comment Period Open Until May 21

By Allan Bloom on Posted in Wage and Hour
The U.S. Department of Labor’s proposed new overtime rule was published in the Federal Register today.  As described in our earlier post, the proposed new rule would: Raise the salary minimum for exemption as an executive, administrative, or professional employee to $679 per week ($35,308 per year). Allow employers to satisfy up to 10% of the … Continue Reading

Unboxing The Proposed New Federal Overtime Rule

By Allan Bloom on Posted in Wage and Hour
It’s here.  The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division unveiled its proposed new overtime rule today.  We skipped the 200-plus pages of preamble and jumped right to the proposed regulatory amendments themselves (we’ll digest the prefatory materials in another post).  Here’s the deal: The salary minimum for exemption as an executive, administrative, or … Continue Reading

Moonlighting Police Officers Are Employees, Not Independent Contractors, Says Sixth Circuit

By Allan Bloom on Posted in Wage and Hour
In yet another legal development calling into question a traditional independent contractor relationship in the U.S., the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit determined that off-duty police officers were employees of a private security company for purposes of the Fair Labor Standards Act.  In Acosta v. Off Duty Police Services, Inc. (6th Cir. Feb. … Continue Reading

Reminder: New York Minimum Salary for Exemption, Minimum Wage Increasing on December 31

By Allan Bloom and Rachel Philion on Posted in Wage and Hour
As discussed in our earlier post, New York State’s annual increases for overtime exemption and minimum wage go into effect on December 31, 2018. Employers whose exempt “administrative” and “executive” employees are currently paid less than the new salary minimums must either increase those salaries to the new levels or start paying the affected employees … Continue Reading

[Podcast]: Recent Developments in Federal Overtime Rules

By Allan Bloom and Harris Mufson on Posted in The Proskauer Brief Podcast, Wage and Hour
In this episode of The Proskauer Brief, senior counsel Harris Mufson and partner Allan Bloom discuss recent developments in federal overtime rules.  The Trump administration recently released its fall 2018 regulatory agenda, with lots of information relating to the Department of Labor (DOL). The DOL appears to be committed to a more business-friendly regulatory framework … Continue Reading

Federal Regulatory Agenda Previews Anticipated FLSA Rule Changes

By Allan Bloom on Posted in Wage and Hour
The Trump Administration unveiled its Fall 2018 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions (the “Regulatory Agenda”) earlier this week.  That’s the biannual report from the federal administrative agencies on the regulatory actions they plan to take in the near and long term. Lots of juicy information in the Regulatory Agenda, but we’ll focus on … Continue Reading

Trump’s Fall Regulatory Agenda Pegs March 2019 For Proposed New Overtime Rule

By Allan Bloom on Posted in Uncategorized, Wage and Hour
In its Fall 2018 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions, published today, the Trump Administration formally announced its intention to issue a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in March 2019 “to determine the appropriate salary level for exemption of executive, administrative and professional employees.”  See our earlier post for what to expect in the proposed new rule.… Continue Reading

New York Minimum Salary for Exemption, Minimum Wage to Increase on December 31

By Allan Bloom and Rachel Philion on Posted in Wage and Hour
It’s that time of year again!  New York State’s annual threshold increases for overtime exemption and minimum wage go into effect on December 31, 2018.  On that date: The minimum salary for exemption as an “administrative” or “executive” employee increases from $975 per week ($50,700 annually) to $1,125 per week ($58,500 annually) for New York City … Continue Reading

New Federal Overtime Rule Expected in March 2019 

By Allan Bloom on Posted in Wage and Hour
It doesn’t seem that long ago that employers were busily preparing for the new overtime rule that would have doubled the minimum salary level for the “white collar” exemptions from $23,660 to nearly $48,000.  That new rule—finalized in May 2016 and set to take effect on December 1 of that year—was struck down by a … Continue Reading

Second Circuit, Relying on SCOTUS Instruction, Rejects “Narrow Construction” Principle for FLSA Exemptions

By Allan Bloom on Posted in Wage and Hour
In two decisions issued on September 19, the Second Circuit relied on the Supreme Court’s instruction in Encino Motorcars, LLC v. Navarro, 138 S. Ct. 1134, 1140 (April 2, 2018) that FLSA exemptions are not to be construed narrowly, but fairly. In Munoz-Gonzalez v. D.C. Limousine Service, Inc., analyzing the taxicab exemption in Section 13(b)(17) of … Continue Reading

Wage and Hour Considerations During Weather-Related Emergencies

By Allan Bloom on Posted in Wage and Hour
Business disruptions stemming from natural disasters – whether a hurricane, snowstorm, wildfire or other emergency – raise important questions for employers. We want to take this opportunity to share insight on the frequently asked questions that our clients face in the wake of natural disasters. The following scenarios shed light on employer rights and responsibilities … Continue Reading

DOL Issues Four New FLSA Opinion Letters

By Allan Bloom on Posted in Wage and Hour
Summer’s not over yet!  On August 28, 2018, the U.S. Department of Labor issued four new letters in response to requests for opinions under the Fair Labor Standards Act.  In this most recent slate of letters, the DOL offers guidance on compensable time, the retail sales exemption, volunteers, and the motion picture theater exemption. Compensable … Continue Reading

California Changes Rules on Independent Contractors

By Allan Bloom on Posted in Wage and Hour
As reported by my colleagues in Proskauer’s California Employment Law Update, the Supreme Court of California established new rules on April 30, 2018 for determining whether a worker is an independent contractor or an employee for purposes of California’s Industrial Welfare Commission (IWC) Wage Orders.  The Wage Orders set forth California’s requirements for minimum wage, … Continue Reading

DOL Clears Up Travel Time Issue For Employees With No “Normal Working Hours”

By Allan Bloom on Posted in Wage and Hour
The rules on what kinds of travel time are (and are not) compensable for non-exempt employees are complex.  As opposed to exempt employees—who generally receive a salary intended to compensate them for all working time, including time spent in business-related travel—non-exempt employees are often only paid for the particular hours that the law deems compensable.  … Continue Reading

States’ Attorneys General Throw Shade on USDOL’s “PAID” Program

By Allan Bloom on Posted in Wage and Hour
Last month, we discussed some serious concerns about the efficacy of the U.S. Department of Labor’s “PAID” program, under which employers can self-report wage and hour violations to the federal agency and negotiate a seeming resolution of potential claims.  Chief among our concerns was that the resolution would not extend to state law claims, leaving … Continue Reading

SCOTUS Soundly Rejects Notion That FLSA Exemptions Are To Be “Narrowly Construed”

By Allan Bloom on Posted in Wage and Hour
In an April 2, 2018 decision of otherwise narrow appeal to most employers (whether the exemption in Section 13(b) (10)(A) of the Fair Labor Standards Act for an automobile “salesman, partsman, or mechanic” applies to “service advisors”), the Supreme Court flatly debunked the well-worn notion that FLSA exemptions are to be construed narrowly. To be fair, … Continue Reading

DOL’s “New” PAID Self-Reporting Program of Questionable Value to Employers

By Andrew A. Smith and Allan Bloom on Posted in Wage and Hour
Earlier this week, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division announced the upcoming launch of a “new” pilot program called the Payroll Audit Independent Determination program (“PAID”).  Under PAID, employers can come forward voluntarily to disclose wage and hour violations to the DOL, the DOL will supervise a settlement of any monetary claims … Continue Reading

DOL Revives Slate of FLSA Opinion Letters From 2009

By Allan Bloom on Posted in Wage and Hour
Continuing the pro-business activities many expected from the agency, the U.S. Department of Labor has revived 17 Fair Labor Standards Act opinion letters that were published in the waning days of the Bush Administration in January 2009 but promptly withdrawn by the Obama DOL in March of that year.  The opinion letters were reissued verbatim … Continue Reading

New York Minimum Salary for Exemption and Minimum Wage To Increase on December 31

By Allan Bloom and Rachel Philion on Posted in Wage and Hour
It’s that time of year again!  New York State’s annual threshold increases for overtime exemption and minimum wage go into effect on December 31, 2017.  On that date: The minimum salary for exemption as an “administrative” or “executive” employee increases from $825 per week ($42,900 annually) to $975 per week ($50,700 annually) for New York … Continue Reading
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