‘Twas the week before Christmas, in a year for the ages.
So here’s our latest recap of hours and wages.
The letters and laws. The regulations and cases.
A year’s worth of matters that impacted workplaces.
We begin up at One First, where SCOTUS debated
A trio of cases
Seyfarth Synopsis: In the December 16, 2019, Federal Register, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage & Hour Division (WHD) published its final rule clarifying and updating the regulations governing the regular rate requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
Generally, the FLSA requires overtime to be paid at a rate that is at least one and one-half times the
Continue Reading WHD Finalizes Regular Rate Regulations
Seyfarth Synopsis: The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage & Hour Division issued a proposed rule on the fluctuating workweek method of pay. The proposal continues a regulatory saga started in 2008, and clarifies that payments in addition to the fixed salary are compatible with the fluctuating workweek method of compensation, and, in most cases, must be
By: Alex Passantino
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Department of Labor’s Wage & Hour Division announced its long-awaited proposed rule related to the FLSA’s tip provisions. The rule would implement statutory changes passed in March 2018; it also would elevate certain WHD policy guidance into regulation.
The legislative changes come from the Tip Income Protection Act, which was passed as part of
Continue Reading WHD Releases Proposed Rule on Tipped Employees
By: Alex Passantino
Seyfarth Synopsis: The U.S. Department of Labor announced its final rule updating and revising the regulations issued under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) regarding the earnings thresholds necessary to exempt executive, administrative or professional employees from the FLSA’s minimum wage and overtime pay requirements. The Department simultaneously announced its formal rescission of the 2016 final rule.
Continue Reading Part 541 Salary Level Increases to $684/Week
Since 2015, we have been following the saga of the salary threshold for the FLSA’s white-collar exemptions (most of them, at least). In June 2015, the Department of Labor proposed a level of $50,440. When the final rule was published in May 2016, that level turned out to be $47,476. In the Fall of 2016, the regulation
Continue Reading Proposed New White Collar Salary Threshold: $35,308
By Abigail Cahak and Noah Finkel
Seyfarth Synopsis: Even though the DOL abandoned its 20% tip credit rule in November 2018, one federal district judge has refused to defer to the agency, opting to defer to the old guidance instead.
As employers using the tip credit know full well, an individual employed in dual occupations–one tipped and one not–cannot be
Continue Reading A Zombie Tip Credit Rule: District Court Tries to Bring the 80/20 Guidance Back From the Dead
Seyfarth Synopsis: The DOL issued an opinion letter approving a pay model where an employer in the home health field paid its employees at an hourly rate for time spent with patients without additional hourly pay for time spent by the employees traveling to and from patient homes. In that same letter, the DOL provided guidance
Continue Reading DOL Issues Opinion Letter Providing Guidance On The Legality Of Certain Non-Traditional Pay
By Abigail Cahak and Noah Finkel
Seyfarth Synopsis: The DOL has reissued a long-awaited opinion letter withdrawing its previous 20% tip credit rule and making clear that “no limit is placed on the amount of [related but non-tipped] duties that may be performed,” so long as they are performed “contemporaneously with the duties involving direct service or for a reasonable
Continue Reading Check, Please! DOL Issues Opinion Letter Ending Its 20% Tip Credit Rule
The Department of Labor issued its Fall 2018 regulatory agenda, and the Wage & Hour Division is front and center. New to the agenda is a proposed rule on joint employment under the FLSA. Acknowledging that its regulations have not been updated in 60 years and no longer reflect the realities of the workplace, WHD is
Continue Reading WHD Announces Regulatory Agenda