By: Gena Usenheimer, Victoria Vitarelli, and Noah Finkel

Seyfarth Synopsis:  By eliminating two interpretive regulations, the U.S. Department of Labor expanded the number of employers that may qualify as a “retail or service establishment” under Section 7(i)’s exemption of the Fair Labor Standards Act.  This potential expansion of coverage of Section 7(i) opens the door for more
Continue Reading What do you call the axing of some DOL Section 7(i) interpretive regs? A good start.

By: Yao Li and Kevin M. Young

Seyfarth Synopsis: The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage & Hour Division has entered the final phase of issuing a new rule concerning the fluctuating workweek (FWW) method of compensation under the FLSA. The new rule represents the culmination of a regulatory seesaw that began with a Bush Administration proposal in 2008 that
Continue Reading Fluctuating Workweek + Incentive Pay = No Problem—DOL Sends Final Rule to White House

By: Alex Passantino

Seyfarth Synopsis: On January 15, 2020, the Department of Labor’s Final Rule on regular and basic rates of pay will take effect. This series will explore the various issues implicated by the Department’s changes. Part I addresses the Department’s changes to Part 548 of the regulations, Authorization of Established Basic Rates for Computing Overtime Pay.

In
Continue Reading It’s All About Those Rates (Part I): Basic Rate of Pay

By Alex Passantino

‘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

Continue Reading Frosty, the Gig Worker Performing Work Outside the Usual Course of the Hiring Entity’s Business: 2019 Year in Review

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

By: Alexander Passantino

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

Continue Reading WHD Proposes Rule on Fluctuating Workweek

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

By Alex Passantino

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