By: Ala Salameh
Employees under heightened demands to care for their health and families are using time off and sick leave in record numbers. This has left many employers, particularly those qualified as “essential businesses,” short-staffed in a phase of critical need. To fill the void, employers are contemplating a temporary reshuffle of work assignments including posting exempt employees to
Continue Reading It Is A Global Pandemic, But Is It An FLSA Emergency?
By: Nolan R. Theurer, Ryan McCoy, and Kyle Petersen
Seyfarth Synopsis: Effective April 8, 2020, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (“FMCSA”) extended an emergency rule suspending “Hours of Service” rules that generally limit the number of hours certain truck drivers can stay on the road. This marks the first time that the Hours of Service rules, in
Continue Reading Federal Government Suspends Long-Haul Truckers’ Hours of Service Rules To Help Cope With COVID-19 Pandemic
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 Andrew Scroggins and Kerry Friedrichs
Seyfarth Synopsis: Employers around the globe are feeling the impact of coronavirus (COVID-19). Before reducing hours or pay to address health or economic concerns, employers should take heed of federal and state wage-hour laws.
As coronavirus continues to spread around the globe, its economic effects have grown more far-reaching. Some companies are confronting
Continue Reading If Your Remedy For Workplace Coronavirus Issues Affects Pay, Don’t Compound The Harm With A Wage Law Violation
Seyfarth Synposis: As of March 16, 2020, Colorado’s daily overtime and meal and rest break requirements for non-exempt employees, as well as its different duties and salary level requirements for exempt employees, will apply to all employers who meet the definition of an “employer” under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.
In the past, many employers have
Continue Reading Rockier Time For Many Employers In Colorado Who Will Soon Be Subject To Daily Overtime and Break Rules and Different White-Collar Exemptions
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
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 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: Kyle Petersen and Ariel Fenster
Seyfarth Synopsis: A recent decision by the Southern District of New York clarifies common questions arising from the use of the fixed salary for a fluctuating workweek method of compensation (the “FWW”): (1) Do isolated pay deductions undermine the fixed salary requirement; (2) Must the employee’s hours fluctuate above and below 40 hours; and
Continue Reading Fixed Salaries, Fluctuating Hours, and Beyond: A Federal Court Addresses Common Questions About the Fluctuating Work Week Method of Compensation