Co-authored by Rachel M. Hoffer and John Phillips

Seyfarth Synopsis: Vampire Weekend crassly and rhetorically asked us, “Who gives a f*** about an Oxford comma?” As it turns out, lots of people: First Circuit judges, dairy farmers in Maine, truck drivers, your authors—the list goes on.

And when lists go on—as a Maine dairy company recently learned the hard
Continue Reading Comma, Comma, Comma, Comma, Comma Chameleon: Liability Comes and Goes with Oxford Comma

Authored by Sheryl Skibbe

On Wednesday, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals granted the Justice Department’s additional unopposed request for a 60-day extension to figure out its position on the new FLSA overtime exemption rules.

The stated reason for the government’s unopposed request was to “allow incoming leadership personnel adequate time to consider the issues.” Nevada v. DOL, No.
Continue Reading Time and Time Again

coins-currency-investment-insurance-128867Co-authored by Robert S. Whitman and Howard M. Wexler

With employers about to ring in 2017, the New York State Department of Labor—with only two days to spare—has finalized regulations to increase the salary threshold for exempt status. The regulations, originally introduced on October 19, 2016, take effect on December 31, 2016.

Employers were hopeful that the State
Continue Reading NY DOL Approves Regulations to Increase Salary Threshold for Exempt Employees

Authored by

Seyfarth Synopsis: In what many employers will see as a “break” from workplace reality, the Supreme Court, in Augustus v. ABM Security Services, Inc., announced that certain “on call” rest periods do not comply with the California Labor Code and Wage Orders. As previously reported on our California Peculiarities Employment Law Blog,
Continue Reading No Break for California Employers This Holiday Season

Authored by Alex Passantino

Seyfarth Synopsis: Two lawsuits related to the Department of Labor’s revisions to the white-collar exemptions have been filed in East Texas.

The first lawsuit, citing (among other things) the severe impact the impending salary increase will have on state and local government budgets, was filed by the Attorneys General of Nevada, Texas, and 19 other
Continue Reading Employers Should Not Retreat on Compliance Planning Despite Two-Pronged Attack on OT Rule

Co-authored by Richard Alfred, Brett Bartlett, and Noah Finkel

The Department of Labor’s release of the new exemption regulations appears imminent. As we have reported in a number of posts, these new rules are expected to nearly double the minimum annual salary level required for employees under the administrative, executive, and professional exemptions (currently $23,660 to between

Continue Reading Plaintiffs’ Bar Sets Sights on New Lawsuits Following DOL Rule Amendments

Authored by Alex Passantino

Pinning down a publication date for the DOL’s final revisions to the white-collar exemption rules has proven difficult for anyone outside of the agency’s headquarters. Sometimes, the answer seems to elude even those inside the Frances Perkins Building. From statements from the Solicitor last Fall that the rule would be out in “late 2016
Continue Reading Summertime Blues? Solicitor of Labor Eyes July Publication of Overtime Regs

Co-authored by Kara Goodwin and Noah Finkel

The U.S. Supreme Court recently agreed to resolve the question of whether “service advisors” at car dealerships—workers whose primary job responsibilities involve identifying service needs and selling service solutions to the dealership’s customers—are exempt from the Fair Labor Standard Act’s (“FLSA”) overtime pay requirements. Although the case involves a somewhat-discrete exemption that has
Continue Reading Meowing Dogs and Barking Cats: Supreme Court’s Grant of Cert on Exempt Status of Automobile Service Advisors May Result in Reminder that Exemptions Are Functional and Flexible

Co-authored by Kat Jugo and Kevin Young

The lawyers in our readership are quite familiar with the fact that, as a general matter, practicing attorneys are not entitled to overtime pay under the FLSA. But does that exempt status change when an attorney is retained only to review and flag documents? No it does not, per a decision issued last
Continue Reading Nothing New for Doc Review: Federal Court Rules That Doc Review Attorney, Like Other Practicing Lawyers, is Exempt

Co-authored by Gena Usenheimer and Jade Wallace

As we reported earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Labor has been fighting nearly 14 months of legal challenges in connection with its attempt to modify the FLSA’s companionship exemption. On Friday, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia upheld the DOL’s proposed regulations. Assuming no
Continue Reading Home Health Care Agencies Feeling Sick After Friday’s Circuit Court Ruling