Authored by Alex Passantino

While much of Washington, DC, begins its preparations for the inevitable summer slowdown, the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division appears to be ramping up for a summer sure to keep wage and hour lawyers across the country hopping (and likely ruining some planned vacations).

Since WHD’s proposed rule made its way over to OMB’s
Continue Reading Proposed White Collar Exemption Regulations are Coming . . . Soon (and Other Items of Regulatory Interest)

Co-authored by Dennis Clifford and Rachel Hoffer

Beloved burrito-maker Chipotle Mexican Grill has found itself in a situation messier than the finger foods that brought the company more than $4 billion in revenue last year. A magistrate judge in Scott v. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. recently ordered that a report prepared by a human resources consultant, Cinda Daggett, is not
Continue Reading Wage-Hour Audits: Lessons Learned From Chipotle’s Heartburn

Court_of_Appeals_3rd_Circuit_SealCo-authored by Abad Lopez and Noah Finkel

The Third Circuit put a screeching halt to the contention that drivers must actually cross state lines to be exempt from overtime under the Motor Carrier Act (“MCA”). In Resch v. Krapf’s Coaches, Inc., the court ruled that drivers were exempt from overtime based on the mere possibility of driving across state
Continue Reading Court Puts the Brakes on Overtime for Drivers—No Interstate Trips? No Problem!

Authored by Alex Passantino

For twelve months, the employer community has been on the lookout for a regulatory proposal that would fundamentally change the application of the most-used exemption from minimum wage and overtime—the Part 541/white-collar exemption.  Increased salary obligations, a heightened requirement to establish an exempt employee’s primary rule, and a number of other changes have been rumored.

Today
Continue Reading 525,600 Minutes of Overtime Consideration

Authored by Barry Miller

On Monday, the Supreme Court issued its ruling in Perez v. Mortgage Bankers Association, examining the validity of the Department of Labor’s 2010 Administrator’s Interpretation on the application of the FLSA’s administrative exemption to mortgage loan officers. As noted in our previous post, the D.C. Circuit struck down the Administrator’s Interpretation because the DOL
Continue Reading Supreme Court Holds that Flip-Flopping Alone Does Not Invalidate DOL’s Guidance on Exempt Status of Mortgage Loan Officers

Authored by Jessica Lieberman

The decision whether to reclassify employees whose exempt status is arguable can sometimes create something of a double bind for employers: reclassification should be the conservative approach, but it also can be risky if it is interpreted as evidence that the prior classification was wrong.  For this reason, employers may fear that reclassification aimed at reducing
Continue Reading Taking a Pass on a “Reclass” Class (or Collective): Court Denies Reclassified Employees’ Certification Motion

Co-authored by Robert S. Whitman and Adam J. Smiley

The Second Circuit heard arguments this morning in two cases that raise critical issues for the fate of internships in for-profit businesses: Fox Searchlight’s appeal of the decision granting summary judgment and class certification to interns who worked on film productions, and the appeal by former Hearst Corporation interns whose motion
Continue Reading Live From New York – It’s The Second Circuit (Unpaid Intern Case)!

Co-authored by Gena B. Usenheimer and Jade Wallace

The close of 2014 presented a host of potential problems for home health care providers.  As a result of new Department of Labor (“DOL”) regulations changing the federal “companionship” exemption from overtime and minimum wage requirements, many home health care agencies have been bracing themselves for significant changes to their
Continue Reading Home Health Care Agencies Find Companion in Federal Court