By: Rachel V. See, Christopher J. DeGroff, and Andrew L. Scroggins
Seyfarth Synopsis: The EEOC and the Department of Labor Wage Hour Division (WHD) have taken an important step toward inter-agency coordination, committing to information sharing, joint investigations, training, and public outreach. The Memorandum of Understanding between the EEOC and DOL contemplates referring complaints between the two agencies
Continue Reading EEOC and DOL Join Forces – What the Alliance Means for EmployersBy: A. Scott Hecker
As one does, I was recently reading U.S. DOL Wage and Hour Division (“WHD”) Field Assistance Bulletin (“FAB”) 2023-3 regarding “Prohibitions against the shipment of ‘Hot Goods’ under the Child Labor Provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act.” You may be disappointed to learn that the term “hot goods” does not appear in the FLSA
Continue Reading U.S. DOL’s Wage and Hour Division Says Cool It With The “Hot Goods”By: Andrew McKinley, Kyle Winnick & Alex Simon
Seyfarth Synopsis: This latest installment in our series on the Department of Labor’s proposed independent contractor rule under the Fair Labor Standards Act focuses on proposed changes to the profit-or-loss analysis as it relates to workers’ investments in their businesses.
A hallmark of independent contractor status is the ability to exercise
Continue Reading DOL’s Proposed FLSA Independent Contractor Rule: Investment as Indicative of Profit and LossBy: A. Scott Hecker and Noah A. Finkel
Seyfarth Synopsis: On June 13, 2023, the Biden Administration announced the release of its Spring 2023 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions (the 2022 Fall Agenda was issued in January 2023). In connection with the Administration’s new regulatory agenda, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division continues to pursue
Continue Reading The Biden Administration Issued Its Spring 2023 Regulatory Agenda . . . in (Late) Spring 2023! What’s in the Works for DOL Rulemaking, Including on a New Minimum Salary for Exempt Employees?By: Scott Hecker and Scott Mallery
On this episode of the Policy Matters Podcast, Seyfarth Senior Counsel Scott Hecker and Counsel Scott Mallery discuss the Senate HELP Committee’s recent inability to advance U.S. DOL Wage and Hour Administrator nominee Jessica Looman out of committee, this time due to a procedural hiccup that will likely be remedied. The Scotts discuss what
Continue Reading Policy Matters Podcast – Episode 34: President’s Second Nominee for Wage and Hour Administrator Stuck in Committee…AgainBy: Noah Finkel and Kyle Petersen
Seyfarth Synopsis: The DOL has issued guidance to its staff – that might be relied upon by courts – that any break less than 20 minutes while working from home is compensable time, regardless of the reason for the break.
Especially because this post is being released on a Friday, chances are that you
Continue Reading Not Remotely Helpful: DOL Issues Guidance on Compensability of Teleworking Breaks
By Kevin Young, Noah Finkel, and Brett C. Bartlett
Seyfarth Synopsis: On December 10, 2021, the White House and U.S. Department of Labor confirmed their plan to propose new rules to increase the salary threshold for exempt employees under the FLSA and “modernize” the prevailing wage rules that apply to many federal government contractors and subcontractors. The rulemaking
Continue Reading On Deck for ’22: Exempt Salary Level Increases and Prevailing Wage Changes
Co-authored by Alex Passantino and Kevin Young
Seyfarth Synopsis: On April 1, 2019, the U.S. DOL announced a proposed rule to clarify joint employment under the FLSA. The rule would establish a four-factor balancing test for joint employer status. It also rejects various factors that have fueled recent litigation, e.g., a worker’s economic dependence on a potential joint employer, the potential employer’s business model, and its unexercised power over the worker.
This is the third proposed rule that the DOL has issued in a month’s time. Like the other proposals (concerning overtime exemptions and the regular rate of pay), this rule—if adopted—should provide welcome clarity for many businesses. This is particularly true for those most targeted by joint employment litigation, such as franchisors, staffing agencies, and businesses with subsidiaries or affiliates.Continue Reading April Rules: DOL Continues Rulemaking Sprint With New Proposed Joint Employment Standard
Authored by Cheryl Luce
Seyfarth Synopsis: If it becomes law, a new bill will expand the FLSA’s tip provisions into areas traditionally regulated by state law and create new areas of ambiguity that could be a breeding ground for yet more wage-hour litigation.
We have been covering the saga of a controversial 2011 DOL regulation that gave employees the right
Continue Reading Introducing the Tip Income Protection Act: Congress’s Misguided Attempt to Turn the FLSA Into a Wage Payment Law
Co-authored by Alex Passantino and Kevin Young
On Tuesday, the Wage & Hour Division announced a new program for resolving violations of the FLSA without the need for litigation. The Payroll Audit Independent Determination program—or “PAID”—is intended to facilitate the efficient resolution of overtime and minimum wage claims under the FLSA. The program will be conducted for a six-month
Continue Reading Tired of Waiting for FLSA Litigation? Meet PAID, WHD’s Pilot Program For Proactive Employers.