Wage and Hour Division

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By: A. Scott Hecker and Ariel Fenster

Seyfarth Synopsis: Child labor laws remain fertile ground for government enforcement as evaluate key issues for 2024. Late last year, the Wage Hour Division released guidance for new processes to assess greater penalties against companies who violated child labor laws. Companies should take note of the increased financial risks and overall teamwork between…

Continue Reading Child Labor Law Penalties on the Rise – Employers Face Various Avenues to Increased Exposure

By A. Scott Hecker

Seyfarth Synopsis: On December 6, 2023, the Biden Administration announced the release of its Fall 2023 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division continues to pursue – with frequent delays – a number of significant rulemakings, including the Division’s proposed increase to the minimum salary level for …

Continue Reading The Biden Administration Issued Its Fall 2023 Regulatory Agenda – What Can We Expect From the DOL Wage and Hour Division’s Rulemakings?

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 Employers

By: 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 Loss

By: 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…Again

By: 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