By Ariel Fenster and Kevin Young
Seyfarth Synopsis. In the final hours of 2020, the U.S. DOL’s Wage & Hour Division issued an opinion letter containing guidance on the compensability of time commuting to the office, or tending to personal matters, for employees primarily working from home. While fact-specific, the letter offers a glimpse into WHD’s current thinking on increasingly
Continue Reading New Year’s Gift From WHD: Guidance on Continuous Workday Rule in the WFH Era
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
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.
Co-authored by Noah Finkel and Cheryl Luce
Seyfarth Synopsis: On Monday, the DOL issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking announcing rescission of a rule that regulates tip pooling by employers who do not take the tip credit.
The DOL has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding the tip pooling regulations of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The FLSA
Continue Reading Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division Proposes to Nix Unpopular Tip Pooling Rule
Authored By Alex Passantino
As we’ve reported previously, among the items the Department of Labor identified earlier this year in its Regulatory Agenda was a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) seeking to rescind portions of a 2011 rule that restricted tip pooling for employers who do not use the tip credit to satisfy their minimum wage obligations. On October
Continue Reading Tip Credit Rule to White House
Authored by Alex Passantino
Seyfarth Synopsis: On July 26, 2017, the U.S. Department of Labor will publish its anticipated Request for Information on the White-Collar Overtime Exemption in the Federal Register. The RFI will give the regulated community 60 days to provide its comments in response.
The RFI seeks input on a wide variety of topics, many of which involve
Continue Reading DOL Seeks Comment on Overtime Rule
Authored by Alex Passantino
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Wage & Hour Division announced its regulatory plan for the next year and it is less ambitious than some may have anticipated. A request for information on the overtime rule and a proposal to rescind a limited tip credit regulation are all that is on the immediate horizon for employers.
Each spring and
Continue Reading What’s on the Agenda? Tips and OT
Co-authored by Robert J. Carty, Jr., John Phillips, and Alex Passantino
Seyfarth Synopsis: On June 30, the Department of Labor filed its reply brief to support its appeal from a preliminary injunction that enjoined the DOL from implementing its 2016 revisions to the salary-level tests for determining applicability of the FLSA’s executive, administrative, and professional exemptions.
Continue Reading Finally Briefed: Appellate Experts’ Perspective on the Fully Briefed 5th Circuit EAP Exemption Appeal
Co-authored by Brett Bartlett, Alex Passantino, and Kevin Young
At last, the federal government has filed its reply brief in the Fifth Circuit concerning its appeal from a Texas district court’s order preliminarily enjoining the 2016 revisions to the FLSA’s executive, administrative, and professional exemptions. Because of the substantive and procedural complexities facing the Department of Labor
Continue Reading Finally Briefed: DOL Files 5th Circuit Reply Defending its Authority to Set Salary Level for EAP Exemptions
Authored by Alex Passantino
In the second bit of wage hour news today, and in advance of Secretary Acosta’s hearing before a Senate Appropriations subcommittee, the Department of Labor announced the return of opinion letters. In 2010, the Obama Administration had eliminated the long-standing practice of issuing opinion letters in favor of Administrator Interpretations.
The Department’s announcement allows the
Continue Reading They’re Back … DOL Announces the Return of Opinion Letters