The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has issued a proposed rule to end the practice of paying subminimum wages to certain workers with disabilities.
The proposed rule, announced December 3, 2024, marks the first rulemaking related to the subminimum wage in 35 years, although the regulation had been included in the DOL’s long-term regulatory agenda…
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has released an opinion letter addressing whether per diem expense payments for tools and equipment may be excluded from the hourly rate when calculating overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). (FLSA 2024-01, Nov. 8, 2024).
While the opinion letter doesn’t break new ground, it’s…
The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Tuesday, November 5, on the standard of proof that employers must meet to show an employee is exempt from the minimum wage and overtime requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
There are two competing choices: preponderance of the evidence or “clear and convincing” evidence. Every…
A Fifth Circuit panel heard oral argument on Wednesday, August 7, on whether Department of Labor (DOL) regulations imposing a salary requirement to satisfy the executive, administrative and professional exemptions is valid.
The case on appeal, Mayfield v U.S. Department of Labor, does not address the minimum salary level increase that took effect July…
In a strongly worded opinion, a federal judge in Texas held the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) likely exceeded its authority in implementing its Final Rule raising the minimum salary level requirements for executive, administrative, and professional (EAP) exemptions to the minimum wage and overtime requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). State of…
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Final Rule raising the minimum salary level requirements for application of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) “white collar” exemptions is scheduled to take effect July 1, 2024. Lawsuits, however, have been filed seeking to invalidate and set aside the Final Rule and to block the increased salary thresholds from…
Recently enacted Oregon Senate Bill (SB) 184 soon will require employers to include independent contractors in their child support reporting requirements to the Oregon Division of Child Support of the Department of Justice. Currently, the reporting requirements apply only to an employer’s employees but, for all new engagements or re-engagements entered into on or after…
On October 13, 2022, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), seeking to revise the standard for determining whether a worker is an employee or “independent contractor” under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The NPRM proposes to withdraw the current regulations, issued during the last days of…
In a significant victory for California employers, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently reversed a $102 million award against Walmart, in a suit alleging that the retailer violated the California Labor Code’s wage statement and meal-break provisions. Magadia v. Wal-Mart Associates, Inc., 2021 U.S. App. LEXIS 16070 (9th Cir. May…
An administrative assistant, who regularly made three to five telephone calls out of state per week to her employer’s clients and vendors, may have sufficiently engaged in interstate commerce to establish “individual coverage” under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit concluded. St. Elien v. All County…
