Will the DOL again seek to raise the minimum salary level for exempt “white collar” employees?
In testimony before the House Education and Labor Committee on June 10, 2011, Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh stated that the Department of Labor (DOL) is reviewing a Final Rule issued during the Trump administration, in which the DOL…
Because the plaintiff failed to allege any facts supporting his claim that his former employer acted willfully in failing to pay him overtime, he was not entitled to the FLSA’s extended, three-year statute of limitations. Therefore, as his claim was filed well after the standard two-year limitations period for such claims had expired, the trial…
In April 2020, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that paying an employee a set amount for each day he works (i.e. on a “day rate” basis) does not satisfy the “salary basis” component required to qualify as overtime-exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA),…
On January 19, 2021, eight states (Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania), along with the District of Columbia, filed a lawsuit seeking to enjoin the Tip Regulations Final Rule published by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) in late December 2020. The Final Rule, which currently is scheduled to become…
Agreeing with the district court, the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has concluded that the mandatory service charges imposed by a restaurant on dining parties of six or more were not “tips” under the FLSA. However, the Court of Appeals reversed and remanded the trial court’s determination that the FLSA’s “commissioned salesperson” overtime…
Continuing the practice it reinstituted during the current administration, on August 31, 2020 the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage Hour Division (WHD) issued four new Opinion Letters, addressing a variety of topics. That brings the total to 57 Opinion Letters issued since 2018, including the re-publication of 17 Opinion Letters withdrawn during the Obama…
Upon further reflection, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has determined that paying an employee a set amount for each day that he works (i.e. on a “day rate” basis) does not satisfy the “salary basis” component required to qualify as overtime-exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act…
Upholding a jury verdict in favor of the defendant “black car” (limousine service) company, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit concluded that the plaintiff-employee was properly classified as overtime-exempt under both the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and New York Labor Law (NYLL). Suarez v. Big Apple Car, Inc., 2020 U.S.…
Rejecting employer Timberline South’s argument, among others, that FLSA coverage did not apply because all of its timber harvesting occurred only within one state, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals nevertheless concluded that the commuting and meal break times should not have been included in the trial court’s calculation of overtime damages. Secretary of Labor…
Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a new proposed rule that intends to raise the annual minimum salary requirements for the FLSA’s “white collar” (executive, administrative, and professional) overtime exemptions to $35,308 ($679 per week), up from the current annual minimum of $23,660 ($455 per week). A full discussion of this…
