Justin R. Barnes

Subscribe to Justin R. Barnes's Posts
Contact:Read more about Justin R. Barnes

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…

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) final rule revising the standard for determining whether a worker is an employee or independent contractor under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) took effect March 11, 2024. The fate of the rule is uncertain, however, as it faces several legal challenges that could disrupt its implementation.

Independent contractor…

President Joe Biden on Monday, January 8, 2024, sent to the Senate the nomination of Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su to serve as permanent DOL Secretary. President Biden previously had signaled his intent to send the nomination back to the Senate after it failed in the last session.

Biden first nominated Su last spring…

The nomination of Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su to serve as permanent DOL Secretary has been returned to the White House after failing to garner sufficient support to clear a path to confirmation by the full Senate, according to media reports.

President Biden nominated Su last spring to replace former DOL Secretary Marty Walsh…

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) unveiled its semi-annual regulatory agenda on December 6, 2023, which sets an April 2024 date for release of the agency’s anticipated final rule amending the regulations defining the “white collar” exemptions from the overtime and minimum wage requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

The DOL released its…

“When an employer, as here, decides to allow employees to retain some portion of an unused health insurance credit, it can permissibly structure the program to prop up the employee health plans without treating the full amount of the health credit as part of the FLSA regular rate of pay.”…
Continue Reading Ninth Circuit: Health Insurance Opt-Out Fees Not Part of Regular Rate for Overtime Purposes

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has issued its long-anticipated proposed rule to increase the minimum salary requirements for the “white collar” exemptions (executive, administrative, and professional) from minimum wage and overtime pay requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

Under the proposed rule, the salary level for the white-collar exemptions to apply will…

A federal district court in Arizona held this week that courts are not required – or even authorized – to grant judicial approval of settlement agreements resolving individual claims brought under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), joining a growing number of courts calling into question the notion that private FLSA settlements require review and…

Reviving a security guard’s claim for overtime pay, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals recently reiterated that employers may not pay employees an artificially low regular rate of pay to avoid paying the proper amount of overtime. Thompson v. Regions Sec. Servs., Inc., 67 F.4th 1301 (11th Cir. 2023). The Eleventh Circuit oversees the…