In January, President Obama re-submitted his nomination of deputy assistant attorney general and chief of staff of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, Leon Rodriguez, to be Administrator of the DOL’s Wage and Hour Division. On Tuesday, the White House issued a press release indicating that Mr. Rodriguez’s nomination has been withdrawn. No reason
DOL
DOL Rolls Out iPhone Application to Track Employee Work Hours
As discussed at length on the Jackson Lewis web site here, the U.S. Department of Labor has announced the launch of its first free application for smartphones, releasing an “App” compatible with iPhone and iPod Touch (and available in English and Spanish), with which users can track regular work hours, break time and any…
USDOL Revises Tip Credit Regulations, Leaves Others Unchanged
Following up on proposed regulations issued in 2008 for notice and comment, the U.S. Department of Labor issued final regulations last week, effective 30 days following publication in the Federal Register. These regulations address the issues below but other than in regard to use of the tip credit under Section 3(m), the changes to the text…
$130,000 Salary Alone Does Not Make Labor Manager Exempt
In a case exemplifying that salary alone does not make an employee exempt, a district court in Idaho denied summary judgment to an employer in an overtime case brought by a Labor Manager earning $130,000/year. Wood v. Kinetic Sys., 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11221 (D. Idaho Feb. 4, 2011).
While it was undisputed the…
Department of Labor Requests Commentary Regarding Implementation of New Lactation Break Requirement
Via notice published December 21, 2010, the United States Department of Labor’s Wage & Hour Division (“WHD”) sought commentary from the public regarding WHD’s preliminary interpretations of the new lactation break requirement added to the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) on March 23, 2010 as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. These preliminary…
Seventh Circuit Upholds Pro-Employer Method of Overtime Calculation for Misclassified Employees
The Fair Labor Standards Act requires employers to pay non-exempt employees one and one half times their regular rate of pay for any hours worked in a workweek in excess of 40. United States Department of Labor regulations, as set forth in 29 C.F.R. § 778.114(a), allow an employer to utilize the fluctuating workweek (“FWW”) method…
USDOL Issues Second Pro-Employee “Administrator’s Interpretation”
Federal Court Finds Pre-Shift Time De Minimis And Non-Compensable
The Second Circuit recently affirmed a district court’s decision dismissing security guards’ claims for minimal amounts of allegedly uncompensated work time. In doing so, the Court reiteratedthe general principle applied by federal courts that “"[w]hen the matter in issue concerns only a few seconds or minutes of work beyond the scheduled working hours, such trifles may…
An Example of the USDOL’s New Proactive, Company-Wide Approach To Settlements
As we previously reported here, the USDOL is focused on corporate-wide compliance strategies to ensure that employers take active responsibility for their compliance efforts. In a speech at New York University, Solicitor of Labor M. Patricia Smith touted a recent settlement with Tyson Foods as an example of the DOL’s new approach. Ms. Smith…
Jackson Lewis Attends Wage and Hour Division Public Forum Articulating DOL Enforcement Agenda
On Friday, May 21, 2010, the Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division held a public Stakeholder Forum, during which key members of the Wage and Hour Division (WHD) discussed WHD’s goals and regulatory agenda. Jackson Lewis attended the Forum.
After welcoming the crowd, Nancy Leppink, the WHD Deputy Administrator pointed out some of WHD’s accomplishments…