The Department of Labor recently released its 2014 Semiannual Regulatory Agenda, a non-binding statement regarding upcoming rulemaking. The Agenda provides a timetable for issuance of a proposed rule revising the regulations interpreting the Fair Labor Standards Act’s “white collar” overtime exemptions, in conformity with the President’s recent directive. As we often discuss, certain
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GAO Study Highlights Need for “Systematic” Approach to DOL Review of Regulations
By Noel P. Tripp on
Posted in Department of Labor
The President’s recent directive to revise the federal wage-hour regulations includes a directive to simplify these rules. This simplicity mandate ties in to a recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) study analyzing the year-over-year increase in FLSA litigation. The GAO study found that a decrease in DOL guidance regarding the law and a failure…
President Obama Continues Push To Increase Federal Minimum Wage, Turns Attention to Tipped Wage
By Noel P. Tripp on
Despite encountering strong opposition to its proposals to raise the federal minimum wage and rewrite the Department of Labor regulations defining the exemptions from overtime under the FLSA, the White House is now requesting Congress raise the minimum wage for “tipped” employees. Through a report released last week, the President argues that the minimum…
White House To Announce Proposed Revamp To Overtime Regulations
By Noel P. Tripp on
Posted in Department of Labor, Exemptions
As the fight in Congress and the court of public opinion continues with respect to the proposed legislation to raise the federal minimum wage supported by President Obama, the White House is set to commence a new front in the battle this week by announcing broad proposed reforms to the Department of Labor regulations defining…
President Raises Minimum Wage For Employees of Federal Contractors
By Noel P. Tripp on
Posted in Department of Labor, Minimum Wage
As discussed in a recently released White House fact sheet and summarized more fully here, the President is expected to announce tonight during the State of the Union that his office will issue an Executive Order prospectively raising the minimum wage for federal contractors to $10.10. While many contractors pay higher rates pursuant to…
Congress Confirms Perez As Secretary of Labor, Employers Brace for Agenda
By Noel P. Tripp on
Posted in Department of Labor
After an at times testy and contentious confirmation proceeding, on July 18 the United States Senate confirmed President Obama’s nomination of Thomas Perez as the new Secretary of Labor, replacing the departed Hilda Solis. Some Republican Congressmen had questioned Perez’s conduct in a qui tam action in Minnesota. Mr. Perez’s Senate confirmation vote was…
Obama Taps Civil Rights Attorney to Head DOL
By Noel P. Tripp on
Posted in Department of Labor, Wage and Hour
Following on the heels of Hilda Solis’ surprising resignation, the President has nominated Thomas E. Perez to serve as the Secretary of Labor during his second term. Mr. Perez, like previously withdrawn Wage-and-Hour Administrator nominee Leon Rodriguez, has a background in public sector work and civil rights litigation, most recently serving as head of…
Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis To Step Down
By Noel P. Tripp on
Posted in Department of Labor
In a move surprising to the employment community, Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis has submitted her resignation to President Obama, creating a vacancy at the Department of Labor’s highest post and removing from the new administration one of its highest-ranking minority officials. In a lengthy email to staff, Secretary Solis explained that “After much discussion…
Jackson Lewis Coverage of President Obama’s Reelection: Wage/Hour Implications
By Noel P. Tripp on
Posted in Department of Labor
As touched upon in Jackson Lewis’ coverage of the employment law implications of President Obama’s reelection, employers are likely to see a continuation of the Department of Labor’s practices from the past four years during the next four. Per Jackson Lewis partner and former DOL Wage and Hour Administrator Paul DeCamp, these include:
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Non-Displacement Rule to Take Effect Under Service Contract Act
By Noel P. Tripp on
Posted in Department of Labor
On August 29, 2011, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published its final rule implementing Executive Order 13495. This Executive Order, which was issued more than two year ago, generally requires contractors (including subcontractors) providing services under a federal government contract that succeeds a contract for performance of the same or similar services at the …