Tag archives: DOL

US: OSHA Issues COVID-19 Workplace Safety Rule

On June 10, 2021, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued a mandatory workplace safety rule requiring employers to take specified steps to protect workers from COVID-19. However, the rule applies only to health care settings. Referred to as an emergency temporary standard (ETS), the rule exempts fully vaccinated workers from masking, distancing, and … Continue reading

US: Labor Department Sets Occupational Safety & Health Meeting

By Kevin Mayer (US) on June 4, 2021 Posted in Coronavirus, North America, United States

The National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health will conduct a virtual meeting on June 22, 2021, to address current workplace issues and its prior work. The details are set forth in today’s U.S. Department of Labor announcement. The DOL and federal OSHA have been shifting priorities since the initiation of the Biden Administration, … Continue reading

US: DOL issues COBRA premium subsidy guidance and model notices

By Josh Owings (US) and Thomas Reddin (US) on May 12, 2021 Posted in North America, United States

The US Department of Labor recently published answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs) and model notices for the new COBRA premium subsidy made available to many employees and their dependents under the American Rescue Plan Act. As explained in an earlier post, the new law allows “assistance eligible individuals” (AEIs) – defined as COBRA qualified … Continue reading

DOL independent contractor rule withdrawn

By Rachel Kurth (US) on May 6, 2021 Posted in North America, United States

Trump-era independent contractor rule withdrawn Effective today, May 6, 2021, the Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) Trump-era independent contractor rule has been officially withdrawn. The Trump-era independent contractor rule, which never went into effect due to the change between presidential administrations, would have made it easier for companies to classify workers as independent contractors. Trump-era independent … Continue reading

US: Occupational Safety and Health Administration proposal to update Hazard Communication Standard

By Kevin Mayer (US) on February 10, 2021 Posted in North America, United States

On February 5, 2021, federal OSHA issued a proposed rule to update the US Department of Labor’s Hazard Communication Standard (HCS or HazCom) to align with the seventh revision of the United Nations’ Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS). In support of its proposed rule, OSHA asserts the update will increase … Continue reading

US: New COVID-19-related paid sick leave requirements for larger Los Angeles employers

By Josh Henderson (US) on April 10, 2020 Posted in Coronavirus, North America, United States

Employers with either 500 or more employees within the City of Los Angeles, or who employ at least one employee in Los Angeles and have 2,000 or more employees within the US, must now provide supplemental paid sick leave for reasons related to the coronavirus pandemic for those employees performing work in the city. Notably, … Continue reading

US: DOL issues guidance on coronavirus paid leave rule and clarifies coverage for stay-at-home orders

By Marjorie Glover (US) and James Hughes on April 3, 2020 Posted in Coronavirus, North America, United States

On April 1, 2020, the US Department of Labor (DOL) issued a temporary rule providing key guidance on paid leave under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). The rule clarifies that employees covered under a federal, state or local stay–at-home order may be eligible for paid FFCRA leave but only if work or telework … Continue reading

US DOL issues new guidance on COVID-19 paid sick and family leave

By Marjorie Glover (US) on March 27, 2020 Posted in Coronavirus, North America, United States

The US Department of Labor (DOL) issued guidance which answers a number of key questions on the new federal coronavirus paid sick leave and emergency Family and Medical Leave Act leave, including when the law takes effect, how to count employees for purposes of the 500-employee threshold, how to treat related employers and other key … Continue reading

We all know what the new DOL salary numbers are, but what happens next?

By Kimberly Cheeseman (US) and Carolyn Webb (US) on March 21, 2019 Posted in General, North America, United States

The US Department of Labor’s March 7, 2019 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking reset the salary requirements for the Fair Labor Standards Act’s white-collar exemptions. By now we all know the new numbers: the minimum salary threshold will increase from US$455 per week (US$23,660 annually) to US$679 per week (US$35,308 annually) for the executive, administrative, professional, … Continue reading

DOL issues new opinions on FMLA and FLSA

By Rachel Kurth (US) and Margaret Rudolph (US) on September 5, 2018 Posted in North America, United States

Key opinion letter allows FMLA leave for voluntary organ donation Earlier this week, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued six advisory opinion letters on various Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) and Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) issues. From time to time, opinion letters such as these are issued to provide legal guidance to … Continue reading

DOL to appeal injunction against new overtime regulations

By Andrew Yeh (US) and Matt Heller (US) on December 6, 2016 Posted in United States

Despite the fact that the U.S. Department of Labor’s new overtime regulations were set to go into effect on December 1st, the validity of the regulations remains unsettled. We previously reported that on November 22nd, Judge Amos Mazzant of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas granted a nationwide injunction precluding … Continue reading

Texas federal judge puts the brakes on the DOL’s new overtime regulations

By Mario Barrera (US), Kimberly Cheeseman (US) and Matt Heller (US) on November 25, 2016 Posted in General, United States

Employers who had been searching for a way to best implement the Department of Labor’s new overtime regulations (the “Final Rule”), which are set to go into effect on December 1, 2016, received an early holiday gift on Tuesday, and from one of President Obama’s appointed jurists, no less. On November 22nd, Judge Amos Mazzant … Continue reading

US DOL Persuader Rule permanently benched

By Dennis Jackson (US) on November 16, 2016 Posted in United States

Hailed by the US Department of Labor as a regulatory change to promote transparency and to help employees make well-informed decisions about union representation, the Department of Labor’s final rule on reporting union persuader activities has been permanently blocked by Texas US District Court Judge Sam R. Cummings. The new rule attempted to narrow the … Continue reading

Overtime overhaul – small businesses want more time to prepare

By Norlynn Price (US) on September 29, 2016 Posted in United States

With just about 90 days to go before the U.S. Department of Labor’s final rule dramatically updating overtime regulations is scheduled to go into effect, small business owners have petitioned the DOL’s Wage and Hour Division seeking more time to prepare for and implement changes to the way they operate their businesses so that they … Continue reading

DOL’s new salary rule is a mixed bag for employers

By Mario Barrera (US) and Stephen Romero (US) on May 19, 2016 Posted in United States

Adding to the recent flurry of federal regulatory activity, on May 18, 2016, the United States Department of Labor‘s Wage and Hour Division issued a final rule on overtime that raises the salary threshold for exempt employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Defining and delimiting the exemptions for executive, administrative, professional, outside sales and computer employees … Continue reading

US Department of Labor exposes more business as joint employers

By Dennis Jackson (US) on January 29, 2016 Posted in United States

On the heels of the National Labor Relations Board’s landmark decision in Browning Ferris Industries, which found that under the National Labor Relations Act a company and its contractor can be seen as a joint employer even where the company does not exert any control over employees’ terms and conditions of employment, the Department of … Continue reading