Tag archives: FLSA

DOL independent contractor rule withdrawn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Trump-era independent contractor rule withdrawn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today, May 6, 2021, the Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) Trump-era independent contractor rule has been officially withdrawn.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 contractor rule

The Trump-era independent contractor rule expressly adopted and clarified the “economic realities test” for worker classification, and would have narrowed the focus of the inquiry to five distinct factors: (1) the nature and degree of the individual’s control over the work; (2) … 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 is available. The rule also provides detailed guidance on teleworking, the small business exemption, required documentation and a number of other points. For more information, see our legal update, US: DOL issues key federal paid leave rule, extends leave to certain employees under stay-at-home orders… 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 questions. The DOL also issued model paid sick leave posters and announced limited amnesty for violations through April 17th. For more information, read US DOL answers questions on new federal sick and family leave, issues new posters and announces limited amnesty and see our chart … Continue Reading

United States federal coronavirus law requires some employers to provide paid leave

By Marjorie Glover (US) on March 19, 2020 Posted in Coronavirus, General, North America, United States

On March 18, 2020, President Trump signed into law the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), which provides relief to families and workers facing the global coronavirus pandemic.

The FFCRA provides: (1) free diagnostic testing for coronavirus; (2) food assistance to low-income pregnant women and mothers with young children, food banks, seniors and students; (3) increased federal assistance to state Medicaid programs; (4) enhanced unemployment assistance to affected workers; and (5) paid sick leave and emergency federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) coverage to certain employees and individuals.

See US: New federal coronavirus response act provides paid leave requirements … Continue Reading

US employment law considerations for COVID-19 coronavirus

By Joseph Dole (US), Marjorie Glover (US), Nandini Rao (US) and Andrew Yeh (US) on March 6, 2020 Posted in Coronavirus, North America, United States

COVID-19, the 2019 novel coronavirus (“COVID-19” or the “coronavirus”) is naturally on the minds of US employers as the number of cases in the US continues to rise. Although the Centers for Disease Control is still advising that most people in the US have a low immediate risk of exposure, that could change and employers are well advised to consider some basic questions that could arise in the future. We pose and answer some of those basic questions in our article US employers must consider multiple legal requirements when addressing coronavirus concerns. Remember that individual situations can vary and … 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 employers.

The DOL opinion letter likely to be of most interest to US companies is the one that addressed whether an employee in good health who voluntarily chooses to undergo organ donation surgery could use FMLA leave for post-operative care. See FMLA2018-2-A. The DOL … 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 the Department of Labor from implementing and enforcing the regulations on November 22nd in Nevada v. U.S. Department of Labor. On December 1st, the very same day that the regulations were supposed to go into effect, the Department of Labor announced that it would … 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 of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas granted a nationwide preliminary injunction against implementation of the overtime regulations. As a result, the Department of Labor will not be able to enforce the regulations as of December 1, 2016.

The Final Rule, … 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 can remain compliant with wage laws. In a parallel move, on September 28, 2016, the U.S. House of Representatives also voted in favor of the Regulatory Relief for Small Businesses, Schools and Nonprofits Act, which would delay implementation of the DOL’s final overtime rule … Continue Reading

US DOL finalizes new rule expanding overtime coverage

By Dennis Jackson (US) and Margaret Rudolph (US) on May 23, 2016 Posted in United States

The US Department of Labor (DOL) has finalized a new rule expanding the number of employees entitled to receive overtime pay for work in excess of 40 hours in a regular workweek, by doubling the salary needed for executive, administrative, and professional workers to qualify as exempt and by raising the compensation needed to qualify as a highly compensated employee.

The rule will take effect December 1, 2016 and is expected to affect at least 4.2 million full-time exempt employees.

It supposedly represents the DOL’s effort to better distinguish overtime-eligible white collar employees, whom Congress intended to protect under the … Continue Reading

New era of representative evidence? Time will tell

By Barbara D'Aquila and Darryl Anderson (US) on April 5, 2016 Posted in United States

On March 22, 2016, in a 6-2 decision, the US Supreme Court greenlighted the use of representative evidence in the federal wage and hour class case of Tyson Foods, Inc. v. Bouaphakeo, No. 14-1146. The Court approved the use of statistical averaging of employee donning and doffing time in connection with Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) class certification. The opinion discusses several limiting factors that employers will no doubt argue constrains its applicability, especially outside the FLSA context.… 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 Labor (DOL), Wage and Hour Division this week released new guidelines for when companies may be considered joint employers under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (MSPA) and thus jointly liable for any wage and … Continue Reading

US Supreme Court declines to review FLSA pleading standards

By Nick Hendrix on April 27, 2015 Posted in United States

On April 20, 2015, the United States Supreme Court denied the petition for certiorari in Landers v. Quality Communications, Inc.

At issue in the case was the level of detail that plaintiffs seeking overtime payments under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) must allege in order to survive a motion to dismiss.

Greg Landers sued Quality Communications, Inc., his employer, alleging that Landers sometimes worked in excess of forty hours a week without receiving overtime pay in violation of the FLSA.… Continue Reading

Obamacare: does it hide a potent whistleblower pill?

By Mario Barrera (US) and James Hughes on May 29, 2014 Posted in United States, Whistleblowing

The Affordable Care Act (ACA)—or “Obamacare”—has gotten plenty of attention due to technical glitches with the HealthCare.gov website, consumers’ difficulties obtaining (or keeping) insurance through the exchanges, and Health Secretary Sibelius’s recent resignation.

But some notable provisions of the ACA have gone largely unremarked—particularly an amendment to Title 29 of the U.S. Code.

Added by the ACA, § 218c of Title 29 not only protects employees who receive ACA healthcare credits or subsidies, it also shields employees who: