Employment Law Observer

Earlier this week, the United States Department of Labor (DOL) issued a "final rule" providing guidance on the proper classification of employees and independent contractors under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

On August 30, 2023, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to update and revise the salary requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) for exemptions from minimum wage and overtime pay requirements for employees subject to the executive, administrative, or professional exemptions, otherwise known as the "white collar" exemptions. This change would also affect computer employees classified as exempt and who receive a salary.

A recently decided case by the U.S. Supreme Court shows that even highly-compensated employees can be mislabeled as overtime-exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). On February 22, 2023, the Supreme Court addressed this very matter in its decision in Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. v. Hewitt.

On September 30, 2021, Florida’s hourly minimum wage rate increased from $8.56 to $10.00. For the next five years, the hourly minimum wage in Florida will increase by $1.00 each year until it reaches $15.00 per hour in 2026. This increase came as the result of Amendment 2, passed on November 3, 2020, by an overwhelming majority of Florida voters.

During the Trump administration, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued a new rule regarding the classification of independent contractors. Designed to streamline how a company determines whether a worker is an employee or independent contractor, the rule narrowed the factors in the "economic realities" test and focused the analysis on the two "core factors" of control and the opportunity for profit and loss. The proposed regulations were set to go into effect on March 8, 2021. With the change in administration, the DOL initially pushed the effective date back to May 7, 2021, to allow for further review and consideration. The DOL announced on May 5, 2021, that it is withdrawing the rule altogether.

Under the administration of former President Donald Trump, the Department of Labor (DOL) proposed new regulations to simplify the test for determining whether a worker is an employee or independent contractor. The regulations were set to go into effect on March 8, 2021.

Last week, the Department of Labor (DOL) proposed new regulations designed to make it easier for companies to determine whether workers can be classified as independent contractors. The DOL proposed an "economic reality" test to determine whether a worker is an employee or independent contractor under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

In a workplace safety whistleblower lawsuit recently filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, an air conditioning technician claims he was fired by his employer, HT Airsystems of Florida, LLC, in retaliation for complaining about purported overtime violations and for raising concerns about a lack of personal protective equipment (PPE), which would be a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), and Florida's Private Whistleblower Act (FWA).

In a recent summary judgment decision, the Eastern District of Wisconsin held that time spent by employees of staffing agencies both waiting for a job assignment and traveling to the job assignment if they were selected is not compensable time under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and Wisconsin's Wage Payment and Collection Laws (WWPCL). The court's decision serves as a reminder for employers and employees alike that not all time spent by an employee for the benefit of, or required by, the employer is compensable time.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently articulated a new statutory framework for determining whether notice to a putative plaintiff should be issued under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). At issue was whether a district court may authorize notice to potential plaintiffs who had entered into arbitration agreements waiving the right to participate in a collective action; or in the alternative, whether these employees are “similarly situated” to a plaintiff that has not waived their right to participate in a collective action.

The U.S. Department of Labor recently issued a Final Rule to update longstanding "joint employer" regulations which will take effect March 16, 2020, under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Under the FLSA, an employee may have one or more employers that are jointly and severally liable for violations of the FLSA. The new regulations provide clarity and, consequently, increase employers' comfort levels as to agreements with independent service providers.

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued three opinion letters on January 7, 2020—one addressing the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and two on the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The FMLA letter clarifies whether a combined general health district must consider employees of the county located in said health district when determining FMLA eligibility. As for the FLSA letters, one explores how a nondiscretionary bonus factors into an employee's regular rate of pay, while the other looks at whether per-project payments satisfy the salary basis test for exemption. Below, we take a closer look at each of these letters.

The United States Department of Labor (DOL) made official a new regulation increasing the minimum salary level that salaried employees must be paid to be exempt from overtime. As of January 1, 2020, if a salaried employee makes less than $684 per week—or $35,568 per year—the employee will be entitled to overtime for the hours worked beyond 40 hours in a week.

The Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has announced proposed changes to the regular rate regulations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). According to the DOL, the proposed changes are focused on updating and clarifying the regular rate regulations, and intended to encourage employers to provide additional benefits to workers without inviting litigation.

The Department of Labor (DOL), Wage and Hour Division, recently issued its first set of opinion letters for 2019. One of the letters, FLSA2019-02, addresses whether employee time spent participating in an employer's optional volunteer program is compensable work time under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). As many employers today offer optional volunteer programs to their employees, this opinion letter is helpful for employers to determine whether employee time spent volunteering with such a program is compensable.

The federal Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) provided updated guidance on its application of the “tip credit” rule for tipped employees who perform non-tip-generating tasks.

A District Court Judge in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania recently ruled that the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) preempted a plaintiff’s attempt to add state common law counts for breach of contract and unjust enrichment onto his statutory wage and hour claims. Formica v. US Environmental, Inc., (No. 18-459; July 11, 2018).  The plaintiff alleged FLSA, Pennsylvania Minimum Wage Act, and Pennsylvania Wage Payment and Collection Law claims. 

In  AHMC  Healthcare,  Inc.  v.  Letona,  decided  earlier  this  week,  a  California  state  of  appeals  court  considered  an  employer's  use  of  a  time  clock  rounding  system  and  whether  it  violated  California  Labor  Law.  While  it  is  a  California  case,  it  rests  on  the  federal  regulation  governing  time  rounding  found  in  29  CFR  §  785.48  and  is  thus  an  instructive  case  for  all  employers  who  use  or  are  thinking  about  adopting  a  rounding  policy. 

The United States Supreme Court ruled earlier this week that employees must submit claims to arbitration on an individualized basis when their employment agreements require it, even when those claims could be brought as class or collective action under federal legislation such as the Fair Labor Standards Act. Writing for the majority, Justice Neil Gorsuch held that parties to an arbitration agreement are bound by their agreement, as the Federal Arbitration Act envisioned. The Court cited the long history of supporting private arbitration agreements as an efficient and cost-effective means of handling disputes between parties, including parties to an employment agreement who have a dispute over wages.

The Family & Medical Leave Act ("FMLA") grants employees leave in certain enumerated situations. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals recently held it also allows the employee and employer to strike an agreement that the employee will perform certain duties and responsibilities during the leave and receive compensation for it without creating an actionable interference claim under the FMLA.