Employment Law Observer

On November 15, 2024, a federal district court in Texas struck down the U.S. Department of Labor ("DOL") Final Rule that would have made over four million additional workers eligible for overtime pay. The Final Rule significantly increased the salary threshold for white-collar workers to be exempt from overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA").

On March 29, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued a final rule (Final Rule) amending regulations for workplace investigations. It clarifies that employees may authorize both employees and a non-exhaustive list of third-party non-employees to act as their representative and accompany OSHA Compliance Safety and Health Officers (CSHO) during physical workplace inspections.

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).

Hopefully, employers are already providing a private space for nursing mothers to express milk and sufficient break time to do so as required by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act (PUMP Act), passed on December 29, 2022, further solidifies these requirements and makes employers liable for appropriate legal or equitable remedies under the 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.

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.

When former District of Columbia Police Chief Cathy Lanier stepped into her new role as security chief for the National Football League (“NFL”), she let it be known there was a “new sheriff in town,” a federal lawsuit alleges. About one year later, the NFL fired 9 security representatives accounting for approximately 1/3rd of the league’s staffing for the position and approximately 75% of the security representatives who were of the of age 60 or older. The security personnel promptly filed a federal suit in the Southern District of New York.

The Labor Department, Wage & Hour Division, issued an Opinion Letter earlier this week answering questions about the compensability of travel time for hourly technicians under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The technicians did not work at a fixed location or a fixed daily schedule. They worked 8 to 16 hours per day at various locations. Sometimes they stayed in hotels overnight or traveled out of town for training courses. The employer provided technicians company vehicles, which they could use for both work and personal purposes.

The US Supreme Court recently issued a five-four decision addressing whether service advisers of a car dealership fell within the automobile sales exemption. While the opinion may not seem particularly helpful for businesses that do not sell cars, a deeper reading reveals that it is a positive case for employers.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Labor announced it will now use the primary beneficiary test” to determine whether an intern must be paid.  Its announcement comes in the wake of the 9th Circuit’s adoption of the test, joining the 2nd, 6th, and 11th Circuits.  With the announcement, the DOL also updated Fact Sheet #71: Internship Programs Under The Fair Labor Standards Act. These moves displace a 6-part test the DOL adopted in 2010 that required all factors weigh in favor of the employer.