Happy 2020! Welcome to the first edition of Policy Matters in this Presidential election year! Understandably, most of the Capitol’s attention has been focused on impeachment proceedings (or the lack thereof) and the conflict...more
1/20/2020
/ Back Wages ,
Davis-Bacon Act ,
Elder Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Labor Regulations ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Pregnancy ,
Pregnancy Discrimination ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Restaurant Industry ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Tip Credit ,
Tipped Employees ,
Tips ,
Vulnerable Victims ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wages
Seyfarth Synopsis: On January 15, 2020, the Department of Labor’s Final Rule on regular and basic rates of pay will take effect. This series will explore the various issues implicated by the Department’s changes. Part I...more
1/15/2020
/ Compensation & Benefits ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
Over-Time ,
Rate of Pay ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wages
Seyfarth Synopsis: In the December 16, 2019, Federal Register, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage & Hour Division (WHD) published its final rule clarifying and updating the regulations governing the regular rate requirements...more
Right of First Refusal EO Revoked. Last week, President Trump issued an Executive Order revoking Executive Order 13495 issued by President Obama in January 2009. EO 13495 required that successor Federal service contractors...more
11/11/2019
/ Administrative Authority ,
Amicus Briefs ,
Bonuses ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employment Contract ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Fluctuating Workweek ,
General Motors ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance ,
Labor Regulations ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Military Service Members ,
National Interest Waiver ,
NLRB ,
OFCCP ,
Offensive Language ,
Pending Legislation ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Retirement ,
Right of First Refusal ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Salaried Employees ,
Section 7 ,
TRICARE ,
Trump Administration ,
Wage and Hour
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Department of Labor’s Wage & Hour Division announced its long-awaited proposed rule related to the FLSA’s tip provisions. The rule would implement statutory changes passed in March 2018; it also would...more
10/9/2019
/ Comment Period ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Food Service Workers ,
Job Duties ,
Labor Regulations ,
Minimum Wage ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Tip Credit ,
Tipped Employees ,
Tips ,
Wage and Hour
Seyfarth Synopsis: The U.S. Department of Labor announced its final rule updating and revising the regulations issued under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) regarding the earnings thresholds necessary to exempt executive,...more
9/25/2019
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Final Rules ,
Labor Regulations ,
Minimum Salary ,
Non-Exempt Employees ,
Over-Time ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
Last week, Seyfarth submitted comments regarding the DOL’s proposal to update the federal regulations that set the standard for determining whether a business can be held liable as a joint employer under the FLSA. ...more
Recently, the comment period ended for the Department of Labor’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking to revise and update the regulations interpreting the Fair Labor Standards Act’s (“FLSA”) regular rate of pay...more
6/26/2019
/ Bonuses ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Labor Regulations ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Rate of Pay ,
Reimbursements ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Sick Pay ,
State Labor Laws ,
Vacation Pay ,
Wage and Hour
Earlier last week, the comment period ended for the U.S. Department of Labor, Wage & Hour Division’s proposed rule increasing the salary threshold for the FLSA’s white collar exemption. The proposal received more than...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: On April 1, 2019, the U.S. DOL announced a proposed rule to clarify joint employment under the FLSA. The rule would establish a four-factor balancing test for joint employer status....more
4/3/2019
/ Administrative Interpretation ,
Comment Period ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Joint Employers ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Staffing Agencies ,
Wage and Hour
Seyfarth Synopsis: In the latest chapter in the ongoing saga of the U.S. Department of Labor’s efforts to increase the salary threshold required for most white-collar exemptions, on March 7, 2019, the Department announced a...more
3/13/2019
/ Comment Period ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Minimum Salary ,
Non-Exempt Employees ,
NPRM ,
Over-Time ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
Since 2015, we have been following the saga of the salary threshold for the FLSA’s white-collar exemptions (most of them, at least). ...more
The Department of Labor issued its Fall 2018 regulatory agenda, and the Wage & Hour Division is front and center....more
Remember that time when the Wage & Hour Division published a final rule increasing the minimum salary level for the white-collar exemptions to $47,476 per year? And then a court enjoined the rule from going forward? And...more
On Tuesday, the Wage & Hour Division announced a new program for resolving violations of the FLSA without the need for litigation. The Payroll Audit Independent Determination program—or “PAID”—is intended to facilitate the...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: With the federal government shut down as of last Saturday, private employers – federal contractors especially – are considering their options....more
Seyfarth Synopsis: On Thursday afternoon, a federal judge in Texas issued an order officially invalidating the U.S. Department of Labor’s 2016 overtime rule, which would have more than doubled the minimum salary level for...more
On July 26, 2017, the U.S. Department of Labor will publish its anticipated Request for Information on the White-Collar Overtime Exemption in the Federal Register. The RFI will give the regulated community 60 days to provide...more
Each spring and fall, Washington waits with bated breath as the Executive Branch releases its regulatory agenda. As the first pronouncement of some of the specifics of the Trump Administration’s regulatory plans, this year’s...more
7/20/2017
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
NPRM ,
Over-Time ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Tip Credit ,
Tip-Pooling ,
Trump Administration ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
Seyfarth Synopsis: On June 30, the Department of Labor filed its reply brief to support its appeal from a preliminary injunction that enjoined the DOL from implementing its 2016 revisions to the salary-level tests for...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: On June 30, the Department of Labor filed its reply brief to support its appeal from a preliminary injunction that enjoined the DOL from implementing its 2016 revisions to the salary-level tests for...more
At last, the federal government has filed its reply brief in the Fifth Circuit concerning its appeal from a Texas district court’s order preliminarily enjoining the 2016 revisions to the FLSA’s executive, administrative, and...more
In the second bit of wage hour news today, and in advance of Secretary Acosta’s hearing before a Senate Appropriations subcommittee, the Department of Labor announced the return of opinion letters. In 2010, the Obama...more
Yesterday, the DOL’s Wage & Hour Division (WHD) sent its anticipated Request for Information (RFI) on the overtime rule to the Office of Management and Budget’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA). Review of...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: United States Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta recently withdrew the federal Wage & Hour Division’s (WHD) Obama-era guidance documents on independent contractors and joint employment. Those documents,...more