Tax breaks on overtime pay and tipped earnings passed the House on May 22, 2025, as part of the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (H.R. 1). The tax deductions provided under the sprawling reconciliation bill would be temporary,...more
5/27/2025
/ Budget Reconciliation ,
Compensation ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employees ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Employment Policies ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Income Taxes ,
New Legislation ,
Over-Time ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Tax Deductions ,
Tax Reform ,
Tipped Employees ,
Tips
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) will no longer apply the 2024 independent contractor final rule when analyzing whether a worker is an employee or independent contractor under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
The...more
Employers were granted a reprieve last fall when a federal court invalidated the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) final rule increasing the minimum salary requirements for the “white collar” or “EAP” exemptions (executive,...more
In recent court filings in several ongoing lawsuits, the Department of Labor (DOL) has indicated that it will reconsider its 2024 independent contractor rule issued by the Biden Administration and may issue a new rule. The...more
President Donald Trump has nominated Andrew Rogers to lead the Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) Wage and Hour Division (WHD). He also nominated Jonathan Berry to serve as solicitor of labor. Trump sent the nominations to the...more
President Donald Trump has rescinded President Joe Biden’s executive order (EO) increasing the minimum wage for employees of federal contractors. The rescission was one of numerous Biden EOs revoked by Trump in a second wave...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has reversed a Texas federal court’s decision that invalidated President Joe Biden’s executive order increasing the hourly minimum wage for employees of federal contractors. The...more
2/11/2025
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Appeals ,
Biden Administration ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Executive Orders ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Minimum Wage ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Split of Authority ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
The Trump Administration has asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit to postpone oral argument in a lawsuit challenging President Joe Biden’s 2024 independent contractor rule. The U.S. Department of Justice...more
1/29/2025
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Appeals ,
Biden Administration ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employment Litigation ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Final Rules ,
Independent Contractors ,
Interlocutory Appeals ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Trump Administration
The Supreme Court on Monday, Jan. 13, 2025, declined to take up a decision addressing the president’s authority under the Procurement Act to issue a minimum wage mandate for employees working on federal government contracts....more
1/15/2025
/ Biden Administration ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Denial of Certiorari ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employment Litigation ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Labor Regulations ,
Minimum Wage ,
SCOTUS ,
Wage and Hour
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published a final rule on Dec. 17, 2024, restoring the pre-2021 language of the “dual jobs” regulation for tipped employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). This is a technical...more
12/19/2024
/ Chevron Deference ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Final Rules ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Job Duties ,
Loper Bright Enterprises v Raimondo ,
Minimum Wage ,
Tip Credit ,
Tipped Employees ,
Wage and Hour
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has issued a proposed rule to end the practice of paying subminimum wages to certain workers with disabilities. The proposed rule, announced December 3, 2024, marks the first rulemaking...more
In a highly anticipated decision, a federal district court in Texas has vacated the Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) 2024 Final Rule increasing the salary threshold for application of the executive, administrative, and...more
11/19/2024
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Executive Compensation ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Highly Compensated Employees ,
Minimum Salary ,
Over-Time ,
Salaried Employees ,
Texas ,
Vacated ,
Wage and Hour
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has released an opinion letter addressing whether per diem expense payments for tools and equipment may be excluded from the hourly rate when calculating overtime pay under the Fair Labor...more
Federal contractors may need to be prepared to increase pay for employees working on, or in connection with, covered federal government contracts. The hourly minimum wage for employees performing work on federal contracts...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has statutory authority to impose a salary level requirement to qualify for the executive, administrative, and professional (EAP) exemptions under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the...more
9/16/2024
/ Constitutional Challenges ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
EAP ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Loper Bright Enterprises v Raimondo ,
Minimum Salary ,
Standard Duties Test ,
Statutory Authority ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
A federal judge in Texas has enjoined the Department of Labor (DOL) from enforcing its Final Rule raising the minimum salary level requirements for executive, administrative, and professional (EAP) exemptions to the minimum...more
In a strongly worded opinion, a federal judge in Texas held the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) likely exceeded its authority in implementing its Final Rule raising the minimum salary level requirements for executive,...more
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Final Rule raising the minimum salary level requirements for application of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) “white collar” exemptions is scheduled to take effect July 1, 2024. Lawsuits,...more
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) has published a Field Assistance Bulletin (FAB) on the application of federal labor standards to employers’ use of artificial intelligence (AI) and other automated...more
5/21/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Automated Decision Systems (ADS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Polygraph Protection Act (EPPA) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Field Assistance Bulletins ,
Lactation Accommodation ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Timekeeping ,
Wage and Hour ,
Working Time Regulations
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has issued its Final Rule to increase the minimum salary requirements for the “white collar” exemptions (executive, administrative, and professional) from minimum wage and overtime pay...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) final rule revising the standard for determining whether a worker is an employee or independent contractor under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) took effect March 11, 2024. The fate of...more
President Joe Biden on Monday, January 8, 2024, sent to the Senate the nomination of Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su to serve as permanent DOL Secretary. President Biden previously had signaled his intent to send the...more
The nomination of Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su to serve as permanent DOL Secretary has been returned to the White House after failing to garner sufficient support to clear a path to confirmation by the full Senate,...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) unveiled its semi-annual regulatory agenda on December 6, 2023, which sets an April 2024 date for release of the agency’s anticipated final rule amending the regulations defining the “white...more
The Senate has confirmed Principal Deputy Administrator Jessica Looman as the head of the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) by a 51-46 vote.
The WHD enforces the federal minimum wage, overtime pay,...more