Department of Labor

Our readers may remember reading our previous blog posts about the US Department of Labor’s (DOL) Final Rule increasing the minimum salary that bona fide executive, administrative, and professional (EAP) employees must earn to be exempt from overtime. The regulation proposes to increase the pay threshold for exempt employees from $455 per week ($23,660 annually) to Read more

Employers may recall back in 2013 when two federal courts invalidated the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Final Rule that would have required most private sector employers to post a notice of employee rights under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) in the workplace.  The courts found that the posting requirement violated employers’ free speech Read more

On May 7, 2015, the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the U.S. Department of Labor. Like the MOU between the U.S. Department of Labor and states like Alabama, California, Florida, and Massachusetts, Rhode Island’s agreement was created to battle employee misclassification. State agencies in Rhode Island Read more

The US Department of Labor has updated regulations to reflect modern workforce demographics, employees’ health and family care responsibilities, and achieve pay equity. Mandatory federal workplace posting updates reflecting these goals are expected soon. What’s changing? FMLA Poster Update – The U.S. Department of Labor (US DOL) has issued a Final Rule changing the Family Read more

The state of Wisconsin has joined forces with the U.S. Department of Labor to reduce misclassification of employees. The goal is to prevent and reduce the misclassification of independent contractors or other nonemployee statuses by having agencies work together. Under the agreement, state and federal agencies can share resources and information, as well as conduct Read more

Florida is the latest state to join the U.S. Department of Labor’s Misclassification Initiative developed to reduce and prevent the practice of misclassification of employees. Alabama, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New York, Utah and Washington are other states that have joined their agencies to protect the rights Read more

Ontario’s Ministry of Labour just announced that as of April 1, 2015, a new training requirement will be mandatory for workers that perform travel restraint system, fall restricting system, fall arrest system, safety net, work belt, or safety belt. Working at Heights Program Standard is the new training program designed to prevent injuries and fatalities Read more

The U.S. Department of Labor and New Hampshire Department of Labor have signed an agreement to protect workers’ rights by focusing on the misclassification of employees. Under this agreement, both government agencies will share information to ensure law compliance, and if necessary, coordinate law enforcement. The direct communication aims to prevent and restore the rights Read more

To encourage a safe workplace, the Maine Department of Labor is offering free safety courses for employers in the month of November. Courses will be held at the SafetyWorks! Training Institute. SafetyWorks! is an outreach program created by the Maine Department of Labor to reduce job-related injuries, illnesses and deaths. Services are provided by safety Read more

The US Department of Labor (DOL) governs and enforces upwards of 180 federal laws covering workplace activities. The DOL’s principal statutes are applicable to businesses, job seekers, workers, retirees, contractors and grantees. You are most likely familiar with some of the major topic areas – wage and hour, workplace safety and health, workers’ compensation, employee Read more