Just six months after increasing the penalties for violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the U.S. Department of Labor has announced another adjustment to the penalties for FLSA violations. The first adjustment was made last August pursuant to the Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 (Inflation Adjustment Act). The Inflation Read more
Last month the Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which entitles non-exempt employees to overtime pay for hours worked in excess of 40, does not allow employers to offset unpaid overtime with paid meal breaks. The plaintiffs in the case of Smiley v. E.L. DuPont de Nemours Read more
Minimum Wage Two important announcements regarding federal contractors came from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) in September. First, on September 20, 2016, the DOL published a notice that the minimum wage for employees working on certain government contracts will increase to $10.20 per hour beginning January 1, 2017, pursuant to Executive Order 13658, Establishing Read more
Many home care workers will now be entitled to the federal minimum wage and overtime pay protections that apply to most US workers. The US Department of Labor (DOL) has announced that the Final Rule making the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) applicable to direct care workers has survived the final legal hurdle that stalled Read more
Last week, President Obama signed a memorandum directing the US Secretary of Labor to begin the process of updating the Fair Labor Standards Act’s (FLSA) overtime rules to better fit today’s economy. Under the FLSA, workers who are paid hourly wages or who earn below a certain salary threshold are generally protected by minimum wage Read more
In Gibbs v. City of New York, the New York Federal Court has found that the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) does not require employers to pay their employees for attending mandatory alcohol counseling and treatment sessions to keep their jobs. The case involved two New York Police Department employees that sued the police department Read more
Misclassification is the practice of incorrectly labeling workers as independent contractors rather than employees. Because independent contractors are by definition are self-employed, their employers often escape many of their responsibilities under employment, labor, and related tax laws and deprive workers of the protections of those laws. In recent years, the US DOL has been combating Read more
Twice a year the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announces matters it plans to consider in the coming months and years. Acting on a Presidential directive, the DOL last spring announced plans to consider regulations regarding overtime for “white collar” workers under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The announcement, included in the Semiannual Regulatory Read more
Compliance with the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is more critical than ever for employers. The FLSA is the law that establishes minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping and youth employment standards affecting employees in the private sector and in federal, state and local governments. FLSA Enforcement According to recent government reports, FLSA lawsuits have Read more
Employers understand the importance of maintaining accurate wage and hour records for their non-exempt employees. A periodic review of recordkeeping requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) can keep an employer on track and avoid problems later on. Records To Be Kept By Employers The FLSA requires no particular form for required records, but Read more
