The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) this past week extended the comment period on proposed regulations for a new joint employer standard and for the definition of “regular rate” of pay, on which overtime pay calculations are based. Notices of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) were published on March 29 and April 9 respectively, with final comments…
Read More »The US Department of Labor (DOL) issued a new Opinion Letter last week prohibiting employers from delaying the designation of Family & Medical Leave. Citing the FMLA, the DOL letter states that when an eligible employee communicates a need for leave for an FMLA-qualified reason, neither the employee nor the employer may decline FMLA protection.…
Read More »On another front in the ongoing joint employer battle, the clarification promised by the Department of Labor in the form of a new rulemaking defining joint employer under the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) has yet to be completed. The DOL had proposed that such a rule would be written and circulated…
Read More »Back in the summer months, the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) released proposed revisions to the Pennsylvania Minimum Wage Act overtime exemptions (currently set at $250 per week or $13,000 per year). The proposal recommended increasing the state overtime exemption threshold in each of the next three years with the first increase in…
Read More »Congress is pushing for a final resolution to the joint employer issue on both the regulatory and legislative fronts. First off this week, both Senate Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety Chairman Johnny Isakson (R-GA) and his House counterpart, Subcommittee on Workforce Protections Chairman Bradley Byrne (R-AL) sent letters asking all House and Senate members to…
Read More »The gridlock on joint employer notwithstanding, the Department of Labor (DOL) this week extended for three years the validity of current notices and medical certification forms for use in complying with the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) The forms were set to expire last Friday, August 31, but have now been extended until…
Read More »The Department of Labor has indicated that it will be proposing new rules within the next few months to govern the parameters of overtime pay – both as relates the “regular rate of pay” and the so-called white collar exemption. DOL’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) plans to issue a new rule clarifying the regular…
Read More »The recent efforts of the Department of Labor to rescind an Obama-era restriction on tip pools were targeted yesterday by House democrats. A roundtable held in DC focused on generating opposition to the DOL proposed rule allowing tip pooling. Democratic members of the Committee on Education and the Workforce among others joined representatives from the…
Read More »It’s been in the news steadily over several weeks, but the Trump administration plan to revisit and likely rescind the tip pool restrictions implemented by the Obama Department of Labor (DOL) took a significant hit last week. It is now alleged that Labor Secretary Alex Acosta buried some research on the question that reflected poorly…
Read More »Those interested in the Department of Labor’s proposed new rule governing tip pooling have just over one more week to submit comments to DOL. The comment period, originally set to expire on January 3, was extended for another month and now expires one week from next Monday, on February 5, 2018. The changes overturn the…
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