In the same vein, the Department of Labor (DOL) also announced this week that it was launching a new initiative aimed at strengthening the rights of workers. This new effort, entitled “Essential Workers, Essential Protections”, provides workers with information about the wage and hour laws that apply to them, including instructions on how to contact DOL with questions or complaints.…
Read More »Underscoring the importance of who’s calling the shots at the NLRB, DOL and other federal departments during the transition from the Trump to the Biden administration, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) this week announced that it was withdrawing three opinion letters that address compliance issues related to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The…
Read More »It’s been over a decade since the US Department of Labor (DOL) abandoned its long practice of issuing opinion letters in response to employer questions on Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) application. Back in 2009, DOL changed that historic approach to resolving issues relating FLSA and began suing employers as the primary approach to enforcing…
Read More »Notwithstanding the above and possible re-opening of the issue, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has released the final version of the long-awaited joint employer rule. The final rule now employs a four-part test to determine joint employer status that includes whether a franchise: 1) maintains power to hire and fire; 2) supervise schedules and…
Read More »As the end of 2019 rapidly approaches, many eyes are turning to several federal regulatory agencies where a number of important decisions are expected after the Trump administration released its regulatory schedule this week. The biggest of the big issues relates the question of joint employment status and its applicability under a number of federal…
Read More »Notwithstanding the concerns of some over the generally more reasonable regulatory environment established by the Trump administration across the federal bureaucracy, employees continue to benefit from more effective policies. As a perfect case in point, we noted this week that the Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division (WHD) collected a record amount of wages…
Read More »Speaking of proposed rulemakings, the Department of Labor got in the game this week as well with two different issues. First, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) within the White House has begun its review of the DOL’s proposed final rule on drug testing. As drafted, the rule will allow states to drug-test unemployment…
Read More »It’s official! The US Department of Labor last week officially amended its Field Operations Handbook relating when and for what work employers could pay workers a subminimum wage (tipped wage). The 80/20 rule, as it became known when it was implemented in 2009, provided that an employee could not be paid the lower tipped wage…
Read More »The Department of Labor on Tuesday announced it was extending the Payroll Audit Independent Determination Program (PAID) for an additional six months. PAID is a voluntary compliance initiative that helps workers collect back wages due them in an expedited manner without having to wait for lengthy investigations to conclude or initiate court cases. Through PAID,…
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…
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