Wage and Hour Defense Blog

The Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor (“WHD”) issued six opinion letters in January 2021.[1]  They address a number of important issues under the Fair Labor and Standards Act (“FLSA”).  To ensure wage and hour compliance, we recommend reviewing these letters closely and consulting counsel with any questions as to how they may apply to a specific business situation.

FLSA2021-1

In FLSA2021-1, the WHD addressed whether account managers employed by a life science products manufacturer were properly classified as exempt from the FLSA minimum wage and ...

In a provocative  decision in the case known as  Swales v. KLLM Transport Servs., L.L.C., No. 19-60847 (5^th Cir. 2021), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit broke from the pack by upending the standard two-step process for Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA” or the “Act”) collective certification. The Court opined that the two-step process followed by many, if not most, district courts throughout the country wrongly permitted conditional certification of collective actions without the appropriate evidentiary support to properly determine whether members of the ...

As part of a “third wave” of executive orders, on January 22, 2021, President Biden issued an executive order instructing the Director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management to “provide a report to the President with recommendations to promote a $15/hour minimum wage for Federal employees.”  The Biden Administration announced via a Fact Sheet published on the White House’s website that the move is purportedly designed to ensure that the federal government is a model employer:

[Federal employees] keep us healthy, safe, and informed, and their work transcends partisan ...

On January 19, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (“WHD”) issued an Opinion Letter applying the Department’s recently-issued Final Rule concerning Independent Contractor Status under the Fair Labor Standards Act (the “Final Rule”).  This Opinion Letter provides helpful guidance to businesses, especially those in highly-regulated industries, on how to properly structure their relationships with independent contractors under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”).

As background, the FLSA’s minimum wage and overtime pay ...

As we have previously written here, the California Supreme Court’s 2018 decision in Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court dramatically changed the standard for determining whether workers in California were properly classified as independent contractors, creating a new “ABC” test that has subsequently been codified as AB 5. A significant question left open was whether Dynamex would apply retroactively.

In Vasquez v. Jan-Pro Franchising International, Inc., the California Supreme Court has concluded that Dynamex indeed applies retroactively ...

To close out 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (“WHD”) recently issued two new opinion letters addressing overtime payments for caregivers and travel time for partial-day teleworkers under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”).  We recommend a close review of these opinion letters as they offer a helpful overview of key FLSA principles and may provide answers to questions shared by numerous employers.

FLSA2020-19

In Opinion Letter FLSA2020-19, the WHD addressed whether an employee who voluntarily teleworks for part of the day and works at the ...

On January 6, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor released its much-anticipated Final Rule addressing independent contractor status under the Fair Labor Standards Act.  The Department indicates that the rulemaking should appear in the Federal Register on January 7, 2021, with an effective date 60 days thereafter.

The Final Rule is, in substance, very similar to the Proposed Rule the Department issued in September 2020 (and discussed here).  Under the Final Rule, the key points are as follows:

• The “ultimate inquiry” is whether an individual is “economically dependent” on ...

At the time we are posting this, we are just weeks away from the inauguration of President-Elect Joseph Biden. Although perhaps not at the very top of the list of questions about the forthcoming Biden administration, somewhere on the list has to be this question: “What changes will we see in wage-hour law?”

We don’t have the proverbial crystal ball, but there are a number of issues that the Biden administration may focus on at some point during the next four years, be it through legislation, new rules implemented by the Department of Labor (DOL) or even executive orders.  They may ...

Rules relating to tip credit and pooling have resulted in a significant amount litigation in the hospitality industry, and, in many cases, substantial liability or settlements. Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) announced its new final rule that revises current regulations pertaining to tipped employees. The final rule specifically addresses tipped occupations that qualify for application of a tip credit, as well as permissible and impermissible tip pooling practices.

Allowance of Tip Credit for Tasks Related to Tip-Producing Occupations

The final rule ...

Many employers may be eager to put 2020 in the rearview mirror.  But before ringing in the New Year, employers should carefully evaluate whether they need to make any changes to their current practices to ensure that they remain in compliance with state and local laws, including those relating to minimum wage.

As reflected in the chart below, in 2021, minimum wage will increase in more than two dozen states, with most of the changes set to take effect on January 1.  Minimum wage will also increase at the local level in a number of counties and cities.  Accordingly, employers with minimum wage ...