Tier 1 help desk work is generally considered to be nonexempt activity and covered by both the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) and (where a federal government service contract is involved) by the Service Contract Act (“SCA”).
Read MoreA Texas federal court rejected the Department of Labor’s recent increase to the salary threshold applicable to FLSA white-collar exemptions. That’s good news for employers because it will expand the numbers of workers exempt from the FLSA’s overtime and minimum wage requirements. But is this decision a worthy judicial foray into a political decision?
Read MoreA service contractor loses a pension tail liability claim, which with a little planning and a small change to their collective bargaining agreement ("CBA") may have been avoidable.
Read MoreTwo weeks ago, I wrote about a restaurant that settled a case over the alleged mishandling of tips and poor recordkeeping. While I don't generally hit the same topic back-to-back, I saw a recent Department of Labor lawsuit alleging a restaurant violated almost every wage and hour rule. For some of you, we really need to get back to basics.
Read MoreGenerally , even small periods of time such as a few hours spent working directly on Service Contract Act ("SCA") covered contract, require payment of the prevailing wages and fringe benefits. The SCA adopts the FLSA definition of de miminis working time, which is commonly restricted by DOL to periods of time of less than 10 minutes.
Read MoreLast week, the Supreme Court killed Chevron deference. Depending on your perspective, you either jumped for joy or you jumped off a bridge. To my mind, neither reaction makes a lot of sense.
Read MoreCongress is seeking to legislate to restrict Federal employee remote work arrangements. Meanwhile, the private sector and government contractors are embracing remote work arrangements. Here are my own ambiguous views on remote work.
Read MoreThe Civilian Board of Contract Appeals (“CBCA”) holds that a Montgomery County, MD janitorial contractor cannot recover the costs under its Federal Government contract for a local county law requiring increases of the applicable minimum wage. Is the Board right? Can there be different facts with different results?
Read MoreThe Department of Labor has issued a new bulletin meant to reiterate the need for human supervision and responsibility over artificial intelligence software used in the workplace for compliance with the FLSA and other requirements.
Read MoreA federal enclave doctrine has emerged that precludes the application of state laws to those contracts, including state wage and hour laws, which are being performed in enclaves where only the federal government has exclusive jurisdiction. But the devil is in the details of figuring out if an enclave exists. This blog is meant to identify a process to make that determination.
Read MorePaying workers in cash and off the books is unwise. Paying workers off the books to hide overtime violations isn’t just a bad idea - it’s a terrible idea.
Read MoreSenator Bernie Sanders has proposed a new bill to make a 32-hour work week the standard and require that premium overtime be paid for all hours worked in excess of that amount. The bill looks unlikely to gain traction in this Congress, but the future of such legislation is more promising. For now I would propose more mandatory leave laws.
Read MoreRequiring employees to take a lunch break is fine. But if they don’t, you shouldn’t cut their hours because… there’s no such thing as a free working lunch.
Read MoreThe numbers tell a story about the Wage & Hour Division’s investigatory activities in 2023.
Read MoreThe Department of Labor (“DOL”) has finalized its long-awaited “new” rule that really just restores the decades-old approach to assessing whether a worker is an employee covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act or if they’re a mere independent contractor. Truly this is little more than the same old smell test that employers have lived with for ages.
Read MoreNew Year’s Day is a time to nurse hangovers and to raise a glass and toast the new higher state minimum wages.
Read MoreThe DOL and IRS effort to fight misclassification of independent contractors soldiers onward here in 2023.
Read MoreEnacted in late 2022, the PUMP at Work Act expanded the right of nursing mothers to reasonable breaks and appropriate space to express breast milk in the first year of a child’s life. I recently ate at a small restaurant and wondered how it might be able to provide the space for a nursing mother. Barring truly significant hardship, my advice is to just figure it out.
Read MoreOn January 1, 2024, if no further injunctions are issued or appeals are decided, a new federal government contractor minimum wage as high as $17.20 will go into effect.
Read MoreThe new proposed FLSA salary basis test regulation is a good thing.
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