Posts in FLSA
Oh It's Just Politics: Texas Federal Court Vacates Biden Administration Increase to FLSA Salary Threshold

A 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?

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What? Eating Out Again?

Two 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.

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Sporadically Engaged and Indirect Service Employees -- Is There Some Kind of De Minimis Rule When it Comes to SCA Coverage?

Generally , 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.

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Should Government Contractors Get Price Adjustments for State and Local Laws Mandating Higher Minimum Wages – Yes, No, Maybe?

The 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?

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Artificial Intelligence vs. No Intelligence: DOL Issues New Field Assistance Bulletin (FAB) No. 2024-1, With Guidance On the Use of Artificial Intelligence in the Workplace

The 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.

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The Federal Enclave Doctrine – A Practical Guide to its Application

A 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.

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DOL Finalizes New Independent Contractor Rule: But, Really, it’s Just the Same Old Smell Test

The 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.

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Figure it Out: Complying with the Space Requirements of the PUMP at Work Act

Enacted 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.

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