An entity called the Foundation for Government Accountability is lobbying to maneuver various measures to water down state regulation of child labor laws. This is morally wrong. Reasonable child labor rules and enforcement are not inconsistent with a belief in limited government or pro-business policies.
Read MoreEmployers can pay extra shift premiums to exempt workers, if they wish, without impacting the salary basis of compensation, provided that they kept the amount of the shift premium reasonable in relation to the amount of total compensation.
Read MoreDOL recently announced that US Marshals arrested a New York restaurateur for failure to respond to a subpoena as part of a Fair Labor Standards Act investigation. This is the second such arrest in the last few months. As I said in my blog about the first arrest - things simply go better when employers take DOL investigations seriously.
Read MoreSome disputes are not meant to be litigated in court or arbitrated. One example is job classification disputes under the Service Contract Act (“SCA”) or the Davis-Bacon Act (“ DBA”). Such disputes are committed to the exclusive jurisdiction of the U.S. Department of Labor. Only DOL is supposed to decide them and then provide for administrative appeals. Don’t let your union drag you into an arbitration of job classification disputes on service and construction US government contracts.
Read MoreNoncompete agreements are under attack by recent proposals coming from the Biden Administration as well as a bipartisan group of Senators. Such clauses are standard fare for employment agreements, particularly for senior executives. However, in this world of remote work and a patchwork of state laws, a national rule might not be so bad after all. So, fear not, the sky actually might not fall if one of these proposals comes to pass.
Read MoreJust out — a White House memorandum directing all federal contracting agencies to hire labor advisors to help coordinate with DOL and comply with the laws regarding labor and employment which pertain to federal procurements. This includes especially the Service Contract Act and the Davis-Bacon Act, but also many other labor requirements and Executive Orders.
Read MoreThe Wall Street Journal got the minimum wage wrong. But the good news is they issued an errata shortly thereafter correcting the mistake.
Read MoreThe Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) authorizes the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to investigate, gather data, interview employees, enter and inspect work sites and review records as well as to gather data about hours worked and compensation paid. It can be quite intrusive; however, cooperation is certainly preferable to a perp walk. Read on to learn more about how an employer found himself arrested by the U.S. Marshal.
Read MoreThe Biden Administration has issued an Executive Order and proposed regulations for project labor agreements which will likely get finalized and become effective in 2023. it is time for construction contractors to get prepared.
Read MoreMany (if not most) of the myriad laws, regulations, and executive orders that apply to federal contractors each come with their own requirements to notify employees of the existence of these laws and their rights under them. For every rule, there’s a poster. News flash: they change - All. The. Time.
Read MoreA New Hampshire Federal Court orders a North Conway restaurant to pay $148,128 in back wages and liquidated damages to 31 employees for violating the FLSA.
Read MoreFreddy’s back! DOL is tinkering with the independent contractor rules yet again. And one Philadelphia medical staffing company had to cough up $9.3M to cover the back wages, liquidated damages, and civil money penalties for going to far.
Read MoreDOL publishes a Notice on the Federal Register listing the new Federal Contractor Minimum Wage rates starting January 1, 2023.
Read MoreThe Department of Labor expands coverage of the Service Contract Act to another traditionally uncovered contract.
Read MoreThe explanation to the disconnect in the Federal survey employment reports is that perhaps many workers are taking two full-time jobs, and getting two paychecks, while they work remotely from home. Government contract employers beware!
Read MoreDOL publishes the Android version of their Timekeeping application.
Read MoreSometimes the wage and hour regulations cannot be taken literally. Instead, you need to figure out the regulatory intent. For example, the SCA and DBA regulations bar the employer from claiming a credit for paying social security, worker’s comp and unemployment premiums. These tax like payments are not fringe benefits. But other federal and state mandated benefit plans like Obamacare, Romneycare in Massachusetts, holidays, and leave are fringe benefits and can be credited towards compliance.
Read MoreA recent Maryland case demonstrates how state law can supplant federal law with respect to wage and hour obligations. Federal contractors must be vigilant to avoid getting caught in this sometimes quite tangled web.
Read MoreDOL issues a proposed rule regarding the Nondisplacement of Qualified Workers Executive Order.
Read MoreRecently, DOL has published a record of employers who have been caught violating the Wage and Hour or Occupational Safety and Health Administration laws. There is now a searchable data base that allows the public to search for violators by company name.
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