DOL is on record of claiming jurisdiction over research and development (“R&D”) contracts under the SCA unless some other specific exemption applies.
Read MoreIn October of this year, the Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) published a study titled Federal Contracting – Actions Needed to Improve Department of Labor’s Enforcement of Service Worker Wage Protections (Oct. 2020). The GAO report has offered up some interesting factual nuggets on SCA investigations along with six rather bland recommendations to improve enforcement.
Read MoreA recent Department of Labor (“DOL”) Wage and Hour Opinion Letter gives guidance on compensability of travel time. Employees must be compensated for time when suffered or permitted to work. Normally, this does not include commuting time. But sometimes, this duty to pay even applies to time spent commuting.
Read MoreIf you want to give an employee a holiday gift card, and exclude the value from the regular rate of pay, it would be prudent not to announce the gift in advance and perhaps even make the award of the gift card conditioned upon “unique or extraordinary efforts” or for “challenging or stressful situations”, or for a “worker-of-the-month” bonus.
Read MoreRegardless of the ultimate outcome of the electoral process, government contractors wonder whether there will be wholesale changes for them, particularly with respect to their employment policies. Well, as with most things, the unsatisfactory answer is yes and no. Here are some examples of what might be on the horizon.
Read MoreDeclaring Election Day a national holiday isn’t exactly a novel idea. While the 2020 Presidential election may be the most participated U.S. election in recent memory, more can always be done to remove the obstacles faced by each voter. Accordingly, we make a modest proposal that Election Day be made a mandatory paid holiday with guaranteed time off to vote. Let’s tip a glass of cider to a new Democracy Day holiday!
Read MoreThe Department of Labor recently issued an FLSA opinion letter that addressed whether highly educated part-time executive trainers are exempt learned professionals. The opinion provides a useful reminder that, while there are many nuances that complicate the assessment of FLSA exemptions, the analysis always requires the consideration of duties, method of payment, and the amount of pay. Hence, the answer to whether a particular employee might be exempt often may be yes—but no.
Read MoreOn August 31, 2020 the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published an official Opinion Letter regarding the new “retail concept” regulations expanding the reach of the overtime exemption of the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) based on new rules it had promulgated on May 19, 2020. DOL found that a previously ineligible industry — oil field services/waste management — was now eligible for the Section 7(i) overtime exemption to the FLSA. Thus, DOL has lit the way for more enterprises to use his overtime exemption.
Read MoreComments on new independent contractor proposed rules are due by Oct. 22, 2020. Don’t expect any major changes in the final rules as a result of your comments.
Read MoreThe Department of Labor (“DOL”) recently issued guidance regarding an employer’s obligation under the FLSA to track the number of hours of compensable work performed by employees who are teleworking. Essentially, employers are required to exercise reasonable diligence in monitoring work hours without discouraging employees from reporting their legimate hours worked. Read on to learn our take on this new guidance.
Read MoreThe Trump Administration isn’t necessarily a lame duck, but it sure is acting like it by rushing employment law regulations and Executive Orders into place like this is their last chance. We have seen this show before, and it usually doesn’t end that well.
Read MoreThe Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) has certain recordkeeping requirements that employers need to observe. This blog covers some of those requirements and the timekeeping and rounding practices that are permissible.
Read MoreWhen new employees start work on a SCA covered contract, the employer faces a connundrum with respect to vacation bnefits. The employer can furnish the benefits immediately, and just pay benefits in excess of the SCA, resulting in payments above the minimum prevailing wage and impairing its right to a price adjustment the next option year. Or it can pay no vacation benefits, or just give leave without pay, and demoralize the new workers. But there is a third although relatively infrequently used course of action called an advanced or prepayment agreement or policy whereby the worker elects to receive the vacation benefit immediately on hiring, but the employer reserves the ability to get a credit for furnishing the benefit on the next anniversay date of employment.
Read MoreDon’t let the Boards of Conract Appeals fool you. Contractors have 120 days to appeal decisons to the Federal Circuit. Sitting on your claim for reimbursement is never a good idea. Once you get a final decision, the appeal clock is running.
Read MoreThe DOL has issued final FLSA regulations defining the joint employmrent relationship and narrowing the application of the rule.
Read MoreDOL requires the annual use or cash out of the vacation benefit under the SCA and does not allow covered workers to bank or carry forward the unused vacation leave into another anniversary period .
Read MoreEmployers facing the pressure of Covid-19 or different business slowdown, and considering a reduction of exempt employee pay and hours of work, may be relieved to know that a bona fide reduction of hours due to financial exigencies will not prevent an employee from still qualifying as exempt. if still paid over the miminum salary threshold.
Read MoreEven in the era of a pandemic, or especially in the era of a pandemic, the wage and hour machine grinds onward.
Read MoreDrilling work presents a a perrenial issue of which prevailing wage law is in play. One of the most challenging parts of wage and hour law revolves around the overlap of Service Contract Act (“SCA”) and Davis-Bacon Act (“DBA”) coverage. It is entirely possible for an employee doing the same physical drilling activity to be covered by a different wage law on the next contract.
Read MoreEffective immediately on May 19, 2020, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) published a new final rule repealing some of their old interpretive guidance to clarify which businesses may or may not have a “retail concept.” under the outside sales exemption of the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). After criticism from the community and some courts, the DOL has since seen fit to remove the opaque non-exhaustive lists of eligible and ineligible work from their regulations.
Read More