Law and the Workplace

Tag Archives: department of labor

Biden Administration Wage and Hour Update:  50 Days In…

By Allan Bloom on Posted in Biden Administration Coverage, FLSA, Independent Contractor, Wage and Hour
We’re 50 days into the Biden administration.  Here’s an update on where things stand with respect to wage and hour law at the federal level: On March 11, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD)—as expected—announced its proposals to rescind the Trump-era rules on independent contractor classification and joint employment. WHD’s … Continue Reading

DOL Takes First Step to Revisit Independent Contractor and Tip Rules

By Allan Bloom on Posted in Biden Administration Coverage, FLSA, Wage and Hour
In accordance with the Biden administration’s January 20 regulatory freeze memorandum, the U.S Department of Labor issued proposals to delay the effective dates of the Final Rules on independent contractor classification and tip regulations by 60 days, to allow the agency “the opportunity to review and consider the questions of law, policy, and fact raised … Continue Reading

DOL Ends PAID Program

By Allan Bloom on Posted in Biden Administration Coverage, FLSA, Wage and Hour
On January 29, the U.S. Department of Labor announced that it was discontinuing the Payroll Audit Independent Determination (“PAID”) program, effective immediately.  Under the program, which began in 2018, employers could self-report wage and hour violations to the DOL with the promise that the agency would supervise a settlement of the violations without seeking liquidated … Continue Reading

Biden Continues to Address Administration’s Top Labor Positions, Plans to Nominate Julie Su as Deputy Labor Secretary

By Allan Bloom and Heylee Bernstein on Posted in Biden Administration Coverage
***UPDATE: According to a Bloomberg Law Report, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee will hold a confirmation hearing for Julie Su on March 16, 2021. We will continue to monitor updates to Su’s nomination as the Deputy Labor Secretary.*** According to a Bloomberg Law report, President Biden plans to nominate Julie Su as … Continue Reading

DOL Begins Withdrawal of Trump-Era Opinion Letters

By Allan Bloom on Posted in Biden Administration Coverage, FLSA, Independent Contractor, Wage and Hour
As expected, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) announced the withdrawal of three opinion letters issued in the waning days of the Trump administration.  The opinion letters being withdrawn are: FLSA2021-4, which addressed whether a restaurant may institute a tip pool under the Fair Labor Standards Act that includes both servers, … Continue Reading

Biden DOL Tosses Trump-Era “PRO Good Guidance Rule”

By Allan Bloom on Posted in Biden Administration Coverage, FLSA, Wage and Hour
As expected, one of the first orders of business from the U.S. Department of Labor under the Biden administration was to scrap the 2020 “PRO Good Guidance Rule,” which imposed heightened burdens on the agency in connection with issuing guidance. The rule, issued last August in response to Trump’s Executive Order 13891—which directed federal agencies … Continue Reading

White House “Regulatory Freeze” Memo Dooms DOL Independent Contractor Rule

By Allan Bloom on Posted in Biden Administration Coverage, FLSA, Wage and Hour
As expected, the White House issued a memorandum to the heads of all executive departments and agencies within the first few hours after President Biden’s inauguration on January 20, requesting that they halt all non-emergency rulemaking and regulatory activity pending review by the new administration. The memo asks the executive agencies, which include the U.S. … Continue Reading

DOL Issues Opinion Letters on Administrative Exemption and Ministerial Exception

By Allan Bloom on Posted in FLSA, Wage and Hour
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) issued two new opinion letters on January 8, 2021, bringing the number of “lame duck” wage and hour opinion letters—issued since Election Day 2020—to six. In FLSA2021-1, WHD determined that account managers at a life sciences manufacturer qualify for the FLSA’s administrative exemption.  The account … Continue Reading

Trump DOL Issues Two More “Lame Duck” Opinion Letters, on Home-to-Office Travel Time and Live-In Caregivers

By Allan Bloom on Posted in FLSA, Wage and Hour
On December 31, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) issued two opinion letters—one on home-to-office travel time and one on live-in caregivers.  Such “lame duck” opinion letters—issued post-Election Day when there is a change in both administration and political party—were at one point in recent memory quite uncommon.  The Carter … Continue Reading

DOL’s New Opinion Letters Examine Rules on Voluntary Training Time, Travel Time

By Allan Bloom on Posted in FLSA, Wage and Hour
On November 3, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (“WHD”) issued new opinion letters addressing the compensability of time spent by employees attending voluntary training programs and in work-related travel. The rules at issue only apply to non-exempt (e.g., overtime-eligible) employees.  If the time is considered “hours worked” under the FLSA, … Continue Reading

DOL Updates FFCRA Regulations in Light of Recent SDNY Decision

By Evandro Gigante, Laura Fant and Alex Downie on Posted in Coronavirus, Leaves of Absences
On September 11, 2020 the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued revised Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”) regulations in response to a federal court decision striking down certain portions of its previous regulations. The FFCRA is a federal law that requires certain employers to provide: (1) two weeks of paid sick leave to employees … Continue Reading

DOL Reiterates That Hours Need Not Fluctuate Above and Below 40 in Fluctuating Workweek Method of Pay

By Allan Bloom on Posted in FLSA, Wage and Hour
SchedulingIn an opinion letter issued on August 31, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor restated its position that an employee’s hours need not fluctuate above and below 40 hours to qualify for the fluctuating workweek (“FWW”) method of calculating overtime pay in 29 C.F.R. § 778.114. Under the FWW method of pay, an overtime-eligible employee … Continue Reading

Intersection Between Return-to-School and FFCRA

By Jurate Schwartz, Evandro Gigante and Harris Mufson on Posted in Coronavirus, Leaves of Absences, Workplace Policies and Procedures
As we have previously reported, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), which remains in effect through December 31, 2020, provides, among other things, that eligible employees can take up to 12 weeks of FMLA leave if the employee is unable to work (or telework) due to a need for leave to care for their … Continue Reading

DOL Guidance Reminds Employers of Obligations to Track and Pay For Remote Work

By Allan Bloom on Posted in FLSA, Wage and Hour
On August 24, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (“WHD”) issued a Field Assistance Bulletin (“FAB”) providing guidance on employers’ obligations under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) to track and pay for the hours of compensable work performed by employees who are working remotely.  While timely in light of the … Continue Reading

U.S. Department of Labor Releases New FMLA Forms and Requests Public Input on Existing Regulations

By Evandro Gigante, Laura Fant and Heylee Bernstein on Posted in Leaves of Absences
The U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) has released new and significantly revised versions of its model notice of rights, certification, and designation forms under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”). According to a press release by the DOL, the new forms, which are now currently in effect and can be found on the … Continue Reading

DOL To Refrain From Seeking Liquidated Damages in Most Pre-Litigation Settlements

By Allan Bloom and Samantha Shear on Posted in FLSA, Wage and Hour
SchedulingEffective July 1, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) will pull back on seeking liquidated damages in pre-litigation settlements of wage claims and investigations.  The change in policy, announced in Field Assistance Bulletin 2020-2, is significant, as liquidated damages can equal 100% of the back pay deemed to be owing, potentially resulting in “double … Continue Reading

U.S. DOL Answers Questions From States About PUA Unemployment Program

By Evandro Gigante, Harris Mufson, Allison Martin and Jacob P. Tucker on Posted in Coronavirus
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently issued an update to its Unemployment Insurance Program Letter (UIPL) 16-20 to provide additional guidance on the CARES Act’s Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program in response to questions submitted by states. As a quick refresher, PUA expands unemployment benefit coverage to certain workers who traditionally are not eligible … Continue Reading

U.S. DOL Issues Additional Guidance on CARES Act Unemployment Programs

By Evandro Gigante, Harris Mufson, Allison Martin and Jacob P. Tucker on Posted in Coronavirus
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently published two additional Unemployment Insurance Program Letters (UIPLs) providing guidance on the administration of the expanded unemployment insurance benefits under the CARES Act. The following summarizes the key points of these UIPLs. UIPL No. 15-20 addresses the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) provision of the CARES Act, under … Continue Reading

DOL Provides Additional Critical Guidance on the Federal Family First Coronavirus Response Act

By Guy Brenner, Evandro Gigante, Laura Fant and Rachel Therese Gulotta on Posted in Coronavirus
*** Last updated March 28, 2020 *** The recently-passed Family First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), which provides paid sick leave and emergency family leave, has raised many questions for employers. The US Department of Labor (DOL) has attempted to answer some of these questions by posting guidance for employers and employees on its website. Since … Continue Reading

U.S. Department of Labor Releases Model Notice Required by the Federal Family First Coronavirus Response Act

By Evandro Gigante, Guy Brenner, Laura Fant and Meika Freeman on Posted in Coronavirus, Leaves of Absences, Workplace Policies and Procedures
On March 25, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (“WHD”) released the model notice that covered employers must post regarding the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”), along with Frequently Asked Questions regarding the notice requirements. You can read more about the recently enacted FFCRA here, as well as the WHD’s … Continue Reading

U.S. Department of Labor Releases Initial Guidance on the Federal Family First Coronavirus Response Act

By Guy Brenner, Evandro Gigante, Laura Fant and Meika Freeman on Posted in Coronavirus, Leaves of Absences, Workplace Policies and Procedures
*** Please note that the Department of Labor is updating (and in some cases revising) its initial guidance on a rolling basis, so be sure to click on the Questions and Answers link for the most current version. A blog post on the most recent updates to the guidance can be found here. *** On … Continue Reading

Second Circuit: Offers of Judgment on FLSA Claims Do Not Require Cheeks Review

By Allan Bloom and Dominique Kilmartin on Posted in Wage and Hour
On December 6, 2019, a divided Second Circuit panel concluded that settlement proposals in accepted offers of judgment under FRCP 68 are not subject to judicial review and approval.  Mei Xing Yu et al. v. Hasaki Restaurant Inc., No. 17-3888 (2d Cir. Dec. 6, 2019).  The decision departs from the conventional view that settlements of … Continue Reading
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