Compliance Stuff

Workers 55 and older now make up nearly a quarter of the US workforce and represent the labor force’s fastest growing age group. Further, while the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that the overall labor force participation rate will slightly decline between 2020 and 2030, the rate for those in the 75-and-up age group is expected to grow by 96.5% during this same decade. What does an aging workforce mean for employers? This Insight will cover four key workplace law considerations as employees continue working later into their lives. 4 Key Compliance Considerations for Employers 1. Age Discrimination Risks An aging workforce heightens the importance of careful compliance with age discrimination laws. This is especially true in light of a recent AARP Research survey of workers age 50-plus, which showed that: 22% of respondents felt they were being pushed out of work because of their age; and 64% reported seeing or experiencing age discrimination in the workplace. The federal Age D...

At a Glance This Littler Lightbulb highlights some of the more significant employment and labor law developments in the federal courts of appeal in the last month. Following a jury verdict finding the plaintiff in  Merritt v. Tex. Farm Bureau , __F.4th __ (5th Cir. Feb. 6, 2026) was not entitled to overtime pay because the employer did not have actual or constructive knowledge of the overtime worked , the plaintiff filed motions seeking to overturn the verdict, which the district court denied.  On appeal to the Fifth Circuit, the plaintiff, who was classified as an independent contractor, was paid on commission and did not have an obligation to report hours worked, argued that because the company allowed him to work unlimited hours, it had an obligation to pay him overtime and knowledge of his overtime work was irrelevant. The Fifth Circuit rejected this argument, stating that allowing an employee to work as much as they please does not mean that an employer’s knowledge of ov...