Compliance Stuff

On June 27, 2025, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Wage and Hour Division (WHD) issued new field assistance indicating it will no longer seek liquidated damages in administrative matters against employers for unpaid minimum wage or overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) . The field assistance takes the position that the WHD is not authorized to seek liquidated damages unless it does so through a lawsuit. Quick Hits The WHD issued field assistance instructing regional solicitors (RSOLs) to stop seeking liquidated damages in administrative matters over unpaid minimum wage and overtime. The field assistance states that the WHD has determined that the FLSA does not authorize the secretary of labor to seek liquidated damages unless the division files a lawsuit, a change to recent enforcemen t. The policy change took effect on June 27, 2025, and applies prospectively. Field Assistance Bulletin (FAB) No. 2025-3  clarifies that the WHD may not supervise the payment of liquid...

 A new legal challenge by more than a dozen business groups seeks to overturn the enforcement of the Department of Labor's new rule raising the earning thresholds for the FLSA's white-collar overtime exemptions---same as 2016. The new lawsuit alleges that the DOL acted arbitrarily and capriciously (meaning, it was made on unreasonable grounds or without any proper consideration of circumstances) in setting the new thresholds, ignoring concerns from the business community. This lawsuit intends to stop the first threshold increase, which is set to take effect on July 1, 2024. Source: Ogletree Deakins , received on May 28, 2024