Compliance Stuff

At a Glance The Policy Week in Review, prepared by Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute (WPI), sets forth WPI’s updates on federal legislation, regulations, and congressional activity affecting the workplace. DOL Rescinds Biden-Era Overtime Rule  On May 14, the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division (WHD) issued a technical amendment designed to unwind the Biden-era regulation and restore the 2019 Trump-era regulation establishing the salary level needed to qualify for the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) “white collar” overtime exemptions. For further Littler analysis, read here . It is unclear if the DOL will revisit the 2019 rule and pursue a new rulemaking. Discharge Petition on “Faster Labor Contracts Act” Closer to 218-Signature Threshold As previously reported, the Discharge Petition (H.Res. 1140) filed by Representative Donald Norcross (D-NJ) to bypass committee consideration and force a House floor vote on union-backed H.R. 5408, the “Faster Labor Contracts...

Deregulatory action fully revokes requirements of Biden Executive Order 14055 WASHINGTON  – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the  rescission of regulations   published by the previous administration in 2023 requiring contractors and subcontractors to give qualified employees the right of first refusal of employment with a successor contract.  On Jan. 20, President Trump issued  Executive Order 14148, “ Initial Rescissions of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions ” which revoked, among other items, Executive Order 14055. Today’s action fully implements Executive Order 14148 and revokes Executive Order 14055. Workers and employers can call the  Wage and Hour Division  with questions and requests for  compliance assistance  at its toll-free helpline, 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Employers are encouraged to use the agency’s industry-specific  compliance assistance toolkits  to learn about their responsibilities under the laws enf...

Takeaways DOL Wage and Hour Division plans to remove certain FLSA non-binding interpretive guidance documents from the CFR and relocate them to the agency’s internal Field Operations Handbook. Guidance on the 7(i) exemption for retail or service establishments and the Motor Carrier Act exemption are among the key interpretive rules affected by the proposal. DOL has said it may decide to revise or rescind the affected rules in the future, and it may do so without undertaking formal rulemaking. Related link Federal Register: Proposed Rule: Statements of General Policy or Interpretation Not Directly Related to Regulations Article The Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of the Department of Labor (DOL) has proposed  moving some regulations governing application of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) from the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) to an appendix in DOL’s Field Operations Handbook (FOH). The proposal would shed more than 450 separate FLSA regulations (on 229 pages) from the CFR. Man...

WASHINGTON  – The U.S. Department of Labor’s  Wage and Hour Division  today issued a  field assistance bulletin   providing guidance on how to determine employee or independent contractor status when enforcing the  Fair Labor Standards Act .  While the department reviews the 2024 final rule,  Employee or Independent Contractor Classification Under the Fair Labor Standards Act  – which is also being challenged in federal court – agency investigators are directed not to apply the 2024 rule’s analysis in current enforcement matters . Instead, the division will rely on longstanding principles outlined in  Fact Sheet #13  and further informed by the reinstated  Opinion Letter FLSA2019-6 , which addresses classification in the context of virtual marketplace platforms. This approach provides greater clarity for businesses and workers navigating modern work arrangements while legal and regulatory questions are resolved.  This guid...

  The Supreme Court just handed businesses a win when it weighed in on how much evidence an employer needs to show a court to prove it correctly classified employees as exempt from minimum wage and overtime pay. As we correctly predicted after oral argument, the Justices agreed with the employer that an unusually high “clear and convincing” evidence standard  does not  apply to federal wage law. Rather, an employer needs only show its position is more likely than not correct under the “preponderance of the evidence” standard that is typically applied in civil lawsuits. Today’s unanimous decision sets a consistent national standard under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and will reduce litigation risks by making it easier to show that employees are properly classified. Here are the key points you should know about the ruling and what it means for your workplace. How Did We Get Here? Exempt Classification Challenged:  In  E.M.D. Sales Inc. v. Carrera ,...

The Wage and Hour Division published an opinion letter addressing Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) regulations. The opinion letter addressed whether the FMLA regulations pertaining to substitution of paid leave apply when employees take leave under state or local paid family leave programs. FACTS FMLA entitles eligible employees of covered employers to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave per year for specified family and medical reasons (29 USC § 2612(a) . FMLA provides for unpaid leave, the statute also allows employees to elect, or an employer require the employee, to "substitute" accrued employer-provided paid leave (like vacation, PTO, paid sick leave, etc.) for any part of the  unpaid FMLA period (29 USC §2612(d)(2) ; 29 CFR § 825.207(a) .  Either the employer or employee can decide to have employer-provided paid leave "run concurrently (at the same time) with the unpaid FMLA leave."  Some State Governments have passed legislation that provides p...

  The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) generally requires that employees be paid at least the Federal minimum wage, currently $7.25 per hour, for every hour worked and at least one and one-half times their regular rate of pay for each hour worked over 40 in a single workweek. 29 U.S.C. 206(a), 207(a). Since its enactment in 1938 through today, section 14(c) of the FLSA has included a provision authorizing the Department of Labor (Department) to issue certificates permitting employers to pay workers with disabilities at wage rates below the Federal minimum wage. The section 14(c) statutory provision, however, has always provided that such certificates may only be issued to the extent “necessary to prevent curtailment of opportunities for employment.” Employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities have vastly expanded in recent decades, in part due to significant legal and policy developments. Based on that evidence, the D epartment has preliminarily concluded that submini...

 On November 8, 2024, the Wage and Hour Division (WHD) published two opinion letters.  An opinion letter is a formal document that provides opinion on a particular legal question or set of facts. These two letters address questions identified regarding the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). FMLA2024-01-A  – In this letter, WHD addresses the permissible use of FMLA leave for the treatment of a serious health condition when treatment is provided as part of a clinical trial . FLSA2024-01  – In this opinion letter, WHD explains whether daily expense payments for tools and equipment may be excluded from regular rate calculations for overtime pay. For more information on the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Family Medical Leave Act, please visit the  Wage and Hour Division website . Source(s): WDH e-mail, received on November 8, 2024; FMLA2024-01 , accessed on November 12, 2024; FLSA2024-01 , accessed on November 12, 2024

 he Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of the U.S. Department of Labor (the Department) is issuing this notice to announce the applicable minimum wage rate for workers performing work on or in connection with Federal contracts covered by Executive Order 14026 , Increasing the Minimum Wage for Federal Contractors (the Executive Order or the order). Beginning on January 1, 2025, the Executive Order 14026 minimum wage rate that generally must be paid to workers performing work on or in connection with covered contracts will increase to $17.75 per hour . This minimum wage rate will apply to non-tipped and tipped employees alike. Contracts similar to those covered by Executive Order 14026 that were entered into, renewed, or extended prior to January 30, 2022, are generally subject to a lower minimum wage rate established by Executive Order 13658 of February 12, 2014, Establishing a Minimum Wage for Contractors. Source(s): Department of Labor (Wage and Hour Division) , received on Septembe...

 The Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of the U.S. Department of Labor (the Department) is issuing this notice to announce the applicable minimum wage rate for workers performing work on or in connection with Federal contracts covered by Executive Order 13658 , Establishing a Minimum Wage for Contractors (the Executive Order or the order), beginning January 1, 2025. Beginning on that date, the Executive Order 13658 minimum wage rate that generally must be paid to workers performing work on or in connection with covered contracts will increase to $13.30 per hour , while the required minimum cash wage that generally must be paid to tipped employees performing work on or in connection with covered contracts will increase to $9.30 per hour. Covered contracts that are entered into on or after January 30, 2022, or that are renewed or extended (pursuant to an option or otherwise) on or after January 30, 2022, are generally subject to a higher ...