When the Department of Labor, whether USDOL or a state agency, issues an Opinion Letter on a certain topic/issue or follows a consistent course of conduct vis-à-vis a particular employer, that employer is allowed to rely on that letter or administrative practice or enforcement policy. The Opinion Letter or consistent practice then acts as a
The USDOL And The Joint Employer Doctrine: The Saga Continues
The USDOL has proposed a new cut-down (watered down?) test for determining when entities are a joint employer. Such a finding leads to the aggregating of employee hours which are worked at both places as well as rendering the entities jointly liable for wage-hour (e.g. overtime) violations.
The focus of the new proposal is a
New DOL Proposed Rule Will Affect What Is included (or Not) in Regular Rate for Overtime Calculation
Even the most well-intentioned employer who wants to comply with the FLSA will have trouble, as there are many gray, nuanced provisions and regulations in this law, especially on overtime computation. One of these is the requirement to include non-discretionary bonuses in the overtime calculation of non-exempt workers. That may now be changing as the
Court Refuses To Award Liquidated Damages in FLSA Collective Action Even After Finding Employer Did Not Pay Proper Overtime
What scares me the most about a USDOL audit or a FLSA lawsuit is the threat of liquidated damages. These damages, which double the wages due, are imposed almost routinely in court cases and are being imposed more and more by the administrative agency. Well, sometimes the pendulum swings the other way, as illustrated by
Another Successful Labor Contract Preemption Defense Prevails in FLSA Collective Action: Defense Practitioners Must Always Look for It!
What do I always say? If an employer is sued in a FLSA action, collective or otherwise, and is unionized, always look for a National Labor Relations Act/Labor Management Relations Act preemption defense. Well, it has happened again! A federal judge has dismissed a collective action alleging that a rehabilitation center did not pay nurses
Issues With the New FLSA OT Rule/Exemption Rules
Now that the new $35,000 per annum overtime rule has been proposed, the commentators have been commenting on the implications. I have read these with great interest. For example, Alexander Passantino, former DOL Wage Hour Division chief, stated that “it just struck me as funny that it’s within $5 per week of the exact midpoint
New FLSA Exemption Salary Level Set at $35,000
We have been waiting for the United States Department of Labor to announce its plan for toning down the overtime rule revisions implemented in the last administration, but stayed by federal courts, and to announce its own proposal. Now, that momentous event has happened—the agency announced yesterday it will set the salary threshold at $35,308
Employee Status Will Not Be Determined by Judge in Conditional Certification Stage in FLSA Collective Action
There is no industry that is immune to wage hour or FLSA actions, including amateur sports leagues. In an interesting case, a federal Judge has granted conditional class certification to a class of members of an amateur football league who worked as referees and who were, they claim, compelled to perform the work of refereeing
Attempt at “Blended” Overtime Defense Fails in FLSA Case in Fourth Circuit
An interesting decision just issued involving an employer who attempted to use a blended compensation system to pay employees overtime. A federal appellate court ruled, however, that this system did not comply with the Fair Labor Standards Act and allowed a million dollar judgment obtained by the USDOL to stand. The case is entitled U.S.
Settling With (Only) the Named Plaintiff in Collective Actions: The Way To Go!
I often preach that, when dealing with a class action, the employer should try to pick off the named plaintiff, perhaps overpaying to do so (or maybe not). In this interesting case, the parties settled (i.e. with the named plaintiff) right after the class had been decertified. The plaintiff had argued that he was misclassified