Category: FLSA
DOL Overtime Rule Update
As most readers are aware, the Department of Labor has appealed the November 22, 2016 Order of Judge Amos Mazzant of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas which preliminarily enjoined the December 1, 2016 implementation of increases to the salary threshold under the FLSA...
Election Year Creates Complexity for Employers: Verrill Dana Hosts Full-Day Conference, 2017 Annual Employment Law Update
The 2016 elections – local and national – have given rise to a number of complicated developments in labor and employment law. To help employers understand these changes and how to address them, Verrill Dana will host a full-day Annual Employment Law Update on Thursday, January 26, 2017 at...
Federal Judge Enjoins Upcoming DOL Overtime Salary Basis Increase
On November 22, 2016, a federal judge in the Eastern District of Texas granted a motion for preliminary injunction filed by the State of Nevada and twenty other states ( State of Nevada, et al. v. United States Department of Labor et al., 4:16-cv-00731 (E.D. Tx. Nov. 22, 2016...
Despite Recent Challenges to Overtime Rule, Employers Should Continue Preparing for Implementation on December 1
On September 20, two lawsuits were filed in federal court seeking to stop the new overtime regulations from going into effect on December 1. One lawsuit was filed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in conjunction with a number of other business groups. The other lawsuit was filed by...
Is Your Company Complying with Updated Federal Posting Requirements?
On August 1, 2016, the DOL issued updated posting requirements for the Employee Polygraph Protection Act and the Employee Rights Under the Fair Labor Standards Act. If you haven't updated your posters, you should do so immediately. You can print out copies here: - Employee Rights Under the Fair...
FLSA Construction Basics: Build a Solid Foundation with Proper Classification
New England Company & Affiliate Pay $2.6 Million in Back Wages Over the past few years we have discussed the importance of proper classification of workers and the ever-increasing number of DOL audits and wage and hour lawsuits that are stemming from improper classification of the workforce. Yesterday, the...
FLSA Overtime Guidance for Educational Institutions
You likely received notice that the U.S. Department of Labor released its final overtime regulations on May 18. Many education institutions will now be required to take steps to revise their pay practices and work distribution. This poses difficulties for education institutions of all sizes, whether at the elementary...
Final FLSA Overtime Rule: Guidance for Non-Profit Employers and Board Members
You likely received notice that the U.S. Department of Labor released its final overtime regulations on May 18. Many non-profits will now be required to take steps to revise their pay practices and work distribution. This poses difficulties for non-profits of all sizes, including those that are funded by...
FINALIZED Overtime Rule: How does it impact you?
The Department of Labor released its long-awaited final overtime regulations today. The most significant impact of the new regulations is that they more than double the salary threshold for classifying an employee as exempt from the overtime requirement to $47,476. While slightly less than originally anticipated, this is still...
White Collar Salary Increase Update #1
BNA Bloomberg is currently reporting that yesterday word was leaked from a Washington staffer that the DOL white collar salary threshold will be in the $47,000 per year range—as opposed to the $50,440, which has been proposed. The $47,000 range is still almost double the current $23,660 level. Reports...
Casino Owner's "Seaman Exemption" On the Rocks in Georgia
We love boat cases! We also love it when our colleagues makes clever arguments, even if those arguments are a bit of a stretch. The casino ship Emerald Princess II hailed from the port of Brunswick, Georgia. On weekdays, she would take a boatload of adventure seekers on a...
Seaman Experience a Texas-Sized Controversy Under the FLSA
Hey Tex, when is a sailor not a sailor? According to the Fifth Circuit, when the sailor's primary duty is unloading cargo. When we New Englanders think of Texas, we think of open prairies, Cadillacs with horns, and oil fields. But for the last two years there has been...
Roses are Red, Violets are Blue, Greeting Card Giant Settles Class Action Suit
Last week American Greeting Corporation settled a wage and hour class action under the FLSA and California state wage and hour laws in Smith v. American Greetings Corp. , No. 3:14cv02577 (N.D. Cal. Jan. 29, 2016). Additionally Plaintiffs brought claims under the California Private Attorneys General Act which permits...
Supreme Court to Review “Service Advisors” Entitlement to Overtime
On Friday, the United States Supreme Court granted certiorari in a case where it will determine "whether 'service advisors' at car dealerships are exempt . . . from the FLSA's overtime pay requirements." Up for review is the Ninth Circuit's decision in Encino Motorcars, LLC v. Navarro , No...
Is the DOL Getting Hot Around the Collar with the White Collar Exemption?
As most employers know by now, the U.S. Department of Labor ("DOL") has proposed amendments to the Fair Labor Standards Act's ("FLSA") "white collar" exemption tests for executive, administrative, and professional employees. If you have not yet heard, you can learn more here . The proposed amendments revise the...
How You Doin'?. . . Wendy Williams' Interns Are Doing Great
Earlier this week I found myself in a car dealership in the middle of the day watching daytime television and waiting for a ride; Wendy Williams was on. I had never seen the show before (in large part because I spend my afternoons writing these blogs and not watching...
YAWN…..Eleventh Circuit’s Ruling Won’t Put You to Sleep but the Plaintiffs Might
It sounds like the start to a bad joke—25 student nurse anesthetists walk into a courtroom…let's just hope you don't fall asleep before we get to the punchline. While the Eleventh Circuit's opinion regarding whether a class of 25 anesthetist students are employees or interns under the FLSA began...
FLSA Fashion Faux-Pas
Danny Tanner may have some words of advice right now, but we think that the more apt advice can be found in previous blog posts warning employers of the dangers of using unpaid interns. The latest suit, brought in Manhattan Supreme Court, is brought by Shahista Lalani, a former...
“Joy” is Lost, Others Are “Uber” Upset
Last week we posted about the DOL's recent interpretation of workers' status as employees versus independent contractors. Even if your company does not currently use any form of independent contractors (and thus you've been only following these changes in passing), it's important that you understand the implications of these...
She’s Not a Beauty School Drop Out But She Could Be Creating A Cut and Color FLSA Nightmare
Earlier this week a District Court judge in the District of Nevada denied Defendants' Motion to Dismiss in an FLSA class action lawsuit. The case, Guy v. Casal Institute of Nevada , stems from allegations by the plaintiff that while attending a for-profit cosmetology and esthetics services school "which...
