By Alex Passantino

Seyfarth Synopsis: The Department of Labor’s Wage & Hour Division announced its long-awaited proposed rule related to the FLSA’s tip provisions. The rule would implement statutory changes passed in March 2018; it also would elevate certain WHD policy guidance into regulation.

The legislative changes come from the Tip Income Protection Act, which was passed as part of

Continue Reading WHD Releases Proposed Rule on Tipped Employees

By Alexander J. Passantino

Seyfarth Synopsis: The U.S. Department of Labor announced its final rule updating and revising the regulations issued under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) regarding the earnings thresholds necessary to exempt executive, administrative or professional employees from the FLSA’s minimum wage and overtime pay requirements. The Department simultaneously announced its formal rescission of the 2016
Continue Reading Part 541 Salary Level Increases to $684/Week

By Robert Whitman

Seyfarth Synopsis: The Department of Labor has scrapped its 2010 Fact Sheet on internship status and adopted the more flexible and employer-friendly test devised by Second Circuit.

In a decision that surprised no one who has followed the litigation of wage hour claims by interns, the US Department of Labor has abandoned its ill-fated six-part test for
Continue Reading DOL Bids Adieu to Six-Factor Internship Test

By Paul Galligan, Gena B. Usenheimer, and Meredith-Anne Berger

Seyfarth Synopsis: Three Republicans from the House of Representatives hailing from states with paid family and sick leave laws have sponsored the Workflex in the 21st Century Act, signaling increasing frustration with the complexities of multi-state compliance. Representatives Mimi Walters of California, Elise Stefanik of New
Continue Reading Proposed National Paid Leave and Flexible Work Options Law Will Preempt State Leave Laws


By Steve Shardonofsky and Kevin A. Fritz

Seyfarth Synopsis: As employers begin to pick up the pieces following Hurricane Harvey, management will likely encounter questions about employee pay, benefits, and leaves of absence during and after this disaster, and may also have questions about how to help their workers get by during this difficult time. After making sure your workers
Continue Reading Practical Advice for Weathering Pay and Leave Issues Following Hurricane Harvey

By Erin Dougherty Foley and Craig B. Simonsen

Seyfarth Synopsis: Employer is caught by WHD investigator instructing its employees to lie during interviews, and provides falsified records, containing whited-out and edited time records, in order to conform to the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act standards.

In a recent opinion, the Tenth Circuit ruled that a restaurant chain instructed its
Continue Reading What NOT To Do in an Investigation – $2 Million Willful Judgment Affirmed Where Employer “Whited-Out” and Edited Time Records

By Steve Shardonofsky and Tiffany T. Tran

iStock_000072969307_MediumSeyfarth Synopsis: In a somewhat rare interlocutory appeal, the Fifth Circuit reviewed and reaffirmed a 40-year old case holding that emotional distress and punitive damages are not available under the ADEA. This decision rejected the EEOC’s own interpretation and is welcomed news for employers doing business in the Fifth Circuit because damages
Continue Reading Fifth Circuit Protects 40-Year-Old Case and Affirms ADEA Limits On Recoverable Damages

By Megan P. Toth and Joshua D. Seidman

Seyfarth Synopsis: In case you missed it, on June 22, 2016, Chicago added itself to the growing roster of many major U.S. cities to pass a Paid Sick Leave Ordinance.  

The Council’s Committee on Workforce Development and Audit passed the Chicago Minimum Wage and Paid Sick Leave Ordinance (“PSLO”), which amends
Continue Reading The Chicago Paid Sick Leave Ordinance is Inevitable

By Robert Nobile, Courtney Stieber and Samuel Sverdlov

Introduction

Employers of technology innovators should beware the employment traps and risks associated with think tank operations and retreats, such as hackathons. Hackathons are company-sponsored competitions, where either teams or individual software developers (and now increasingly other types of professionals) (here) are given a timed task to complete, usually
Continue Reading Hacking at Employment Risks in Hackathons: Practice Insights

By Erin Dougherty Foley and Craig B. Simonsen

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), due to pending litigation, had not begun to enforce the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) final rule on protections relating to most home care workers, which rules had an effective date of January 1, 2015. That litigation has now concluded, and the DOL rule has been
Continue Reading DOL Enforcement of Domestic Service Home Care Worker Employment Compliance Begins November 12, 2015