Calculating the “regular rate” of pay:
Section 7 of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires an employer to pay one and one-half times an employee’s “regular rate” of pay for hours worked over 40 in a workweek. That “regular rate” includes all “remuneration for employment” and specifically includes nondiscretionary bonuses.
Nondiscretionary bonuses are bonuses
The “minimum wage” is the minimum hourly wage that an employer must pay to a covered nonexempt employee for work, and is set by federal, state, and local law. The current federal minimum wage, which was set in 2009 under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), is $7.25/hour.
States are able to set their own
The Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issues guidance to employers and individuals through Opinion Letters, Ruling Letters, Administrator Interpretations, and Field Assistance Bulletins. An “Opinion Letter” is an official written opinion by WHD of how a particular law that WHD enforces applies in specific circumstances presented by an
By now, employers know that on November 22, 2016, federal court Judge Amos Mazzant in Texas issued a preliminary injunction that has blocked – temporarily – the implementation of the revised white collar overtime regulations issued by the Department of Labor (DOL) earlier this year. Those regulations, which have been the focus of concern,
One question is being asked by employers on a nearly daily basis: “Do we really have to meet the December 1, 2016 effective deadline for the revisions to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) overtime regulations?” Short answer is: Yes.
Attempts are being made to delay, change, soften, and eliminate the December 1 implementation date,
The effective date for the revisions to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) overtime regulations is less than 80 days away, and employers continue to struggle with the challenges created by changes to the existing rule. On September 20, 2016, federal court lawsuits were filed by two disparate groups, each attempting to put off or
On May 18, 2016, the Department of Labor (DOL) announced the publication of a final rule, updating its existing overtime regulations. The updated regulations are scheduled to become effective on December 1 of this year and are predicted to extend overtime pay protections to over 4 million workers within the first year of implementation. The
By now, everyone is aware that on May 18, 2016, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued its final rule updating the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) overtime regulations. (Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions or Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales and Computer Employees.) Since then, there have been dozens of helpful articles, analyses
(Photo of Saif underclinging a fissured rock wall in Keene Valley, NY in 2010.)
In a marked deviation from current regulatory standards and judicially accepted parameters of “joint employment,” the Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of the Department of Labor (DOL) issued – through Administrator David Weil – Administrator’s Interpretation (AI) No. 2016-1, setting
Economists and business commentators believe that the U.S. economy is moving from a world of corporations to a world of “pop-up” businesses. Further, they point out that these pop-up businesses are powered by what’s becoming known as “gig workers” – a term borrowed from the music industry, where musicians move from job to job
