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US Department of Labor logo.jpgRecently on Twitter, I commented that revising the FLSA regulations won’t be quick or easy. Speaking of Twitter, if you’re not following @WageHourInsight yet, why not? I find lots of interesting tidbits every day that don’t make it here to the blog, and you can follow along with some of the more free-wheeling conversations HR professionals have on the very same topics we discuss here. 

My comment on Twitter should come with the added caveat: if they’re revised correctly. Merely increasing the minimum salary (the focus of the Secretary’s recent blog post) for the white collar exemption is not enough. Want some examples? DOL Secretary Perez referred to the Family Dollar case as an example of where the “primary duty” test revisions by the Bush administration swept up far more employees than he believes the FLSA intended. Need another? Tip credits. Continue Reading FLSA Revisions Won’t be Quick or Easy

Guest Blogger: Sunghee W. Sohn

iStock_WageIncrease.XSmall.jpgOn February 12, 2014, President Obama increased the minimum wage for federal contractors and subcontractors by an Executive Order to $10.10 per hour. This announcement comes on the heels of 13 states and 4 cities that also raised their own state and local minimum wages in 2014. Effective January 1, 2015, the federal contractors’ minimum wage will be the highest minimum wage in the country.

Which federal contractors are subject to the new minimum wage?

The Executive Order states federal contractors who receive new contracts on or after January 1, 2015 will be responsible for paying the new minimum wage. In addition, only contractors who win new contracts for procurement of services or construction, services covered by the Service Contract Act, concessions, and services in connection with federal property or lands will be subject to the new minimum wage. The government is expected to issue regulations by April 12, 2014 that will include three exclusions from the requirement. It is still unclear as to what classification of federal contractor or work will be excluded from the Executive Order. Employers who believe they will be impacted should begin to analyze and prepare their budgets, payroll, benefits and, for some, collective bargaining obligations in light of the order.Continue Reading Q&A: Executive Order Increasing Minimum Wage for Federal Contractors

In his fifth State of the Union speech, President Obama announced that he planned to issue an executive order raising the minimum wage for workers under new federal contracts to $10.10 per hour, up from the current federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour and higher than the $9.00 per hour rate the president sought…

In Sandifer v. U.S. Steel Corp., the U.S. Supreme Court held that the FLSA does not require unionized employers to compensate employees for time spent putting on and taking off certain protective clothing if they have a collective bargaining agreement that excludes this time as compensable work time.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s regulations…

Supreme Court.jpgIn the 2013 – 2014 Supreme Court term, the Court will hear and decide a number of cases affecting employers, including one FLSA case. 

Sandifer v. U.S. Steel Corp.: The Court will consider what constitutes “changing clothes” under the FLSA. Under §203(o) of the FLSA, an employer need not compensate a worker for time…

With the federal government’s partial shutdown in its third day, many federal agency operations have been affected. Among them, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has suspended its E-Verify service until Congress reaches an agreement to restore funding. Importantly, although E-Verify is temporarily not operating, employers must still properly and timely complete Form I-9 for…

DOL Perez.jpgThe last three days have brought a flurry of important developments for employers. On Wednesday, the Fourth Circuit joined the D.C. Circuit (Noel Canning) and Third Circuit (New Vista Nursing) in overturning President Obama’s January 2012 recess appointments of Members Richard Griffin, Terrence Flynn (who has since resigned), and Sharon Block…

Q. Summer has arrived and many employers have already supplemented their operations with student interns, but the question we see crop up repeatedly is, “do I have to pay interns?” 

A. In the last few years, with a more competitive job market and corporate focus on reducing costs, we have seen an increase in the…

On May 8, the House of Representatives passed a bill that would allow private sector employers to offer hourly workers the option of taking compensatory (“comp”) time in lieu of paid overtime.  The bill seeks to amend the Fair Labor Standards Act to allow private sector employers to offer comp time at a rate of…