Employers who rely on the fluctuating workweek method to calculate overtime for employees should take a few minutes to review a new ruling from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals that draws some new lines around when the method may be used. Hills v. Entergy Operations, Inc. (5th Cir., Case No. 16-30924, Aug. 4, 2017)
11th Circuit “Tweaks” Test For Whether Interns Are Employees
If you are a regular reader of this blog, you are probably familiar with the six-factor test that the U.S. Department of Labor uses to determine whether an intern should be considered an employee for purposes of the Fair Labor Standards Act. (If not, DOL Fact Sheet # 71 provides a summary, and we explained
Moving Exempt Employees to Non-Exempt Status [Wage & Hour FAQs]
We discuss the misclassification of non-exempt employees regularly here on the blog and in our presentations at conferences and webinars, but a reader of the blog wrote me before the holiday weekend to ask about the reverse situation. The reader’s company has previously determined (correctly, we’ll assume) that some of its employees meet the “computer
Are You Secretly Running a Construction Business? State Law Says You Might Be!
I promise that this post isn’t a bad setup to a joke about The Sopranos, the mafia, or being in “waste management.” Late last month, I spoke at a regional meeting of the Wireless Internet Service Providers Association, and many of the WISPs in attendance were surprised to learn that not only were they
Defense Appropriations “Wage Theft” Amendment May Bar Employers with FLSA Violations from Defense Contracts
Late last month, the Senate referred the Fiscal Year 2015 Defense Appropriations Act to the Senate Committee on Appropriations for consideration. The House of Representatives passed its version (H.R. 4870) on June 20 with substantial bipartisan support, 340-73, after considering 80 different amendments. Since this is a wage and hour blog, you can
FLSA Overtime, Minimum Wage Lawsuits Continue to Skyrocket
My colleagues and I talk regularly about the ever-increasing number of wage and hour cases alleging violations of minimum wage and overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). These cases aren’t going away, which means that I will probably have plenty to blog about over the next year. According to PACER, litigants
You Load 16 Tons, What Do You Get: A Worthless Franchise!
Despite the focus in recent years on the misclassification of employees as contractors, unfortunately, we continue to see numerous companies ranging from the Fortune 500 to startups make mistakes, albeit mostly unintentional, with their use of “contractors.” Generally, these mistakes are because of misunderstandings (“We agreed to do it this way.”), myths (“She works two
Third Circuit Applies More Relaxed Federal Standard to Successors in FLSA Cases
Guest Blogger: Lindsey Marcus
The Third Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, recently became the third appellate court to adopt the federal common law standard for successor liability in a Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) claim. The decision likely means that successor employers will find it
DOL’s Misclassification Initiative Continues
Iowa is the latest State to sign a Memorandum of Understanding and join forces with the U.S. Department of Labor to combat employee misclassification. Although Labor Secretary Solis has announced her resignation, it appears that the Misclassification Initiative that she championed continues, at least for now.
As mentioned in a previous post, these Memorandums
Family Dollar Settles Store Manager Overtime Claim
On September 12, 2012, Family Dollar announced that it will pay up to $14 million to settle a class action in the Southern District of New York. Similar to other class actions filed against Family Dollar over the years, New York store managers claimed that the Company failed to pay them overtime. Although the agreement