It took a few months, but in a ruling that should surprise no one, a federal judge in Texas has blocked the U.S. Department of Labor’s new overtime exemption rule that increased the minimum salaries for workers to be considered exempt from overtime pay under the executive, administrative, and professional exemptions. The ruling by
On Friday, a federal district court granted a preliminary injunction sought by the State of Texas to block implementation of the U.S. Department of Labor’s new rule increasing minimum salaries for overtime exempt employee. However, the court limited the effect of its injunction to the State of Texas as an employer.
The court concluded that
While not strictly speaking a wage and hour issue, here is a heads-up to any employers that use timekeeping systems featuring biometric security, like a thumbprint or fingerprint scanner:
You might want to read this recent Crain’s Chicago Business article about a class action lawsuit recently filed against the Mariano’s chain of grocery stores under
Judge Amos Mazzant of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas has decided that he will not halt the lawsuit challenging the U.S. DOL’s new overtime exemption rules pending a ruling from the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals on his earlier order temporarily blocking the rules from taking effect.
Here’s a quick
The pending court fight between the U.S. DOL and a coalition of states and business groups over the new overtime exemption rules will not be resolved before President Obama leaves office in January, even though the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has now granted the DOL’s motion to set an expedited briefing schedule on its
Hospitality industry employers take note: If you claim a “tip credit” toward the minimum wage for any of your employees, you need to make sure that all tips are properly distributed to employees. A recent case from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals involving a Texas restaurant chain illustrates the hazards of making a mistake with the tip credit rules. Steele v. Leasing Enterprises, Ltd. (.pdf)
Here’s a summary of this cautionary tale:
Tip Credit Background
Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, employers are require to pay most employees at least $7.25 per hour. The FLSA allows tips received by employees to count for up to $5.12 of this total, meaning that an employer can pay tipped employees as little as $2.13 per hour so long as their tips are sufficient to make up the difference between their hourly wage and the federal minimum wage. But there are some restrictions. Employers can take advantage of this “tip credit” only if three conditions are met:
Continue Reading Here’s a tip: Don’t skim from employee tips