Since the enactment of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) in the late 1930s, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has issued opinion letters as a means of providing guidance to workers, employers, and other stakeholders regarding the application of federal employment laws.
Continue Reading U.S. Department of Labor Issues Six Opinion Letters Addressing FLSA and FMLA
On Jan. 9, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released a long-awaited final rule concerning when employers can classify workers as independent contractors under federal law. This is the final version of the Employee or Independent Contractor Classification Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which DOL proposed in October 2022 (the “Final Rule”).
A high-earning employee is not compensated on a “salary basis” when their paycheck is based solely on a daily rate calculated by the number of days worked, the Supreme Court held in Helix Energy Solutions Grp., Inc. v. Hewitt Feb. 22, 2023. Because the employee is not paid on a salary basis, the Court ruled
On Oct. 11, the United States Department of Labor (DOL) issued a proposed rule that would change the definition of “independent contractor” for companies, a modification that could impact worker classification across various industries. Essentially, the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) repeals the Trump administration’s independent contractor rule and reinstates the principal factors used in
On July 26, 2022, in a win for employers, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals issued a precedential opinion in Christa Fischer, et al. v. Federal Express Corp., et al, No. 21-1683, affirming a decision from the Eastern District of Pennsylvania that refused to allow two opt-in plaintiffs to join a putative collective action
On the other side of the pandemic, after record numbers of employee resignations, protecting trade secrets is both challenging and being challenged. This article discusses protecting trade secrets and confidential information in 2022; types of restrictive covenants that are enforceable; and types of restrictive covenants that should be avoided.
In Morgan v. Sundance, Inc., the U.S. Supreme Court resolved a circuit split regarding whether a party has waived its right to arbitrate. Under the test reviewed by the Court, a party waived its right to arbitration if it knew of the right to arbitrate, acted inconsistently with that right, and prejudiced the other
In Waters v. Day & Zimmerman NPS, Inc., the First Circuit has seemingly muddied the waters on Bristol-Myers Squibb’s applicability to FLSA collective actions.
In a case of first impression, on October 4, 2021, in Adams v. Palm Beach County, U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce E. Reinhart of the Southern District of Florida dismissed with prejudice a putative class action brought by three plaintiffs against Palm Beach County under federal and Florida wage laws. This case may have far-reaching
In 2017, the Supreme Court decided Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. v. Superior Court of California, addressing due process concerns related to personal jurisdiction in the context of an action where the vast majority of plaintiffs were residents of states outside the jurisdiction where the plaintiffs filed the lawsuit. Bristol-Myers involved 678 individual product liability claims