President Trump recently signed into law Congress’ $1.3 trillion, 2,232-page omnibus budget bill. Notably, tucked away on page 2,025 of the bill, Congress amended the Fair Labor Standards Act to address rules affecting tipped employees. These rules have been a hot topic lately and there is a lot of misinformation floating around. Here is what
Wage & Hour
Supreme Court Holds that Auto Service Advisors are Exempt from Overtime Compensation
By Erica Townes on
Posted in Wage & Hour
Today, the United States Supreme Court has finally put to rest the issue of whether service advisors are exempt from the overtime compensation requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). You may recall an earlier post, discussing the law’s ambiguity in how auto dealers should classify service advisors under the Fair Labor Standards…
Pennsylvania Court Decision Highlights the “Do’s and Don’ts” of Paying Non-Exempt Employees on a Salary Basis
By Eric Athey on
Posted in Wage & Hour, Workplace Trends
Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), employers are permitted to pay non-exempt employees a fixed salary to cover straight-time earnings for all hours worked in a week, provided several conditions are met: a) the employee’s hours must fluctuate week to week; b) the employee must be paid the fixed salary in weeks where employee…
Now It’s Pennsylvania’s Turn – Governor Wolf Announces Proposed Increases to Minimum Salary Requirements for State Law Overtime Exemptions
By Adam R. Long on
Posted in Uncategorized, Wage & Hour
As many will recall, the U.S. Department of Labor issued regulations in May 2016 that would have increased dramatically the minimum salary requirements for the Fair Labor Standards Act’s “white-collar” overtime exemptions. The 2016 FLSA regulations would have more than doubled the minimum weekly salary requirement for most white-collar overtime exemptions from $455 to $913…
U.S. Department of Labor Clarifies When Interns are Subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act
By Erica Townes on
Posted in Wage & Hour
In a recent change of position, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) has endorsed a new standard for determining when an unpaid intern is entitled to compensation as an employee under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). We previously reported on an earlier DOL effort to tighten up the restrictions on the use of unpaid interns.…
Service Advisors at Auto Dealerships: An FLSA Exemption Case Makes its Way Back to the Supreme Court
By Erica Townes on
Posted in Wage & Hour
The United States Supreme Court will address again whether service advisors are exempt from overtime compensation requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”).
In a case involving several procedural twists and turns, the Supreme Court, for the second time, will hear Encino Motorcars, LLC v. Navarro. That case involves five service advisors who…
Third Circuit Clarifies What Constitutes a Willful Violation of the FLSA
By Adam R. Long on
Posted in Employee Benefits, Wage & Hour
The federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) establishes requirements for minimum wages and overtime pay. The FLSA’s requirements can be complex, and employers can face significant liability for unpaid wages and liquidated damages by failing to ensure compliance with its myriad requirements.
The FLSA contains a somewhat unique quirk regarding its statute of limitations. The…
The End is Here (or Near) – District Court Formally Strikes Down 2016 FLSA Overtime Regulations
By Adam R. Long on
Posted in Wage & Hour
On August 31, 2017, Judge Amos L. Mazzant III of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas issued an order holding that the 2016 Fair Labor Standards Act white-collar overtime exemption regulations were invalid. In November 2016, Judge Mazzant had issued a nationwide preliminary injunction blocking the new FLSA white-collar overtime exemption…
Flurry of Activity by Trump Department of Labor, Including Action on the Enjoined FLSA Overtime Exemption Regulations
By Adam R. Long on
Posted in Wage & Hour, Workplace Trends
On April 27, 2017, the Senate confirmed R. Alexander Acosta as the Secretary of Labor. More than four months after President Trump took office, the U.S. Department of Labor finally had a new leader.
In the ten weeks since Secretary Acosta took office, the DOL has been very busy, with a number of important actions…
Class Action Settlement Reminds Employers that Job Duties – Not Job Titles – Rule FLSA Exemptions
By Langdon Ramsburg on
Posted in Employer Liability, Wage & Hour
In September of 2015, two delivery drivers filed a class action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. The employees alleged that their former employer violated the Fair Labor Standards Act by failing to pay them overtime between 2012 and 2015. The class subsequently ballooned to 474 members (and…