August 23, 2023
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Category: Wage and Hour

DOL Finalizes Wage Regulations Benefiting Union Construction Contractors

The Department of Labor (DOL) has finalized significant revisions to its regulations implementing the Davis-Bacon Act (DBA) for the first time in 40 years. The revisions are likely to make it much easier for unionized construction firms to obtain contract awards by significantly increasing the use of union wage rates in setting prevailing wages on federal construction projects. The revised regulations...
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July 24, 2023
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Category: FLSA

Federal Court Once Again Rejects Restaurant Industry’s Challenge to Revised Tip Credit Rule

For the second time, a federal trial court in Texas has rejected an attempt by the restaurant industry to block enforcement of revised tip credit regulations issued by the Biden Administration’s Labor Department. The trial court’s latest ruling in Restaurant Law Center v. DOL, W.D. Tex. (July 6, 2023), comes after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reversed...
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July 19, 2023
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Category: Disability, Accommodations, and Leaves

New DOL Opinion Letter Addresses How Holiday Impacts Weekly Leave Entitlement

The Department of Labor (DOL) has issued a rare opinion letter under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) addressing the calculation of leave used by an employee who takes less than a full week of FMLA leave during a week that includes a holiday. DOL’s letter opines that if an employee takes less than a full week of FMLA...
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June 21, 2023
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Category: FLSA

Sixth Circuit Rejects Two-Step Procedure for Certifying FLSA Class Claims

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has rejected the often plaintiff-friendly conditional certification that many courts grant in allowing a collective action under the Fair Labor Standards Act to proceed. Instead, the court has adopted a standard that requires lead plaintiffs to first show a “strong likelihood” that other employees are similarly situated before allowing them to...
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June 21, 2023
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Category: Agency Enforcement

Latest Biden Regulatory Agenda Lists No New Workplace Initiatives

The Biden Administration’s latest semi-annual regulatory agenda, published on June 13, 2023, lists no new initiatives related to workplace compliance, as many of the initiatives it announced previously remain bogged down pending final action. This memo summarizes the latest workplace-related regulatory agendas of the Department of Labor (DOL) and its sub-agencies, such as the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs...
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May 22, 2023
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Category: Agency Enforcement

DOL Issues Guidance on “PUMP Act” Protections for Nursing Mothers

The Department of Labor (DOL) recently published guidance that interprets the provisions of the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act (PUMP Act), which Congress passed late last year. While the expanded protections do not require employers to pay for break time for expressing milk, the guidance provides several examples where break time would be compensable. The guidance also...
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May 10, 2023
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Category: Wage and Hour

Fifth Circuit Revives Legal Challenge to DOL’s Revised Tip Regulations

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has revived a legal challenge to regulations issued by the Biden Administration’s Department of Labor (DOL) in 2021 related to tips and the use of the tip credit under federal wage and hour law. In overturning a federal trial court decision in Restaurant Law Center v. U.S. Department of Labor that denied...
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April 24, 2023
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Category: Compensation

Third Circuit Rules Paid Time Off Is Not Salary for FLSA Purposes

Paid time off (PTO) is not part of an employee’s salary, and therefore an employer did not violate the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) by making deductions from FLSA-exempt employees’ paid time off if they failed to meet productivity goals, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled recently in a case of first impression. The workers in Higgins...
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April 11, 2023
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Category: Compensation

$8 Million FLSA Settlement Shows Potential Risk of Not Accounting for Restricted Stock Value

An $8 million settlement was recently reached in a Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) class action that raised the complex issue of whether or how an employer should include equity compensation when calculating an employee’s regular rate for purposes of overtime pay. The preliminary settlement in Bowlay-Williams v. Google, LLC, No. 21-09942 (N.D. Cal.), resolved claims that an employer violated...
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October 14, 2022
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Category: Government Contracts

Federal Contractor Minimum Wage Rates Will Increase on January 1, 2023

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has issued notices announcing increases in the minimum wage rates established by two different Presidential Executive Orders (E.O.s), one signed by President Obama (E.O. 13658) and the other signed by President Biden (E.O. 14026), that set a higher minimum wage rate for work performed on certain government contracts. Pursuant to annual escalator clauses contained...
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