Tag Archives: Department of Labor

Joint Employment Test Gets Muddied Again: Federal Court Rejects New DOL Test

By Todd Lebowitz on September 9, 2020 Posted in Department of Labor

Muddy Waters is how you want your blues, not how you want your laws. A federal district judge in New York yesterday kicked up a lot of mud in an area of the law that had finally seen some clarity – the definition of “joint employment.” Now we’re back in the muck. Yesterday’s ruling struck down … Continue Reading

The DOL’s Highly Anticipated Rule to Increase the Minimum Salary Threshold for Overtime Exemptions is Officially Open for Public Comment

By Amy J. Traub and Ashlee Grant on March 22, 2019 Posted in DOL

On March 22, 2019, the DOL announced the official publication of its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the Federal Registrar and the commencement of the 60-day period for public comments. All public comments on the proposed new rule must be received by May 21, 2019 in order to be considered by the DOL in preparing … Continue Reading

DOL Overtime Regulations: The End of an Era

By Amy J. Traub and Andrea Milano on September 6, 2017 Posted in DOL

At least once a week we get a call from a client inquiring about the status of the new salary threshold overtime regulations. We have an update, and the news is good for employers! By way of background, on May 23, 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced its final rule (Rule) to increase … Continue Reading

Hope for Employers on the Wage and Hour Front: The Department of Labor Brings Back Opinion Letters

By Amy J. Traub and Amanda Van Hoose Garofalo on June 29, 2017 Posted in Wage and Hour

Given the exponential uptick in wage and hour lawsuits during the Obama administration and the United States Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) continuing aggressive enforcement of wage and hour laws, many employers have felt the risk of a potential lawsuit looming over their heads for pay violations they may not even know exist. Before 2010, Opinion … Continue Reading

Labor Department Announces Plan to Find Joint Employment — in All Directions

By Todd Lebowitz on January 26, 2016 Posted in Independent Contractor, Wage and Hour

When I get lost (which is often, say my kids), I turn to a map. Fortunately, I always have my iPhone on me, so the Maps app can generally get me where I am going. The Wage and Hour Division needs no map to find where it wants to go. In a 15-page release dated … Continue Reading

DOL Refills States’ War Chests for Independent Contractor Misclassification Crackdown

By Todd Lebowitz on November 16, 2014 Posted in DOL, Independent Contractor

The U.S. Department of Labor has awarded $10.2 million in grants to 19 states for continued independent contractor misclassification detection and enforcement. The grants are focused on unemployment insurance programs and, more specifically, companies’ failure to pay unemployment insurance premiums for workers treated as independent contractors but whom the states deem to be employees. This … Continue Reading

ALERT! The DOL Takes Its First Step Toward Extending Rights for Same-Sex Spouses

By Amy J. Traub on August 21, 2013 Posted in FMLA

Critical employment policies and benefits can depend on whether an employee has a “spouse,” but just who is legally considered a “spouse” has evolved significantly. Employers can no longer assume that “spouse” means a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or wife. They need to consider state laws, which differ in their … Continue Reading