Tag Archives: Department of Labor

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