On June 26, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued Field Assistance Bulletin No. 2020-4, addressing employee paid leave under the Family First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) to care for a child whose summer camp, enrichment or other program is closed due to COVID-19. The FFCRA allows an employee up to 10 weeks paid leave (Expanded Family and Medical Leave – EFMLA) to care for a child(ren) “whose place of care is closed…

On May 20, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published its final rule allowing employers to pay bonuses and incentives to employees who are paid a salary plus overtime on the fluctuating workweek method (FWM) of computing overtime (employees who are paid a salary whether they work few hours or many, plus 1/2 overtime rate – usually seasonal businesses such as landscaping – see my earlier post about how this method works if you…

Just a quick update (as I recognize this likely doesn’t affect many reading this blog) – on May 14, 2020, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration released a final rule that updates the hours of service rules. However, the amendment neither increases driving time, nor the requirement that a 30-minute break be taken within eight (8) consecutive driving hours.  In sum, the Final Rule: Requires a 30-minute break after eight (8) hours of consecutive driving…

Due to COVID-19 and related delays in Federal reporting requirements across the government, the EEOC has recently announced that it is delaying collection of 2019 EEO-1 Component 1 data (employment data categorized by race/ethnicity, gender and job category) until the EEOC resumes normal operations, estimated to be in 2021. An EEO-1 must be filed by all companies with more than 100 employees or federal contractors or first-tier subcontractors with 50 or more employees and a…

On Monday, May 18, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor released a final rule, effective immediately, regarding retail and service industry exceptions from overtime for employees primarily paid on commissions. The new rule simply removes two (2) previous provisions which listed industries that the DOL then-viewed as having “no retail concept” or “may be recognized as retail”. Accordingly, a business may now qualify for the exemption if previously listed on the “no retail concept”…

On March 26, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued three new Opinion Letters, FLSA2020-3, FLSA2020-4, and FLSA2020-5 which all address various payments that may be excluded from the regular rate. This is important because the compensation that is included into the regular rate will increase the overtime rate. In a very short breakdown, here are the three clarifications: Longevity Payments. FLSA 2020-3 clarifies that longevity payments made to employees as a part…

Minnesota employers should be aware that, pursuant to Governor Walz’s Executive Order 20-29, effective April 6, 2020 until December 31, 2020, Minnesota employers “must notify separated employees that they can apply for unemployment insurance benefits.” In addition, the executive order confirms that there is no longer a waiting week for unemployment compensation, and that there will be no delays due to money received from vacation pay, sick pay, or personal time off (PTO) payouts…