Wage & Hour Law Update

Blog Authors

Latest from Wage & Hour Law Update

Third-Party Bonuses Are Not Necessarily “Remuneration” for Overtime Purposes, Third Circuit Holds

By Jonathan Kozak & David G. Islinger on September 5, 2019

When an employer permits its employees to participate in a bonus program offered by the employer’s client, based on the work performed for that client, those bonuses do not always qualify as “remuneration for employment” that must be included in the employee’s “regular rate” for purposes of calculating overtime pay due under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has held. Secretary, U.S. Dep’t of Labor v.…

Wage & Hour Law Update

Truck Drivers’ Sleeper Berth Time Is Presumptively Not Compensable Under the FLSA, DOL Concludes

By Katharine C. Weber & J. Greg Coulter on July 24, 2019

In a welcome reversal of its prior guidance, on July 22, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) concluded that if a truck driver, or driver’s assistant or helper, is completely relieved of duty and is provided with adequate sleeping facilities (including the truck’s sleeping berth), the individual is not “working while riding” and therefore is not entitled to compensation for that time – regardless of how many hours a particular trip lasts or how…

Wage & Hour Law Update

U.S. House of Representatives Passes $15 Minimum Wage Bill

By Eric R. Magnus & Jeffrey W. Brecher on July 18, 2019

After six months of primarily internal Democratic Party wrangling, on July 18, 2019 the House of Representatives passed the Raise the Wage Act, which, if it became law, would progressively increase the federal minimum wage to $15.00 per hour over a six-year period. The House passage of the Bill comes at a time when an increasing number of states and local jurisdictions already have enacted minimum wage laws well above the federal minimum, which has…

Wage & Hour Law Update

Lack of Alignment Between Employer’s Payroll Workweek and FLSA “Workweek” Results in Overtime Liability, First Circuit Holds

By Douglas J. Hoffman on June 28, 2019

Although the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) includes an overtime exception for employees who reside on the work premises for an “extended” period of time – at least 120 hours in a “workweek” – that exception is inapplicable if an employer’s payroll workweek does not coincide with an employee’s scheduled workweek for at least that many hours. Giguere v. Port Resources, Inc., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 18391 (1st Cir. June 19, 2019). Generally under the…

Wage & Hour Law Update

Nevada Enacts Minimum Wage Increase to $12 Per Hour

By Deverie J. Christensen on June 14, 2019

Nevada’s minimum wage will increase to $12.00 per hour (or $11.00 for employees offered health insurance) by mid-2024, based on a new bill signed into law by Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak. Beginning July 1, 2020, Nevada’s current minimum wage rates of $8.25 (without health insurance) and $7.25 (with health insurance) will increase by $0.75 to $9.00 and $8.00 respectively per hour, and will increase annually at that same rate until reaching $12.00 (or $11.00) per…

Wage & Hour Law Update

Timber Harvesting Company Cannot Escape Overtime Liability, But Commute and Meal Break Time Should Not Have Been Included, Sixth Circuit Holds

By Robert J. Bowes & Michael J. Kozimor on June 6, 2019

Rejecting employer Timberline South’s argument, among others, that FLSA coverage did not apply because all of its timber harvesting occurred only within one state, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals nevertheless concluded that the commuting and meal break times should not have been included in the trial court’s calculation of overtime damages. Secretary of Labor v. Timberline South, LLC, 920 F.3d 1065 (6th Cir. 2019). The Sixth Circuit includes the federal courts in Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky…

Wage & Hour Law Update

Colorado Lifts Ban on Local Minimum Wage Ordinances – With Restrictions

By James D. Mackey on May 30, 2019

Repealing a 20-year old prohibition on local enactment of minimum wage ordinances, on May 28, 2019, Governor Jared Polis signed House Bill 1210 allowing, with certain restrictions, such local ordinances. Under H.B. 1210, no more than 10 percent of Colorado’s local jurisdictions may enact local minimum wage rates and any such rates cannot increase by more than 15 percent annually. Under the law, several adjoining communities may join to enact regional minimum wage rates. In…

Wage & Hour Law Update

Connecticut to Join the Increasing Number of States Enacting a $15 Minimum Wage Law

By David R. Golder on May 21, 2019

With Governor Ed Lamont pledging to sign it into law, Connecticut will become the latest state to pass a $15.00 per hour minimum wage bill joining, among other states, its Northeast neighbors New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts, in doing so. Under the Connecticut law, the state’s current minimum wage of $10.10 per hour will rise to $11.00 per hour on October 1, 2019; to $12.00 per hour on September 1, 2020; to $13.00 per…

Wage & Hour Law Update

Indiana Law Now Allows Paycheck Deductions for Uniform Rentals

By Michael W. Padgett on May 16, 2019

Under an amendment to the state’s wage deduction statute, employers in Indiana may now deduct from an employee’s paycheck the rental cost of uniform shirts, pants, and other job-related clothing. The amendment, Senate Bill 99, was signed by Governor Eric Holcomb on May 1, 2019, and went into effect immediately. Michael Padgett, a Principal in the Indianapolis office of Jackson Lewis, testified before the Senate on behalf of the Indiana Chamber of Commerce in support of…

Wage & Hour Law Update

DOL Extends Comment Periods for Proposed Joint Employer and Regular Rate Regulations

By Jeffrey W. Brecher on May 14, 2019

Citing the interest expressed by “law firms, unions, and advocacy organizations, among others,” the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has extended the period for public comment on recently-issued Notices of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding amendments to the regulations concerning determination of the “regular rate” of pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and to amendments clarifying what constitutes a “joint employer” under the Act. The NPRM regarding the regular rate was published on March…

Wage & Hour Law Update

Blog Authors

Third-Party Bonuses Are Not Necessarily “Remuneration” for Overtime Purposes, Third Circuit Holds

Truck Drivers’ Sleeper Berth Time Is Presumptively Not Compensable Under the FLSA, DOL Concludes

U.S. House of Representatives Passes $15 Minimum Wage Bill

Lack of Alignment Between Employer’s Payroll Workweek and FLSA “Workweek” Results in Overtime Liability, First Circuit Holds

Nevada Enacts Minimum Wage Increase to $12 Per Hour

Timber Harvesting Company Cannot Escape Overtime Liability, But Commute and Meal Break Time Should Not Have Been Included, Sixth Circuit Holds

Colorado Lifts Ban on Local Minimum Wage Ordinances – With Restrictions

Connecticut to Join the Increasing Number of States Enacting a $15 Minimum Wage Law

Indiana Law Now Allows Paycheck Deductions for Uniform Rentals

DOL Extends Comment Periods for Proposed Joint Employer and Regular Rate Regulations

Company

Support

New to the Network