FLSA

Prepare to pay for time spent waiting to log in, sign off

07/26/2024

A federal appeals court recently reminded a lower court that the FLSA requires paying hourly workers for all time spent working on their employer’s behalf—unless pre- and post-shift activities are so inconsequential that they constitute de minimis time.

Paging all humans: The FLSA & the FMLA still need you

07/17/2024

Artificial intelligence has taken firm hold in American workplaces. By far, the focus is on how generative AI will either streamline tasks or supplant employees altogether. The Department of Labor isn’t buying the employees-will-soon-be-replaced talk. Human oversight is still necessary to the proper functioning of the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Family and Medical Leave Act, the DOL concluded.

Student athletes may be employees under the FLSA

07/17/2024

These student athletes aren’t claiming to be independent contractors or volunteers, two categories of service providers who are exempt from the FLSA and the tax code. They’re not in a work-study program as most of us understand it. Nevertheless, both the FLSA and the tax code recognize two types of paid work—work as an employee or an independent contractor.

Despite federal court’s narrow restriction, start complying with new OT rule

07/01/2024

Ruling on the first of two lawsuits seeking injunctions to block the rule, Judge Sean D. Jordan of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas decreed June 28 that Texas state government agencies do not have to comply with the overtime rule. All other employers subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act do.

GOP senators attempt to block overtime rule

06/24/2024

Republican Sens. Tommy Tuberville (Ala.) and Mike Braun (Ind.) on June 17 introduced a resolution calling for the repeal of the Department of Labor’s final rule raising the overtime salary threshold for white-collar employees.

Lawsuits pending: Will new OT rule go into effect July 1?

06/21/2024

A new U.S. Department of Labor rule scheduled to go into effect July 1 will raise the overtime salary threshold for white-collar employees to $43,888 per year, up from the current $35,568 per year. However, a trio of lawsuits could derail those plans. All ask federal courts to prevent the overtime rules from taking effect, at least temporarily.

Payroll pro & con: To auto-deduct for meals or not

06/20/2024

The reasoning behind auto-deducting meal breaks is simple: Employees no longer need to think about it and you no longer have to deal with those who forget to clock in and out. In theory, auto-deducting eliminates wage overpayments and faulty regular rate and overtime calculations. But there are issues you need to resolve before you buy into auto-deductions.

He said, they said: No records puts employer in a messy place

06/20/2024

Lawsuits for unpaid overtime aren’t always so cut-and-dried. They can come in layers, with each layer costing you more. The 5th Circuit ruled that an employer could be liable for unpaid overtime if it misclassified workers as independent contractors, even though the workers had scant evidence of their unpaid overtime.

Employer groups sue to block DOL’s new overtime rule

05/24/2024

A coalition of trade associations has filed a sweeping lawsuit asking a federal court in Texas to postpone the rule’s July 1 effective date, stop the rule from taking effect and forbid the DOL from “taking any action whatsoever” to implement the rule.

Employees reclassified? Time to start training managers

05/20/2024

You say you have already responded to the Department of Labor’s new overtime salary threshold by reclassifying some white-collar employees as overtime-eligible nonexempts? Congratulations! Now comes the hard part—training managers in the finer points of the Fair Labor Standards Act before the new rules take effect on July 1.