Many kids and adults alike look forward to summer all year. Summer means longer days, more ice cream, and no school. However, summer can also mean challenges for employers. Though the issues discussed below can come up any time of year, employers often find that they crop up more frequently during the summer months. The
Apples and Oranges: Daily Meal Expenses Properly Excluded from the Regular Rate
Many agencies provide their employees with per diem stipends while the employee is traveling for work. Is your agency including this amount when calculating the regular rate of pay for overtime under the FLSA? In Sharp v. CGG Land, Inc. (10th Cir. 2016) 840 F.3d 1211, the Tenth Circuit confirmed that agencies may
Texas Judge Orders Nationwide Halt of the DOL’s New Overtime Rule
On Tuesday, November 22, 2016, Judge Amos Mazzant of the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Texas (a 2014 Obama-appointee) issued a preliminary injunction barring implementation of the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) new rule (“Final Rule”) raising the salary threshold for certain overtime exemptions under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The
Ninth Circuit Denies En Banc Review Of Flores v. City Of San Gabriel – A Landmark Case On FLSA Regular Rate And Health Benefits Plans Remains The Law: Are You Really Ready Now?
On August 23, 2016, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued an order declining to reconsider en banc its decision in Flores v. City of San Gabriel. That case, decided in June of 2016, has had far-ranging and significant impacts on the way public agencies compensate employees and provide benefits. The
2016 is the Year of the FLSA Audit!
A number of developments this year – the recent decision in Flores v. City of San Gabriel on the intersection of wage and hour law and employer health plans, the new changes coming December 1, 2016 to overtime exemption rules under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), and the U.S. Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) increased
Don’t Blame the Payroll System!
One particularly difficult challenge in complying with the strict minimum wage and overtime requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act is an employer’s computerized timekeeping, payroll and/or accounting systems. For the vast majority of public sector employers, timekeeping is automated, as is payroll and the computation of wages owed; hard-copy timecards for employees and manual
The Fourth Circuit Holds that Fire Captains Are Non-Exempt Employees Under the FLSA Because Their Primary Job Duty Is Being a First Responder
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (covering such east coast states as Virginia, West Virginia, and Maryland) recently held that a group of fire Captains are entitled to overtime under the FLSA because their primary duty is being a first responder. The case, Morrison v. County of Fairfax, Virginia, was
The Anticipation And Wait Is Over – The New FLSA Salary Basis Test Regulations Are Here!
This post was authored by Jolina A. Abrena and Gage Dungy
On May 18, 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued new regulations modifying the weekly salary and annual compensation threshold levels for white collar exemptions to FLSA overtime requirements. These regulations become effective December 1, 2016. It is critical for employers to become
Four Mistakes to Avoid When Calculating the Regular Rate of Pay and Overtime Pay
Calculating an employee’s regular rate of pay and overtime pay is no small task. The FLSA requires that an employee who works overtime be compensated at a rate of at least one and one-half times the employee’s regular rate of pay. The regular rate of pay includes “all remuneration for employment paid to, or on
Siri, If I Have to Wait After My Shift for a Security Check, Is That Considered Work?
In December 2014, we reported on Integrity Staffing Solutions, Inc. v. Busk, a case involving Amazon.com, in which the United States Supreme Court held that time spent going through security checks was not compensable work time. (See our blog post here). Just last month, we reported on Balestrieri v. Menlo Park Fire Protection