Total Articles: 5
"Right to Know" Rule Not Likely in 2012
For roughly the last two years, the U.S. Department of Labor has been contemplating (some would say "threatening") revisions to the recordkeeping regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act that would require an employer who classifies an employee as exempt to prepare a written justification of the basis for the exemption. This document would have to be provided to the employee and would be subject to inspection by the Department of Labor. For obvious reasons, many employers strongly disfavor this proposal.
Caution Called For In Documenting Compliance Efforts.
Vigilant employers are taking steps to evaluate or re-assess the status of their compliance with the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and the similar laws of other jurisdictions. It is wise to do so, but management should also be careful about how and under what circumstances it goes about compiling, communicating, and documenting information relating to these matters. Increasingly, plaintiffs in wage-hour lawsuits are seeking to force employers to produce such materials in the hope of generating useful evidence.
Nature Of DOL's "Right To Know" Remains Largely Unknown.
The U.S. Labor Department's most-recent regulatory agenda now targets April 2011 for the release of a proposed rule that DOL says is intended to, among other things, "update [federal Fair Labor Standards Act] recordkeeping requirements to foster more openness and transparency in demonstrating employers' compliance with applicable requirements to their workers, to better ensure compliance by regulated entities, and to assist in enforcement."
Be On Guard For Looming FLSA Recordkeeping Changes.
The U.S. Labor Department has now provided additional, disquieting insight into its "Plan, Prevent, Protect" program that we first reported on in our April 30 post. Part of DOL's Spring Regulatory Agenda 2010 announces an intention to issue a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking ("NPRM") proposing significant amendments to the FLSA recordkeeping regulations.
Auto Dealership Update: The Lawsuit Du Jour.
This might have already happened at your dealership: your payroll clerk is exasperated because the sales people are not punching their time cards. She knows that under federal law, the dealership is obligated to pay sales people their commissions or minimum wage for all hours worked, whichever is higher. But if they have low commissions and they don't punch in and out each day, she has no way to accurately calculate their hours or their pay.
