http://www.elinfonet.com/fedindex/9 Employment law articles discussing wage and hour issues, including those under the FLSA. Thu, 07 Aug 2008 20:08:51 EST en-us http://www.elinfonet.com/newscount.php?popID=7190 Article: 7190 Thu, 07 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST elin@elinfonet.com (Employment Law Information Network) On July 28, 2008, the Department of Labor issued proposed revisions to regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) and the Portal-to-Portal Act of 1947 (Portal Act). The purpose of the proposed revisions is to clean up regulations that have become out-of-date in light of subsequent legislation and court decisions. The Department has determined that the proposed changes will not result in any additional compliance costs and will simply enhance the Department's enforcement of, and the public's understanding of, compliance obligations under the FLSA by replacing the outdated regulations with updates that better reflect current law. http://www.elinfonet.com/newscount.php?popID=7177 Article: 7177 Tue, 05 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST elin@elinfonet.com (Employment Law Information Network) Employers should be aware of two key developments in the wage and hour arena - a federal minimum wage hike (effective July 24, 2008) and an increase in civil penalties for child labor law violations (effective May 21, 2008). Below is a brief summary of each of these developments. http://www.elinfonet.com/newscount.php?popID=7172 Article: 7172 Tue, 05 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST elin@elinfonet.com (Employment Law Information Network) Since 2001, the Labor Department's Wage and Hour Division has recovered over $1.25 billion in back wages. That's not a typo. Last year alone, the Department recovered $220,613,703 in back wages, a record, which represented a nearly 70% increase in back wage recovery since 2001. http://www.elinfonet.com/newscount.php?popID=7141 Article: 7141 Thu, 24 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST elin@elinfonet.com (Employment Law Information Network) This is a reminder that, effective July 24, 2008, the federal minimum wage rate for covered non-exempt employees will increase from $5.85 per hour to $6.55 per hour. This is the second of three increases required by the 2007 Fair Minimum Wage Act, which amended the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The final increase, to $7.25 per hour, will take effect July 24, 2009. http://www.elinfonet.com/newscount.php?popID=7129 Article: 7129 Tue, 22 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST elin@elinfonet.com (Employment Law Information Network) There is no denying that there is a significant increase in the number of wage and hour actions filed each year, notwithstanding an overall decline in civil filings in federal courts. This increase is not new, as the United States Department of Labor amended the overtime regulations in 2005, at least in part, in an effort to stop, or at least slow down the then dramatic increase in claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Nonetheless, more claims were filed in 2006 in federal court, than in 2003 and 2004 combined. Through April 2008, almost 1,900 wage and hour cases had been filed in federal courts nationwide. At that pace, the number of FLSA filings in federal courts will exceed 2007 levels. Moreover, these figures do not include state court filings. http://www.elinfonet.com/newscount.php?popID=7115 Article: 7115 Mon, 14 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST elin@elinfonet.com (Employment Law Information Network) In a decision that could lead to significant litigation cost savings for employers, the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit endorsed the "fluctuating workweek" method of calculating back pay awards for misclassified salaried employees in lawsuits arising under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). In Clements v. Serco, Inc., 2008 U.S. App. LEXIS 13806 (10th Cir. July 1, 2008), the Tenth Circuit held that the district court properly used the fluctuating workweek method to calculate a back pay award for unpaid overtime, rather than the alternative "time-and-a-half" formula, because the parties had a "clear mutual understanding" that the plaintiffs would be paid a fixed salary regardless of the number of hours they worked each workweek. In addition, the court joined the First and Fourth Circuit Courts of Appeals in rejecting the proposition that the fluctuating workweek method applies only where the parties also had a "clear mutual understanding" as to how overtime pay would be calculated. http://www.elinfonet.com/newscount.php?popID=7092 Article: 7092 Mon, 07 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST elin@elinfonet.com (Employment Law Information Network) The City of Oakland violated the Fair Labor Standards Act by withholding a former police officer’s final paycheck to cover part of his training costs, the California Court of Appeal has ruled. City of Oakland v. Hassey, No. A116360 (Cal. Ct. App. June 17, 2008). The court also ruled that an agreement for reimbursement of training costs was lawful under the FLSA. http://www.elinfonet.com/newscount.php?popID=7090 Article: 7090 Mon, 07 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST elin@elinfonet.com (Employment Law Information Network) The rules for withholding federal income tax from salary and other compensation-related payments can be complicated. Recent legislative and regulatory changes to the withholding requirements for “supplemental wages” have added to this complexity. In an attempt to clarify the withholding requirements for supplemental wages, the IRS has issued Revenue Ruling 2008-29 which explains through a series of examples how income tax withholding should be determined for various types of payments. http://www.elinfonet.com/newscount.php?popID=7021 Article: 7021 Thu, 19 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EST elin@elinfonet.com (Employment Law Information Network) In Revenue Ruling 2008-29, the IRS has provided specific guidance on the proper amount of federal income tax an employer must withhold in nine different situations under the supplemental wage regulations1 that became effective January 1, 2007. Typically, states with income taxes default to following federal regulation principles for distinguishing between regular and supplemental wages. In addition to federal income tax withholdings, states also look for proper withholding on supplemental wages for state income tax purposes. http://www.elinfonet.com/newscount.php?popID=7014 Article: 7014 Mon, 16 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EST elin@elinfonet.com (Employment Law Information Network) The U.S. Department of Labor has clarified compensable work time under the Fair Labor Standards Act in regard to meal breaks, straight time, and overtime. In an opinion letter dated May 15, 2008, the Department reached the following conclusions: