Articles Discussing Overtime Under The FLSA.

On March 28, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released a proposed rule to amend the regulations at 29 CFR Part 778 to clarify and update the “regular rate” requirements under section 7(e) of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), 29 USC §207(e), focusing on the types of compensation and benefits that employers must include in the overtime calculation.

On March 7, 2019, the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor, through its Acting Administrator Keith Sonderling, published the long-awaited Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to revise the “white collar” overtime exemption regulations. The DOL proposes to increase the minimum salary for exemption from $455 per week ($23,660 annualized) to $679 per week ($35,308 annualized). Employees with total annual compensation of $147,414 (including at least $679 per week paid on a salary basis) – up from the current $100,000 total annual compensation – would qualify for exemption under the test for highly compensated employees (HCE).

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has issued a new proposed rule raising the annual minimum salary requirements for the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) “white collar” overtime exemptions (executive, administrative, and professional). Under the new proposed rule, the salary level for the white collar exemptions will increase to $35,308, or $679 per week.

The DOL’s new overtime rule, intended to replace the rule announced late in the Obama administration but subsequently declared invalid by a federal court, finally has made, or soon will make its way, to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), a division of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Bloomberg Law has reported. OIRA is responsible for reviewing significant regulations before publication to ensure agency compliance with the principles in Executive Order 12866, which include incorporating public comment, considering alternatives to the rulemaking, and analyzing both costs and benefits.

The U.S. Department of Labor will send its draft of the long-awaited Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on the “white collar” overtime exemptions to the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review on or before Friday, January 11, 2019, as reported by Bloomberg Law and independently confirmed by Littler. OMB review is the final step before publication of the proposed rule in the Federal Register.

September may mean saying goodbye to summer, but minimum wage and overtime developments across the country are still going strong. A nominee to lead federal wage and hour enforcement efforts has been put forward, labor agencies are beginning to announce their adjusted minimum wage rates for 2018, and state and local legislatures are looking to expand existing laws.

The same week the Department of Labor removed two guidance documents governing joint employment and independent contractors, it indicated it will soon reconsider two contentious rules that have been put on hold. The DOL is proposing to rescind the so-called “persuader” rule that would have expanded reporting requirements for employers that use labor-management consultants for certain purposes, and plans to seek public input on the salary thresholds set in the “white collar” overtime rule. Both of these rules were prevented from taking effect by court order.

With the Department of Labor’s recent changes to the salary threshold for white-collar exemptions set to take effect on December 1, 2016, many employers are struggling to find the best option for how to comply with the new regulations without breaking the bank. One lesser-known alternative that is receiving increased attention from many companies is the fluctuating workweek method of payment for non-exempt employees.

Executive Summary: The Department of Labor (DOL) has agreed to pay $7 million to resolve claims that it failed to pay overtime to thousands of its own employees. The settlement reached with the American Federation of Government Employees Local 12 (AFGE), which represents approximately 3,000 federal employees in the Washington metro area, brings closure to longstanding allegations claiming the DOL failed to properly compensate employees.

In a case of first impression, the Ninth Circuit held last week in Flores v. City of San Gabriel that an employer was liable to a class of employees for underpaid overtime compensation stemming from the employer’s failure to include cash-in-lieu of benefits payments in its calculation of the regular rate for overtime purposes.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Final Rule raising the salary threshold applicable to the so-called white collar exemptions under the Fair Labor Standards Act will likely take effect within the next few months. The Final Rule was submitted last week by the DOL to the White House Office of Management and Budget, a necessary first step before publication in the Federal Register. The new regulations are expected to expand by millions the number of employees eligible for overtime pay.

Last year, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) published proposed regulations overhauling the federal white collar overtime exemptions. In its proposed regulations, the DOL proposed increasing the minimum salary to qualify for exempt status (under the white collar exemptions for administrative, executive, and professional employees) from $23,660 per year to approximately $50,440 per year, and increasing the minimum salary to qualify for the highly compensated employee exemption from $100,000 per year to approximately $122,148 per year.

Wage-related bills have been popular in Congress this week. While none of these measures are expected to be enacted during this election year, they provide clues to the battle that lies ahead for the Department of Labor’s final overtime rule, and highlight the pay-related issues that might gain traction at the state and local levels.

Multiple sources have reported that yesterday the USDOL sent the proposed final overtime rule to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for its mandatory review. If OMB’s review is completed on an expedited basis, DOL could disseminate the proposed final rule to the public by mid-April, with an effective date potentially as early as the beginning of June, subject to delay from that date based on Congressional review under the Congressional Review Act.

Executive Summary: In Lai Chan et al. v. Chinese-American Planning Council Home Attendant Program, Inc., decided February 3, 2016, the Southern District of New York (covering New York, Bronx, Westchester, Rockland, Putnam, Orange, Dutchess, and Sullivan counties) deferred to arbitration the unpaid wage and overtime claims of sleep-in workers covered by a union agreement, even though the agreement to arbitrate was signed after the lawsuit alleging these claims against the home care agency was commenced. An earlier decision in this same case from the New York County Supreme Court had denied the agency’s motion to dismiss the complaint, and volunteered that under New York Labor Law, sleep-in workers must receive wages for 24 hours of work. This question will now be decided in arbitration, not in a court action.