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Employers and others have until September 25 to submit comments to shape the rule governing which workers are eligible for overtime pay. Once the deadline passes, employers will face a waiting game before learning what changes may be in store. In late July, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced it was soliciting comments through […]
President Donald Trump has nominated Alexander Acosta, a former National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) member, to serve as secretary of labor. The announcement came less than 24 hours after Trump’s first choice, Andrew Puzder, withdrew from the approval process. Acosta, who is currently the dean of the Florida International University College of Law, is well […]
The flurry of speculation is finally over. The White House and the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) have released the new final rule governing which workers must be paid overtime. The changes aren’t quite as drastic as what employers were preparing for based on the contents of the proposed rule made public last summer, but […]
The U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) new budget request pushes programs to help veterans and the long-term unemployed while continuing priorities from previous years, including efforts to fight misclassification of workers as independent contractors. The DOL’s fiscal year 2014 budget requests $12.1 billion in discretionary funding—money Acting Labor Secretary Seth D. Harris said will be […]
By Wendi Watts You probably know what your profiles on Facebook and LinkedIn look like. But do you know what your organization’s profile on the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) new online database looks like? Attorney David Fortney recommends every employer check theirs out. On the database’s home page, the DOL states that the site […]
Today the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) hosted a live webcast interview with Labor Secretary Hilda Solis and AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka. During the webcast, both parties made the case for the necessity of comprehensive immigration reform, decrying individual state movements such as the controversial immigration law in Arizona as a means for racial profiling […]
In today’s economic climate, companies are continually looking for ways to cut costs without cutting jobs and resorting to layoffs. One option many companies are considering is mandatory unpaid time off, sometimes referred to as an employee furlough. By requiring mandatory unpaid time off, companies can reduce payroll expenses by reducing the number of hours […]
The changes promised by the Obama administration are beginning to take hold at the federal agencies regulating the workplace. Typically, the change in leadership can be a strong predictor of the changes in policies and directions that will be pursued by a new administration. Not surprisingly, the changes that already have occurred suggest that we […]
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) estimates that almost 70 percent of employers aren’t in compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Lawyers who represent employees are well aware that most employers aren’t compliant, as evidenced by a significant increase in FLSA claims. In fact, wage and hour claims, including collective actions, have increased […]
Forty years ago, very few U.S. employees were personally affected by what happened on Wall Street. Six in 10 Americans were covered by a pension that they could count on regardless of the stock market. Today less than 2 in 10 workers in the private sector have a pension and most workers only option is […]