Tag: Wage and Hour Division

Wage War: DOL Launches Aggressive “We Can Help” Enforcement Outreach

The U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division (WHD) has fired a loud warning shot to employers in its ongoing effort to increase federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) enforcement. In a news release late last year, U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis first unveiled plans for a proposed program to work with […]

Solis’ Proposed Budget Opens Door for 358 More DOL Inspectors, Staff

Today, Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis hosted her third live Web chat during her tenure with the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). During the session, Solis answered questions on the department’s proposed budget for the 2011 fiscal year. She touched briefly on the agency’s plans with the requested $116.5 billion, a decrease from last year’s […]

DOL’s Agenda Focuses on Safety and Wages

Labor Secretary Hilda L. Solis has announced the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) regulatory agenda for 2010, saying, “Protecting wages and working conditions for workers is key to the mission of our department, and ensuring that workers have a voice on the job is also vital.” The agenda is expected to satisfy many union demands. […]

DOL Hires 250 New Wage and Hour Investigators

If a recent news release from U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis is any indication, 2010 may prove to be a year of ramped-up enforcement from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). In her November 19 statement, Secretary Solis sent a clear message about the enforcement and outreach efforts occurring within the DOL’s Wage and […]

Beware Deductions for Lost or Stolen Property from Exempt Employees’ Pay

by Kathy Neal Many things can be scary for the unseasoned HR manager, particularly when it comes to wage and hour law. One of the scariest areas involves pay deductions. HR Guide to Employment Law: A Practical Compliance Reference Understanding the Fair Labor Standards Act – FLSA Many employers issue laptops or smartphones to their […]

DOL to Abolish Employment Standards Administration

Like most federal agencies, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is a large bureaucracy, housing many levels of subagencies and layers of employees with a host of titles that are unintelligible to outsiders. The DOL has recently decided to do a little streamlining by abolishing the umbrella agency that oversees four of its major units. […]

DOL’s Renewed Focus: Wage and Hour Enforcement

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently released a report and congressional testimony concerning its investigation of the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division (WHD). The GAO concluded that the “WHD frequently responded inadequately to complaints, leaving low wage workers vulnerable to wage theft.” This article summarizes the GAO’s report, DOL Secretary Hilda […]

Recent Opinion Letters from the DOL’s Wage and Hour Division

Alexander Passantino’s advice to the lovelorn may not be the makings of the next Sex and the City show, but his pen holds serious sway with hipsters of the payroll specialist in crowd. Alex is the acting administrator of the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division (WHD). As the grand oracle of […]

Investigation Accuses Wage and Hour Division of Blunders that Fail Workers

After a nine-month undercover investigation into the Department of Labor’s (DOL) ability to enforce and investigate violations of federal minimum wage, overtime, and child labor laws, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reports serious failures. The report, which was released March 25, was prompted by a request from the House Education and Labor Committee. The investigation […]

Obama Administration’s Changes at DOL, EEOC, and NLRB

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 […]