Tag: Department of Labor

September 14, 2022

The past few years have heightened feelings of stress and isolation for many people, and with the seemingly continuous news cycle of incidents of mass violence, mental health has taken a much-needed place in the forefront of the national conversation. […]

September 8, 2022

There’s been an ongoing battle between employers and the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) over when someone is considered an independent contractor versus an employee. A recent decision from the U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals to reverse summary judgment […]

April 28, 2022

In times of short staffing, it’s important to remember exempt employees may lose their exempt status if they spend too much time performing nonexempt work. A recent ruling by the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota serves as […]

February 15, 2022

A Georgia employer recently created more than just a social media buzz with its chosen method of distributing an employee’s final paycheck. Facts Andreas Flaten resigned from his job at A OK Walker Autoworks in Peachtree City in November 2020. […]

February 1, 2022

The regional director for the Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of the Department of Labor (DOL) has recently underscored the compliance obstacle that continues to confound employers: whether to include bonuses in the “regular rate” when calculating the overtime pay […]

December 13, 2021

An announcement from three federal agencies that they are aligning to protect employees who try to exercise their rights in the workplace means employers need to be especially on guard against actions that may be seen as unlawful retaliation. The […]

August 4, 2021

With the recent spike in cybersecurity breaches rippling through all corners of the global business landscape, the surging interest in data protection has caused even the highest departments of state to take note and weigh in. In April 2021, the […]

December 20, 2019

In recent decades, the American workforce has undergone sweeping changes. Globalization and technology have conspired to reduce the percentage of middle-wage, middle-skill jobs in the economy. The explosive growth of Internet-based communications has made remote work — whether locally or […]

November 20, 2019

Early this year, the Department of Labor announced the minimum salary to be exempt from overtime pay will be $646 per week, or $35,548 per year. Any of your employees that earn less than that must be paid overtime if […]

August 12, 2019

If you have a child with learning or physical disabilities, you’re probably familiar with IEPs–Individual Education Plans. The Department of Labor just released an opinion letter that says that IEP meetings are covered under FMLA and that any such meetings […]

August 5, 2019

The Fair Labor Standards Act tells us we have two types of employees, non-exempt and exempt. Unfortunately these terms are not very explanatory and people often get them confused. Let me see if I can explain. Exempt from what? Basically […]

April 1, 2019

Alstate Maintenance LLC staffs Kennedy International Airport with tipped baggage handlers. Two managers from Lufthansa asked a group of Alstate skycaps to assist a VIP soccer team with their baggage. A skycap stated to his Alstate manager, in front of […]

March 27, 2019

The H-1B visa approval rate dropped nearly 30 percent from 2016 to 2017, challenging employers and recruiters to find the right talent. Advanced technology, like artificial intelligence, can help. Many organizations, especially those in technology, higher education and health-related industries […]

March 12, 2019

The Department of Labor recently announced some new minimum salaries for exemption from overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Currently, in order to be exempt from overtime you need to meet the duties test and earn at least $23,660 […]

March 11, 2019

On March 7, 2019, the United States Department of Labor released the long-awaited adjustment to the salary level that is the first hurdle to claiming an employee is exempt from being paid overtime. This movement toward a new salary level […]

March 5, 2019

Two employers learned a lesson in understanding the rules of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The FLSA requires that non-exempt employees receive overtime pay based on their “regular of pay”. Unfortunately, many employers don’t understand that term. Regular rate of […]

October 23, 2018

Back in December of 2016 the Obama administration effort to raise the salary level which defined eligibility for exempt status from $23,660 to $47,476 per year, or $455 to $913 per week. That was brought to a halt in late […]

July 11, 2018

Two things struck me as I was reading today. First, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) has been around for 80 years now. You would think that every business course would cover this law, every book on entrepreneurship would cover […]

April 26, 2018

Are you an employer who pays employees for their work? Are you certain that you have accurately paid nonexempt employees for every minute they have worked? Are you certain that you have never incorrectly made a deduction from an exempt […]

January 31, 2018

I have come across a number of “must-know” lists in the past couple of weeks. Perhaps this is an artifact of the time of year, getting a fresh start phenomenon. As a result, I decided to do my own list. […]