Articles by PC Editorial Staff

In another significant summary judgment under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), a federal court in Pennsylvania ordered a Philadelphia home health care agency to pay more than $7 million for FLSA overtime violations. The litigation and judgment came after the Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) Wage and Hour Division (WHD) found that the employer willfully failed to pay overtime and falsified time...

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently filed a brief in the case of Jones v. Google, stating that the Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule (COPPA) does not preempt state online privacy laws that are consistent with COPPA. The FTC’s brief ultimately agreed with an appellate court’s ruling in the matter. In showing a strong interest in interpreting COPPA correctly, the FTC continues to ...

This week, the Department of Labor (DOL) announced that a popular fast food chain will pay over $71 thousand in fines for over 170 child labor violations across six locations. The DOL’s investigation included locations across Nevada. Overall, from 2018 to 2022, the DOL identified child labor violations in more than 4,000 cases that affected 15,000 employed children. In January 2023, as part of ...

Adding to the more than $21 million in fines the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has proposed since 2017 against the employer, a nationwide discount retailer was recently hit with $3.4 million more for work safety violations across nine locations. OSHA inspectors found these violations at nine locations in Maine, North Dakota, Ohio, and Wisconsin in late 2022. In March 2023...

After releasing a new Employee Rights Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) notice earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently made its updated FLSA poster mandatory. At the beginning of May, the DOL gave employers the option of posting the previous 2016 version or 2023’s updated version. However, the agency has since scrapped that leniency to require employers to make t...

The Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) Wage and Hour Division (WHD) recently published guidance regarding the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act (PUMP Act), dictating how WHD officials may go about enforcing the PUMP Act. Specifically, agency officials will enforce recent “pump at work” provisions added to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Part of President Joseph R. Bi...

In the latest development in the “artificial intelligence (AI) in employment” realm, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released guidance on using AI in hiring decisions. The agency’s guidance, again, focuses on preventing discrimination against job seekers and employees. It explains further how established aspects of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (Title VII) apply to incorp...

On May 11th, 2023, the Biden Administration and U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Isabella Guzman announced program improvements to provide easier access to SBA loans for small businesses. Specifically, the 7(a) and 504 loan programs are the most frequently used loan programs offered by the SBA. These programs cater to small business owners by providing low-cost, long-term ...

Recently, the New York City (NYC) Council passed a bill that would make height and weight discrimination in the workplace illegal. This bill would amend NYC’s Human Rights Law to include the additional protected categories of height and weight. The NYC Council expects the bill will receive Mayor Eric Adams’ signature. With this bill’s passage, NYC joins the State of Michigan, Washington D.C.; S...

In the largest ever recorded verdict under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), a federal court ordered a Pennsylvania manufacturing company to pay $22 million in back wages after significant FLSA violations. An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) found that the company denied overtime to over 7,500 employees. Similar cases regarding FLSA violations regularly result in judgments...