Articles by Girish Anand

March 18, 2019

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Opinion Letter Clarifies Start of FMLA Leave

According to an opinion letter issued March 14 by the Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of the Department of Labor (DOL), the clock starts ticking on Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave the moment the employee qualifies for the leave. This opinion, signed by acting WHD Administrator Keith Sonderling, runs counter to a ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which held that employee...

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Workplace Violence Falls Under OSHA General Duty Clause, Commission Rules

March 14, 2019

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The Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC) has ruled that workplace violence is covered by the general duty cause of the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act, thus making employers liable for acts of violence affecting their employees while carrying out their work duties, whether onsite or off. That clause states that employers must “furnish to each of his employees emp...

March 11, 2019

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CMS Eyes Selling Health Insurance Across State Lines

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued a request for information (RFI) that solicits recommendations on how to eliminate regulatory, operational and financial barriers to enhance issuers’ ability to sell health insurance coverage across state lines. This announcement builds on President Trump’s October 12, 2017 Executive Order, “Promoting Healthcare Choice and Comp...

March 7, 2019

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It's Official: DOL Proposes Overtime Threshold of $35,308 a Year

The Department of Labor (DOL) today announced a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that would make more than a million more American workers eligible for overtime, according to its estimates. Under currently enforced law, employees with a salary at or below $455 per week ($23,660 annually) must be paid overtime if they work more than 40 hours per week. Workers making this salary level or ...

March 5, 2019

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EEO-1 Pay Data Collection Mandate Restored by Judge

A federal district court judge has restored the pay data collection requirement established by the Obama administration and then axed by the Trump Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Judge Tanya S. Chutkan of the District of Columbia District Court ruled that the "previous approval of the revised EEO-1 form shall be in effect," explaining that the OMB had failed to provide a "reasoned exp...

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DOL Sends Joint Employer Proposal to the White House

March 5, 2019

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The Department of Labor (DOL) has sent a proposal on defining a joint employer relationship to the White House and its Office of Management and Budget (OMB), signaling that a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) will soon follow. According to the Wall Street Journal, the proposal will set a "high bar" for establishing a joint employer relationship, which refers to the situation in which two ...

March 1, 2019

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New Overtime Threshold Purported to Be $35K a Year

With a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) expected this month on new overtime regulations from the Department of Labor (DOL), Bloomberg Law is reporting that the threshold for exemption from overtime pay will rise from the current $23,660 to $35,000 a year. The threshold originates in the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which created overtime pay back in 1938 for any hours worked beyond 4...

February 22, 2019

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Google Ends Forced Arbitration for Bias Claims

Following 2018's decision to end forced arbitration for sexual harassment claims, Google (aka Alphabet) announced Thursday that it would end forced arbitration for discrimination as well on March 21. The change applies to all Google employees as well as temps and contract workers, though the company says it cannot force staffing agencies to make the same change in their employment agreement...

February 21, 2019

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DOL Clarifies Tip Credit Rule Regarding Non-Customer Service Work

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) allows employers to pay service employees -- those who receive "more than $30 a month" in tips -- less than the minimum wage, provided tips plus wages match or exceed the minimum wage. This arrangement is known as a "tip credit," whereby the employer can pay a minimum wage of $2.13 an hour to waitstaff and others who routinely receive tips. (Note, however,...

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Health Care Spending to Rise 5.5 Percent Annually, CMS Estimates

February 21, 2019

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Health care spending in the United States is expected to rise 5.5 percent annually from 2018 to 2027, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) estimates in a new report. "Among the major payers, average annual spending growth in Medicare (7.4 percent) is expected to exceed that in Medicaid (5.5 percent) and private health insurance (4.8 percent) over the projection period, mostly...

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Girish Anand

Recent Articles

Practical articles on HR, Safety, compliance, and people operations—written for real businesses, not legal textbooks.

U.S. Department of Labor Officially Restores Prior Overtime Exemption Rules

On May 14th, 2026, the Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced it has officially rescinded the 2024 overtime exemption rules. Specifically, the WHD published a technical amendment to restore previous 2019 regulations that dictated overtime exemptions for...

NLRB General Counsel Takes Action to Tackle Current Case Backlog

On May 6th, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and NLRB General Counsel Crystal Stowe Carey announced the bulk transfer of thousands of labor practice cases. Specifically, this action fulfills an initiative signed by the NLRB General Counsel earlier this year. Overall, the initiative...

Privacy Agency Invites Comments from Businesses on the CCPA’s Usage of Personal Data

Recently, the California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA) issued a call for comments on the current state of personal data collection under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). Specifically, the invitation to deliver remarks was issued on April 20th, 2026. The information provided by the...

DOL Proposes New Joint Employer Rule To Unify Standards Under Federal Labor Laws

In April 2026, the U.S. Department of Labor issued a proposed rule to establish a single, clear standard for determining when joint-employer status applies under three major federal laws: the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), and the Migrant and Seasonal...

DOL Updates Enforcement Approach for Employee Benefit Plans: What Employers Should Know

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently announced a significant change in its enforcement of employee benefit plan rules. The DOL will now focus more closely on serious violations that harm workers and retirees, meaning compliant employers may face less scrutiny under the updated approach.

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Articles by Girish Anand