Posts tagged 'FLSA'

August 16, 2012
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DOL to Continue Challenging Overtime-Exempt and Independent Contractor Arrangements

FLSA independent contractors overtime
Speaking before the American Bar Association (ABA) at its annual conference this month, Solicitor M. Patricia Smith of the Department of Labor (DOL) said that investigations of employment arrangements that incorrectly classify people as independent contractors, or otherwise make employees exempt from overtime pay, would continue in a cooperative effort with several states. Smith, who as labor s...
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August 15, 2012
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Recent FLSA Overtime Settlement Outside of Court Definitely Not the Norm

DOL FLSA overtime
The Department of Labor (DOL) and the courts themselves have generally hewed to the ruling in the 1982 case of Lynn's Food Stores, Inc. v. the United States  that the "substantive rights" afforded by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) cannot be bargained or negotiated outside of court except by the DOL. Such "substantive rights" include the FLSA guarantee of time-a...
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May 5, 2011
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New FLSA Regulations Take Effect Today (May 5)

FLSA tip pooling tips
New Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) regulations incorporating amendments and clarifications from recent years take effect today, May 5, 2011. The new rules also concern tip pooling arrangements, which make clear that tips cannot be diverted from people receiving them unless a valid tip-pooling arrangement has been established and promulgated to participants. The regulations navigate a course be...
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May 3, 2011
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DOL Internship Standard Challenged in Court

DOL FLSA interns
Calling the Department of Labor's Fact Sheet #71—"Internship Programs Under the Fair Labor Standards Act"—"a poor method" and "overly rigid and inconsistent," the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled in favor of a for-profit nursing home that relied in part on interns to run its operations. The Labor Department issued a six-factor test to determin...
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March 22, 2011
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SCOTUS Rules Oral Complaints as Valid as Written Ones

anti-retaliation FLSA
The U.S. Supreme Court today (March 22, 2011) overturned the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals' ruling that, to be valid, complaints under the anti-retaliation provision of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) must be in writing. In Kasten v. Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics, the justices rejected what they termed a "narrow interpretation" of language in the FLSA and threw open the sta...
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February 16, 2011
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Courts Split on Overtime Status for Pharma Reps

FLSA overtime pay pharmaceutical representatives
The U.S. Supreme Court may end up deciding the issue, but for now one circuit court is saying yea and another nay to whether pharmaceutical sales representatives are eligible for overtime pay. The issue centers on the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) exemption from overtime rules for those employees who are engaged in outside sales. Pharma reps and their attorneys argue that what the representat...
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December 3, 2010
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DOL Collects $300 Million in Back Wages in New Enforcement Push

FLSA overtime pay
The Department of Labor (DOL) announced recently that it has collected more than $300 million in back wages since 2009, benefiting some 385,000 workers. Typically, back wages represent overtime pay that was withheld either knowingly or unknowingly. Since taking over, the Obama administration and DOL Secretary Hilda Solis have beefed up their inspection force by hiring some 300 additional W...
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July 15, 2010
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New Child Labor Rules Take Effect July 19

child labor laws FLSA
The Department of Labor (DOL) recently updated its regulations regarding child labor in the U.S.—calling them "the most ambitious and far-reaching revisions" in the past 30 years—and these new regs are set to go into effect this coming Monday, July 19, 2010. The updated regulations effect a variety of changes to how DOL will interpret the child labor provisions of the Fair...
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June 18, 2010
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DOL Cracks Down on Illegal Employment of Youths

child labor laws FLSA
The Department of Labor (DOL) has announced stiffer penalties for violation of the child labor laws covered under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and other pieces of legislation.  "Beginning today, employers who hire children too young to work will face stiffer penalties," said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. "Work is not child's play. When children do work, that work...
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May 6, 2010
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Reclassifying Employees Flags Compliance Risks

exempt employees FLSA non-exempt employees overtime pay
If you find yourself reclassifying your employees as non-exempt (from previously being exempt), then you could end up in deep legal doo-doo like the Michigan Bell Telephone Company. Reason? It doesn't take employees long to figure out that, if they're doing the same jobs as exempt as when they were non-exempt, then they were probably cheated out of overtime prior to the reclassification. Voila-...
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Recent Articles

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

prior overtime exemption rules
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...

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NLRB General Counsel Takes Action to Tackle Current Case Backlog
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...

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

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

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