WHD to Do Survey in Conjunction with Employee Right to Know Rule

The Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of the Department of Labor (DOL) is in preliminary stages of conducting a workplace employee survey to gauge employer classification of employees as well as employees' knowledge of their rights under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). 

According to a notice published in today's Federal Register, the survey is meant to “provide critical information to Department policymakers on whether workers have knowledge of their employment classification and whether they understand the implications of their classification status.”

The survey is also designed to provide fodder for an employee "Right to Know" regulation similar to what's in place currently in New York state, whereby employers must provide a yearly status report to their workforce about their inidividual employment classification, pay rate and other details. The regulation is now being reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

According to the filing with the OMB, the purpose of the rule is to:

enhance the transparency and disclosure to workers of their status as the employer's employee or some other status, such as an independent contractor, and if an employee, how their pay is computed. The Department also proposes to clarify that the mandatory manual preparation of 'homeworker' handbooks applies only to employers of employees performing homework in the restricted industries.