Tag Archives: Fair Labor Standards Act

Employers Receive Additional Guidance with the New Department of Labor Rule, Making It Easier to Avoid Classification as a Joint-Employer

The Department of Labor issued a final rule on January 12, 2020 regarding the interpretation of joint employer status under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The FLSA requires employers to pay employees the federal minimum wage for every hour worked and to pay overtime for every additional hour worked over 40 during a workweek. Liability for making such payments falls ... Read More

SCOTUS Opinion: Court Holds Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act Preempts State Employment Law

Brian Newton worked on a drilling platform off the California coast, where his employer paid him for time on duty but not for his time on standby, when he could not leave the platform. He filed a class action in California state court, arguing that state law required the employer pay for standby time. The employer removed the case to ... Read More

Department of Labor Proposes New Overtime Rules

Employers will recall during the Obama administration that the salary threshold for determining overtime eligibility under the Fair Labor Standards Act was changed from $23,660 per year to $47,476.00 per year. Many employers modified their own employment policies to meet the new standard despite the federal regulations never being implemented due to a successful court challenge. The Trump administration has ... Read More

Court Rules ADEA Applies To All Governmental Entities Regardless Of Size

When two firefighters were terminated to cut costs, they sued under the Age Discrimination Employment Act, alleging they were discriminated against based on their ages. The fire department argued that it did not have enough employees to qualify as an employer under the Act. The Act provides: “The term ‘employer’ means a person engaged in an industry affecting commerce ... Read More

Private Arbitration Agreements Preclude Employee Class Actions

In Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis, employees sued their employer in a class action for violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Those employees each had signed an agreement to arbitrate employment disputes under the Federal Arbitration Act, and the employer invoked those agreements to preclude the class actions. The employees argued that the National Labor Relations Act triggered ... Read More

Service Advisors Are Exempt From Fair Labor Standards Act Overtime-Pay Requirement

The Fair Labor Standards Act exempted “any salesman, partsman, or mechanic primarily engaged in selling or servicing automobiles” from overtime-pay requirements under the Act. In Encino Motorcars, LLC v. Navarro, a group of service advisors sued for overtime pay under the Act when the Department of Labor decided in 2011 that they were excluded from the exemption. The Court ... Read More