Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)

Can Employers Obtain Cell Phone GPS Data In Unpaid Overtime Case?

the situation You operate a company in which employees frequently use personal cell phones for work reasons.  A group of employees joins together and files a collective action, asserting that you failed to pay them overtime as required under the FLSA.  You want to get ahold of GPS and location services from their cell phones […]

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New FLSA Test for Joint Employers in Fourth Circuit—If You Use Subcontractors, Pay Attention!

the situation A general contractor regularly engages a certain subcontractor to do drywall installation needed on its jobs.  The subcontractor works almost exclusively for the general contractor.  If the employees of the subcontractor are not paid overtime as required by the FLSA, can the general contractor face liability?

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Emotional Distress Damages Allowed in FLSA Retaliation Claim?

the situation An employee claims that not only was he not properly paid overtime owed to him, but that when he complained about it, his employer retaliated against him—can he really claim damages based on pain and suffering?

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Federal Court Blocks Overtime Changes

the situation Back in September, 21 states filed a lawsuit in federal court in Texas challenging the constitutionality of the rule changes scheduled to go into effect on December 1.  State of Nevada v. U.S. Dept. of Labor, Case No. 4:16cv00731 (E.D. Tex.).  The states (and many other business groups that ended up joining the […]

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Can A Volunteer Make a Claim for Unpaid Wages?

the situation A small business owner has his girlfriend help him with paperwork and advertising while he tries to grow his business. He does not pay the girlfriend any hourly wage or salary, the idea being that she is pitching in to make his business successful. A year and a half later, the couple breaks […]

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Overtime Rule Changes—Have You Considered All Your Options?

the situation As most employers are well aware, as of December 1, 2016 (unless something changes before then), the salary minimum for many white collar exemptions under the FLSA will significantly increase from $23,600 to $47,746.  If you have an employee who is making less than the new minimum salary, but also often works over […]

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Orioles Concession Stand Workers Exempt From Overtime

the situation Along with the more frequently discussed exemptions, the FLSA contains an exemption for employees of any amusement or recreational establishment, as long as the operations are seasonal.  But what exactly is an amusement or recreational establishment?

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21 States Challenge Changes to Overtime Rule

the situation As all employers are aware, in May 2016, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) announced the final rule related to overtime changes.  From many employers’ perspective, the biggest and most significant change is the dramatic increase in the minimum salary necessary for the executive, administrative and professional exemptions—from $23,660 per year to $47,476 per […]

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Watch Out-Steeper Civil Penalties Up Ahead

the situation You can face civil penalties if the DOL determines that you have violated any of the laws that its departments help to enforce—including, for example, OSHA and the FLSA.  Some of these penalties have stayed at the same amount for the last twenty years (or even longer).  But recently, as a result of […]

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In Case You Haven’t Already Heard…The New Overtime Rule is Here

We have all been anxiously awaiting the publication of the Department of Labor’s Final Rule updating the overtime regulations since the issuance of the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking back in July of 2015.  The wait is now over.  So what do you need to know about the Final Rule?

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