My candidate for the most important law enacted by Congress is the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). This law had perhaps the greatest economic impact upon the most Americans of any legislation. And its legacy endures even today, as it makes an appearance in the so-called One Big Beautiful Tax Bill as the instrument to partially deliver Trump’s promised no tax on overtime.
Read MoreHow often employers must run their payroll for federal government contract work is dependent on the contract terms and where you are performing the work. The requirement usually varies from weekly to monthly, but employers need to review both your contract and state and local wage laws and regulations. The answer is that “it depends.”
Read MoreThe Trump Administration announced on June 25, 2025, that investigators of the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division (WHD) no longer will be authorized to seek the payment of liquidated damages for Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) violations during the course of prelitigation investigations. This policy is the latest development in the Administration’s roll-back of wage and hour policies implemented by the Biden Administration.
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The Walsh-Healey Public Contracts Act (“PCA”) is perhaps the least known and understood of the wage and hour laws. This blog examines the lives of the two legislative sponsors for which the Act is eponymously named — Senator David I. Walsh and Representative Arthur D. Healey.
Read MoreThe $17.75 Contractor Minimum Wage Executive Order is rescinded. But the Obama-era $13.30 Contractor Minimum Wage Executive Order remains in place. That creates some confusion. It is my opinion that the workers formerly covered by the $17.75 an hour minimum wage are now covered by the $13.30 minimum wage, or any higher wage required by the prevailing wage laws or state or local government minimum wages.
Read MoreGoverning by decree using executive orders is a terrible way of regulating government procurement. Both political parties should call a truce, and stop issuing procurement related executive orders.
Read MorePresident Trump’s DEI Executive Order is an attempt to turn the ship of state on a dime with respect to anti-discrimination and diversity policies. Among other things, the order will require contractors and grantees to certify they don’t operate programs promoting DEI. The consequence of being wrong? — potential False Claims Act liability.
Read MoreDOL has issued a new payroll reporting form for government construction contractors performing Davis-Bacon work for recordkeeping purposes and is forcing them to certify their fringe benefits and wage deductions weekly. Employers who mess up the new weekly fringe benefit and wage deduction reporting thus can be subject to heavy sanctions -- including allegations they submitted false payrolls and/or failed to report improper wage deductions.
Read MoreThe US Department of Labor (“DOL”) announced actions it is taking to combat what it calls “coercive ‘fine print’ provisions” in employment agreements. One such action led to an injunction that barred a company from using its employment agreement to shift the cost of a wage and hour suit onto the very truck drivers who brought the claim. So, be advised—DOL is reading your fine print.
Read MoreThe Government Accountability Office ("GAO") whiffed in its recent decision in the Maximus Federal Services bid protest. The contractual Labor Harmony Agreement ("LHA") clause violates the FAR neutrality mandates, and a long line of previous decisions says GAO could have stepped up and curbed this excess. It was a missed opportunity for GAO to do the right thing.
Read MoreLast week, a Texas Federal Court granted a permanent injunction that strikes down the Federal Trade Commission’s (“FTC”) much-maligned ban on employee non-compete agreements. Many tout this ruling as a HUGE victory for employers. But which employers? Current ones? Future ones? Perhaps “we have met the enemy and he is us” (thanks Walt Kelly and Pogo).
Read MoreSome changes agencies make to US Government contracts may vary existing rules and thus constitute deviations to the Federal Acquisition Regulation (“FAR”). Deviations to the FAR require approval of the FAR Council. The contracting agency is not free to implement special contract terms which deviate from the FAR without securing that approval.
Read MoreThe timing of when to add a new Service Contract Act (“SCA”) wage determination (“WD”) to a contract for remote workers can get rather complex. It depends on the facts. And the guidance is rather sparse. Here we try to parse the rules and offer some practical guidance.
Read MoreCongress is seeking to legislate to restrict Federal employee remote work arrangements. Meanwhile, the private sector and government contractors are embracing remote work arrangements. Here are my own ambiguous views on remote work.
Read MoreThe Department of Labor has issued a new bulletin meant to reiterate the need for human supervision and responsibility over artificial intelligence software used in the workplace for compliance with the FLSA and other requirements.
Read MoreSenator Bernie Sanders has proposed a new bill to make a 32-hour work week the standard and require that premium overtime be paid for all hours worked in excess of that amount. The bill looks unlikely to gain traction in this Congress, but the future of such legislation is more promising. For now I would propose more mandatory leave laws.
Read MoreThe Wage and Hour Division (“WHD”) of the US Department of Labor (“DOL”) announced last week a three-year “collaborative agreement” with a union to educate workers and identify labor law violations. Is this an unfair thumb on the scale? Hopefully not, but this agreement arguably erodes the degree of independence that should accompany the Government’s enforcement of employment laws.
Read MoreNew rules are now issued and Project Labor Agreements (“PLAs”), which are pre-hire collective bargaining agreements with one or more labor organizations that establishes the terms and conditions of employment will be mostly mandatory for federal government construction projects of $35M or more.
Read MoreA newly proposed policy and related rules would require federal contractors to disclose the compensation and benefits they intend to furnish to job applicants. Contractors also would be prohibited from seeking or using an applicant’s salary history as part of its hiring decision. If adopted, the proposal would apply to almost all federal contractors.
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