The 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 MoreA federal enclave doctrine has emerged that precludes the application of state laws to those contracts, including state wage and hour laws, which are being performed in enclaves where only the federal government has exclusive jurisdiction. But the devil is in the details of figuring out if an enclave exists. This blog is meant to identify a process to make that determination.
Read MorePaying workers in cash and off the books is unwise. Paying workers off the books to hide overtime violations isn’t just a bad idea - it’s a terrible idea.
Read MoreThe U.S. Department of Labor Wage & Hour Division has only about 720 investigators. Once upon a time it had over 1,000 investigators. This means that those who would cross the lines set for child labor, minimum wage, and overtime pay, along with noncompliance with Government contract wage laws, are less likely to be found or punished.
Read MoreThe Wage and Hour Division (“WHD”) of the US Department of Labor (“DOL”) announced last week that it recovered “$1.5 million dollars of back wages and damages for more than 400 workers” working for employers that had “federally funded” contracts. The announcement doesn’t convey the underlying cause of this multi-contractor compliance breakdown—the scale of which actually is extremely rare. I sure would like to know what happened here.
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 MoreInflation is yet again pushing up DOL civil money penalties assessed under the wage and hour laws.
Read MoreRequiring employees to take a lunch break is fine. But if they don’t, you shouldn’t cut their hours because… there’s no such thing as a free working lunch.
Read MoreThe numbers tell a story about the Wage & Hour Division’s investigatory activities in 2023.
Read MoreThe Department of Labor (“DOL”) has finalized its long-awaited “new” rule that really just restores the decades-old approach to assessing whether a worker is an employee covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act or if they’re a mere independent contractor. Truly this is little more than the same old smell test that employers have lived with for ages.
Read MoreNew Year’s Day is a time to nurse hangovers and to raise a glass and toast the new higher state minimum wages.
Read MoreHere’s a gentle reminder. New federal contractor minimum wage rates went into effect on New Year’s Day. Federal contractors should be sure they have revisited their payrolls to verify their wage rates are where they should be. Read on for a refresher about what should be considered.
Read MoreThe Congressional Review Act (“CRA”) gives Congress a shot at nullifying executive branch regulations. Look for the Republicans to try to invoke it as we approach election day and in the next session of Congress thereafter, depending on the election outcome.
Read MoreNew Davis-Bacon Act (“DBA”) regulations went into effect at the end of October 2023. Among other things, they purport to make the DBA clauses and wage determinations apply by operation of law. But they also provide for price adjustments for contractors. Exactly how it plays out is yet to be determined, but it might be prudent for the contractor to take any omitted clauses or wage determination problem slowly, and not just jump ahead into supposed compliance only to find out they have a fight to get a price adjustment.
Read MoreThe Service Contract Act (“SCA”) Price Adjustment clause provides for certain timely notices to be given by both the Government and the contractor. This blog explores several timeliness issues which can show up as a result of late notice furnished by either the Government or the contractor.
Read MoreThe DOL and IRS effort to fight misclassification of independent contractors soldiers onward here in 2023.
Read MoreUse or lose leave policies are generally not permissible when it comes to Service Contract Act (“SCA”) vacation benefits.
Read MoreThe Inflation Adjustment Act comes with extended tax credits, but also with extended liabilities. Owners of alternative energy projects who want to claim the extended credits need to devote resources to complying with the Davis-Bacon Act. There is no free ride.
Read More