Freddy’s back! DOL is tinkering with the independent contractor rules yet again. And one Philadelphia medical staffing company had to cough up $9.3M to cover the back wages, liquidated damages, and civil money penalties for going to far.
Read MoreNo Davis-Bacon Act price adjustment claims are allowed if the contract has a clause that requires wage and fringe benefit escalations be priced into the option year quotes.
Read MoreDOL publishes the Android version of their Timekeeping application.
Read MoreA recent Maryland case demonstrates how state law can supplant federal law with respect to wage and hour obligations. Federal contractors must be vigilant to avoid getting caught in this sometimes quite tangled web.
Read MoreLawyers and law firms too get picked on by DOL for FLSA violations — usually misclassification, working time and overtime problems. Just because you have a law degree doesn’t mean you understand the law.
Read MoreThe Supreme Court this week agreed to hear an appeal to resolve differing interpretations of the Department of Labor’s “salary basis” regulations. Both sides are adamant that the “plain text” of one provision or the “plain terms” of another compel their favored result—that a highly compensated employee should, or should not, be entitled to overtime pay.
Read MoreThe Department of Labor continues to seek liquidated damages in pre-litigation settlements for violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Read MoreFalsifying payroll records, paying bonuses instead of premium overtime pay, and being a general scofflaw gets you double damages and civil money penalties. No Virginia, crime does not pay.
Read MoreUnder the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), employers owe a minimum wage to their employees for all hours worked. This blog examines how that minimum wage obligation can be satisfied.
Read MoreThe Department of Labor announced yesterday the Wage and Hour Division plans to hire 100 investigators this year. For sure, they’ll be earnest and energized. That’s why a solid grounding in the wage and hour laws affecting the government contractor community will be a powerful tool to ensure you get a fair shake.
Read MoreDepartment of Labor Wage and Hour Opinion Letters follow the ebb and flow of conservative and liberal executive administrations. When President Biden was inaugurated, we began a period where new Opinion Letters are a scarcity. This follows the practice of previous liberal administrations.
Read MoreThe judgments made as to how much price escalation to load into proposals for new service work for anticipated option year increases in exempt personnel wages and fringe benefits is made more complicated and important in an era of heightened inflation expectations.
Read MoreWhen Service Contract Act (“SCA”) covered nonexempt employees work at home or an alternate work site, does the employer have to get a new wage determination (“WD”) to cover the new locale? And if that new WD has higher wages must the contractor pay the higher rate? And how is DOL enforcing the SCA for remote workers in this pandemic era? The answers are maybe and very gingerly.
Read MoreAn Eastern District of New York Court holds that the Department of Labor is not bound by arbitration agreements to which the Department of Labor is not a party.
Read MoreWhen bidding on and pricing US government extended term fixed price contracts, contractors need to price in the possibility that state minimum wages will exceed the SCA or DBA wage levels, and require an escalation be paid, but the contracting agency will not adjust the contract price for that occurrence.
Read MoreUPDATE: President Biden is expected to announce executive orders that will mandate universal vaccination for federal workers and contractor employees with no testing option. We will post an update when the expected orders are issued. Federal contractor employees who work on Government sites must comply with President Biden’s vaccine or test policy. Must contractors pay employees for their time to get tested if they refuse to get a vaccine? Must contractors foot the bill for the tests? So far, these questions are going unanswered.
Read MoreWage and Hour Opinion letters provide much-needed guidance regarding the application of various requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act. While one can raise questions over the validity of a specific opinion, the long term value of these opinions outweighs any one decision.
Read MoreMost federal workers will have tomorrow off in observance of the newly declared Juneteenth federal holiday. We previously posted a blog about the National Day of Mourning observing the death for President George H.W. Bush. While tomorrow’s celebration of freedom is so different from a day of mourning, they share the trait of being unexpected federal holidays that have an impact on federal contractors. Read on to learn more about the issues and options available when faced with an unexpected federal holiday.
Read MoreThe Fair labor Standards Act imposes a few additional requirements for employers with employees under the age of eighteen.
Read MoreThe Service Contract Act requires federal service contractors to provide certain fringe benefits to their employees. Some contractors pay cash in lieu of providing the benefits. Since the Fair Labor Standards Act requires payment of overtime based on a regular rate of pay, there’s a question as to whether cash-in-lieu payments must be added to wages to come up with the regular rate of pay. Read on to see how the Department of Labor and several courts reach different conclusions and how contractors should weigh their options.
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