Make no mistake about it — the fault for the continuing Federal Government shut down rests with the President. And the impact on government contractors and their workers is now going to be significant.

Emergency pay is not one of the items excluded from the regular rate of pay and, therefore, as DOL opined, it must be included in the overtime formula and thus acts to boost up the amount of overtime premium pay due the worker.

The Wage and Hour Division recently opined that a restaurant can claim a tip credit for oyster shuckers who work “front-of-house” at an oyster bar because they are among the kinds of employees who regularly and customarily receive tips.