In 2017, the Economic Policy Institute did a study of wage theft in the 10 most populous states. The group estimated that 2.4 million people each year lose a total of $8 billion to thefts by their employers. That $8 billion, which again only represents 10 states, was...
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Federal Wage and Hour Violations
Labor Department Issues New Rule On Calculating Overtime Rates
In general, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires all covered, non-exempt workers to be paid 1-1/2 times their regular rate of pay as an overtime premium whenever they work more than 40 hours in a given workweek. This leads to the question, what is the...
DOL Issues 3 New Opinion Letters On Wage And Hour Compliance
The U.S. Department of Labor recently issued three new opinion letters on overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Opinion letters cover specific fact situations presented by employers, workers or other parties and are only legally binding on the party who...
Beyond The DOL, IRS Is Also Scrutinizing Employee Classification
With the "gig economy" in full swing, state and federal agencies have an incentive to scrutinize whether workers are properly classified as independent contractors or employees. After all, employers are not responsible for paying half of an independent contractor's...
DOL Expected To Clarify How FLSA Overtime Rates Are Determined
Under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, non-exempt employees are entitled to the premium overtime rate of 1-1/2 times their regular rate of pay for all hours worked past 40 in a single workweek. The regular rate of pay is determined by adding up all earnings,...
Employee, Employer Groups Testify On DOL’s Proposed Overtime Rule
In 2016, the Obama administration's Labor Department proposed a change to the overtime rule in the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. That change would have increased the exempt salary threshold, which is the minimum amount employees must earn in order to be classified...
Local Minimum Wage Increases
As of July 1, 2018, the minimum wage for the state of Maryland, District of Columbia, and Mongtomery County, Maryland all increased. The following increases immediately take effect as of Sunday: The state of Maryland minimum wage is now $10.10 per hour; In Montgomery...
In 5-4 Split, US Supreme Court Approves Mandatory Arbitration
"The policy may be debatable but the law is clear," wrote Justice Neil Gorsuch in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis, a case testing whether employers can require employees to arbitrate wage and hour claims individually, as opposed to banding together in a class action. Part...
Federal Judge Rules Uber Limo Drivers Are Independent Contractors
In the first ruling under federal law involving Uber, a U.S. District Court Judge in Pennsylvania has just ruled that limousine drivers for UberBLACK are independent contractors under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The FLSA sets the minimum wage and overtime rules for...
New ‘PAID’ Wage And Hour Audit Program Reduces Penalty For Errors
The Payroll Audit Independent Determination (PAID) pilot program is like "a get-out-of-jail-free card for employers" with wage-and-hour compliance issues, according to a federal advocacy coordinator for the National Employment Law Project. If your company were audited...