Wage and HourBlog Posts
Cable Technicians Were Exempt Commissioned Employees, Fifth Circuit ConcludesAlthough the plaintiff cable technicians, who were paid by the completed job and not by the hour, were covered employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), they nonetheless were bona fide commissioned employees and therefore exempt from the overtime requirements of Act, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled. Accordingly, the district court’s...August 29, 2022 |
Farm Animal Enclosure Construction Worker Not Penned In by FLSA’s Agricultural Exemption, 7th Circuit HoldsThe mere fact that the plaintiff was building livestock enclosures on farms did not necessarily preclude his entitlement to overtime pay under the agricultural exemption of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has held. Therefore, the district court improperly dismissed the plaintiff’s complaint. Vanegas v. Signet Builders, Inc., 2022...August 23, 2022 |
Connecticut’s Pandemic “Hero Pay” Program Goes Into EffectPrivate-sector essential employees who worked in Connecticut during the pandemic may receive up to $1,000 in premium pay (i.e., “hero pay”), through a $30 million fund established under the state budget approved by the General Assembly and Governor Ned Lamont. To be eligible, workers must have earned less than $150,000 annually; must have been unable...August 16, 2022 |
White House Nominates Acting DOL Wage & Hour Administrator to Lead DivisionFour months after its controversial nominee, David Weil, withdrew his name from contention as Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of the Department of Labor (DOL), the White House has nominated Acting Administrator Jessica Looman to head the post. Prior to joining the DOL as Principal Deputy Administrator of the WHD at the...August 3, 2022 |
Are Non-Emergency Transport Providers Employees or Independent Contractors? Jury Questions Exist, Eighth Circuit HoldsReversing summary judgment in favor of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), the Eighth Circuit has held that jury questions exist as to whether the defendant employed drivers who provide non-emergency medical transport services or whether it properly classified those drivers as independent contractors. Walsh v. Alpha & Omega USA, Inc., 2022 U.S. App. LEXIS...July 19, 2022 |
Rhode Island Enacts Tip Law, Mirroring Aspects of the FLSARhode Island has joined the list of states adopting laws governing the payment of tips. House Bill (HB) 7510, which is codified as Public Law 2022-245, mirrors nearly all tip-related aspects of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and its regulations. The law became effective on June 28, 2022. Under the law, tips are...July 11, 2022 |
Property Damage Investigators Are Non-Exempt “Production” Employees, 11th Circuit HoldsEmployees whose job it was to investigate and determine the likely cause of damage to the equipment of broadband service providers were misclassified as exempt by their employer, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals recently held. Therefore, the employees’ overtime claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) were improperly dismissed by the trial court....June 30, 2022 |
Connecticut’s Minimum Wage Increasing to $14 on July 1As previously reported in this blog, Connecticut’s minimum wage will increase $1.00, to $14.00 per hour, beginning tomorrow, July 1. It is the penultimate step of a 2019 law enacting a series of tiered minimum wage increases that will reach the law’s goal of $15.00 per hour in June 2023. Beginning in January 2024, the...June 30, 2022 |
Hawaii Becomes First State to Enact $18 Minimum WageCiting poverty concerns in, and the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on, the Aloha State, Hawaii Governor David Ige has signed House Bill 2510, gradually raising the State’s minimum wage to $18.00 per hour on January 1, 2028. Although, given HB 2510’s nearly six-year phase-in period, other states may reach that mark first, Hawaii...June 23, 2022 |
Forensic Photographer Trainee Takes Shot at Employee Status, But It Doesn’t Develop, 11th Circuit RulesA forensic photographer who enrolled in a county training program was an intern and not an employee, a three-judge panel of the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals has held in a divided opinion. As a result, her minimum wage and overtime claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) were properly dismissed by the trial...June 21, 2022 |