On April 23, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor published a final rule raising the minimum weekly salary many exempt employees must be paid to qualify as exempt from overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The new rule raises the salary basis threshold for executive, administrative, professional and computer professional exempt employees from $684
overtime
BREAKING NEWS: Federal Judge Blocks DOL Final Rule on White Collar Exemptions
By Russell Cawyer on
Posted in Uncategorized
Today, a Texas federal judge issued a nationwide preliminary injunction blocking the implementation of the U.S. Department of Labor’s final rule imposing an increased salary level to qualify for the administrative, professional, executive and highly-compensated exemptions to overtime. Short of an order staying the district judge’s injunction, the DOL’s rule will be on hold, nationwide,…
Use the New Overtime Rules to Correct Misclassified Workers
By Russell Cawyer on
Posted in Human Resources, Wage & Hour
This week the DOL announced changes to the white collar overtime exemptions that take effect December 1, 2016. Every employment lawyer with a newsletter, blog or soapbox has written some summary of the new regulations. And while the regulations only effect the executive, administrative, professional and high compensated exemptions, Daniel Schwartz, a Connecticut employment…
DOL Announces Details of Final Rule Changing Regulations on the Overtime Exemptions
By Russell Cawyer on
Last night the U.S. Department of Labor announced details of its long-awaited Final Rule on changes to the regulations interpreting the overtime exemptions to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The FLSA is the federal law requiring most employers to pay minimum wages and overtime to nonexempt employees. The Final Rule raises the minimum salary…
12 Signs You May Have a Wage and Hour Problem (and Should Call an Employment Lawyer Now)
By Russell Cawyer on
Posted in Human Resources, Wage & Hour
There has been an explosion of wage and hour collective actions failed against Texas employers in the last five years. This has been particularly prevalent in the oil field services sector. If you are a Texas employer, and using any of 12 pay practices below, you should consult with an employment lawyer to ensure you…
Fifth Circuit Orders Award of Attorney’s Fees to Texas Employer Against DOL in Overtime Case
By Russell Cawyer on
Posted in Case Summaries, Wage & Hour
It’s a rare day with the U.S. Department of Labor is assessed attorney’s fees against it for bringing a suit against an employer in bad faith. However, in Gate Guard v. Secretary of Labor, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ordered that a trial court award attorney’s fees to a Texas employer in a…
New Overtime Rules to be Proposed as Early as This Week
By Russell Cawyer on
Posted in News & Commentary, Wage & Hour
President Obama has announced that a soon to be released proposed rule from the U.S. Department of Labor will include an increase in the minimum salary necessary for an employee to qualify as an exempt employee. Under the proposal announced by @POTUS today, by 2016, employers will have to pay exempt employees a minimum or…
Don’t Forget to Consider Whether Year-End Bonuses Trigger Overtime Adjustments
By Russell Cawyer on
Posted in Wage & Hour
As we get to the end of the year, management committees and corporate boards are in the process of approving year-end bonuses for employees. A frequently overlooked wage and hour mistake is failing to include non-discretionary bonuses in the regular rate of pay for non-exempt employees.
In calculating the regular rate of pay on which …
Fifth Circuit Confirms Use of Fluctuating Workweek Method of Overtime Calculation in Misclassification Case
By Russell Cawyer on
Posted in Case Summaries, Wage & Hour
In settlement negotiations and trial of FLSA overtime misclassification cases, there is usually a disagreement between the parties as to how the unpaid overtime should be calculated. Attorneys representing employees typically want overtime calculated using a 1.5 times the regular rate of pay for each overtime hour that was worked. Attorneys representing companies typically want to utilize…
Finally, Private Litigants Can Settle Bona Fide FLSA Disputes Without DOL or Court Supervision!
By Russell Cawyer on
Posted in Case Summaries, Wage & Hour
Some of you may be surprised to learn that conventional wisdom was that claims arising under the Fair Labor Standards Act (the federal law requiring the payment of minimum wage and overtime to most employees) cannot be released or waived without court or Department of Labor supervision. I certainly thought that until several years ago when I had …