July 09, 2025
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Category: Wage and Hour

DOL Proposes Removing Some FLSA Policy Statements and Interpretive Rules From Regulatory Code

The Department of Labor is proposing to move certain interpretive rules and policy statements related to the Fair Labor Standards Act from the Code of Federal Regulations to the Wage and Hour Division’s Field Operations Handbook. DOL says these provisions were never subject to notice-and-comment rulemaking.   The most significant provisions relate to the FLSA’s motor carrier exemption. Other impacted provisions relate to seafarers and...
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June 10, 2025
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Category: Agency Enforcement

Trump Seeks Significant Cuts to FY26 Budget of Workplace Regulators

President Trump’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2026 would eliminate the Labor Department’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) and substantially cut funding for most agencies that regulate the workforce. The President submitted his budget request to Congress May 30. DOL’s Veterans’ Employment and Training Service (VETS) would assume OFCCP’s enforcement of the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA,...
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December 11, 2024
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Category: FLSA

Should Expense Reimbursements Be Included When Calculating Overtime? A New Opinion Letter Explains

In the Biden Administration’s first opinion letter interpreting the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Wage and Hour Division has discussed the effect of expense reimbursements on an employee’s regular pay rate for the employee’s overtime premium. An oil and gas industry employer that reimburses its pipeline inspectors $25 per day for the use of their personal mobile phones, cameras, and computers...
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December 05, 2024
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Category: Disability, Accommodations, and Leaves

DOL Proposes Phasing Out Subminimum Wages for People With Disabilities

DOL’s Wage and Hour Division published a proposed rule December 4 that would phase out the Section 14(c) certificate program that allows employers to pay less than the minimum wage to individuals with disabilities. If the proposed rule were adopted in its current form, applications sent on or after the rule’s effective date would be ignored, and existing certificates would...
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December 02, 2024
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Category: Executive Order

Ninth Circuit Rules Federal Contractor Minimum Wage Increase Exceeded Biden’s Authority

President Biden exceeded his authority by issuing Executive Order 14026 raising the federal contractor minimum wage to $15 per hour, a federal appeals court ruled November 5 in Nebraska v. Su. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit also held that the U.S. Department of Labor acted arbitrarily and capriciously when it published implementing regulations. The Ninth Circuit...
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November 21, 2024
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Category: DOL

DOL’s Increase to Minimum Salary Threshold for White-Collar Overtime Exemption Blocked Nationwide

A federal court has vacated a Labor Department rule that increased the minimum salary level for the “white-collar” overtime exemption. Therefore, the prior minimum salary threshold of $684 weekly is back in effect. The opinion came November 15 by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas in Texas v. U.S. Dep’t of Labor. The Biden Administration’s final...
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November 20, 2024
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Category: Agency Enforcement

DOL Reports Recovery of Back Wages for FLSA Violations Decreased in FY 2024

DOL’s recovery of back wages for violations under the Fair Labor Standards Act has dropped to its lowest level in a decade, according to limited enforcement data reported by the Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division. The amount of back wages collected by WHD decreased by 4% in fiscal year 2024 compared with the amount collected in FY 2023. In...
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November 11, 2024
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Category: Agency Enforcement

DOL Wage and Hour Division Again Reports Increase in FMLA Violations

The number of Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) cases in which the Department of Labor found a violation increased in fiscal year 2024—and for a second consecutive year—after having declined annually over the previous decade, according to data recently released by DOL’s Wage and Hour Division. This indicates that more employees are now electing to file complaints with WHD rather...
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October 30, 2024
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Category: Government Contracts

CWC Explains the Davis-Bacon Act

The Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC), our affiliated nonprofit membership association, has updated its primer on the Davis-Bacon Act. The Davis-Bacon Act (DBA) and a collection of laws called the Davis-Bacon Related Acts (DBRA) require contractors to pay laborers and mechanics working on covered federal construction contracts the prevailing wage and fringe benefits for the same job classification in the same area....
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September 18, 2024
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Category: FLSA

Fifth Circuit Rules FLSA Recognizes DOL Power To Set White Collar “Salary Basis” Test

The Department of Labor acted within its authority in requiring employers to pay a minimum salary to employees who are classified as exempt from federal minimum wage and overtime requirements, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled September 11 in Mayfield v. DOL. A unanimous three-judge panel noted that DOL has included a minimum-salary requirement in the...
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