DOL Ends Six-Factor Intern Test; Adopts “Primary Beneficiary” Standard

Darrell VanDeusen
Darrell VanDeusen
01/08/2018
Last Friday, the United States Department of Labor made the following announcement: “On Dec. 19, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit became the fourth federal appellate court to expressly reject the U.S. Department of Labor’s six-part test for determining whether interns and students are employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The Department of Labor today clarified that going forward, the Department will conform...
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Labor Department Seeks Appeal and Stay of Overtime Ruling

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
11/01/2017
In a move that surprised many observers, on October 30, 2017, the United States Department of Labor appealed a federal judge's August ruling striking down the Obama-era overtime regulations.  In a statement issued by the DOL, the agency explained that it will also file a motion to freeze the appeal while it undertakes further rule making on what the appropriate salary level  for exempt status should be. Here's a quick recap on how we got to this...
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Department of Labor Issues New Minimum Wage for Federal Contractors

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
09/22/2017
On September 15, 2017, the Department of Labor issued a Notice setting forth the new minimum wage applicable to federal contractors covered by Executive Order 13658.  Effective January 1, 2018, the hourly wage will increase from $10.20 per hour to $10.35 per hour.  The wage rate for tipped employees will also increase to $7.25 per hour.  Covered contractors must advise their employees of the increase. Executive Order 13658 applies to all...
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President Trump Appoints Peter B. Robb to NLRB General Counsel Post

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
09/19/2017
On September 15, 2017, President Trump appointed Peter Robb to be General Counsel of the NLRB for a four year term.  Robb is a management-side attorney, who had previously served as chief counsel to former NLRB Member Robert Hunter. The General Counsel decides what actions to bring before the NLRB, and also has the authority to dismiss charges.  It is widely expected that Robb will roll-back guidance promulgated by President Obama’s General...
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DOL Overtime Rules: This Time, We Have Something to Report

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
09/05/2017
Barely more than 24 hours after we published a blog telling you there was little new to report on the Department of Labor's proposed changes to overtime regulations, something big happened:  a federal judge in Texas struck the proposed rules down.  Granting summary judgment to more than 55 business groups that challenged the rule, Judge Amos Mazzant ruled that the drastic increase in the salary required to be exempt -- from $23,660 to $47,476 - was...
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DOL Overtime Rules: More Useless but Important Information

Darrell VanDeusen
Darrell VanDeusen
08/30/2017
You may recall that I blogged on the stalled DOL overtime rules a month or so ago, with the Trump DOL repeatedly asking for extensions to file a brief in the Fifth Circuit. In that brief,   administration lawyers told the Fifth Circuit that the DOL intends to revise the overtime rule and asked the court to affirm the DOL’s right to use salary levels to determine eligibility for overtime pay.   DOL lawyers stated that the Department will not...
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EEOC’s Wellness Program Rules Run into a Roadblock

Healthcare in the U.S. is a hard issue.  And it’s expensive too.  Ok, you know that.  Years ago, some employers concluded that one way to reduce healthcare costs was to figure out who might get really sick and then either not hire them, or fire them.  Really a bad idea, and one that led to passage of the Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act (GINA) and similar state laws. So, many employers looked to more “benign” ways to encourage...
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OSHA Launches E-Filing for Mandatory Injury and Illness Reports

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
07/25/2017
On August 1, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) electronic portal, the Injury Tracking Application (ITA), will go live for employers to file their reports of workplace illnesses and injuries.  OSHA's electronic record-keeping rule, which applies to companies with 250 employees or more, requires employers to submit electronically the OSHA Form 300 (Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses); OSHA Form 300A (Summary of...
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New I-9 Takes Effect September 18th

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
07/20/2017
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has issued a new I-9 Form effective September 18, 2017.  The I-9 Form is used to document all new hires, and must be maintained by the employer until the later of (a) one year after the employee separated from the company or (b) three years after the employee began work. The revisions add non-substantive changes to the instructions, and revise the list of acceptable documents.  While these changes are...
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What Happens When You Put "OFCCP" Into Google?

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
07/18/2017
A recent ruling in a case between Google and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) shows some of the downside risks of doing business with the federal government.  In Google’s case, it had the resources and the ability to push back a bit against the agency's findings.  However, the case demonstrates why federal contractors need to have clear employment practices in place and understand that the government has broad powers to...
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