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Reminder About Maryland Minimum Wage Increases

Bernadette Hunton
Bernadette Hunton
01/19/2022
Wage & Hour
This is a reminder for all Maryland employers that effective January 1, 2022, Maryland’s minimum wage rates increased to $12.50 for employers with 15 or more employees, and to $12.20 for employers with 14 or fewer employees. Rates will continue to increase gradually each year for both large and small businesses until a $15 an hour rate is reached in 2025 (for large businesses) and in 2026 (for small businesses). Montgomery County Minimum wage...
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DOL Issues Proposed Regulations For $15 Per Hour Minimum Federal Contractor Pay

Garrett Wozniak
Garrett Wozniak
07/23/2021
Government Contractors, Wage & Hour
Under regulations proposed by the Department of Labor, the minimum hourly wage paid by many federal contractors will increase to $15 per hour on January 30, 2022, and then annually beginning January 1, 2023 to an amount determined by the Secretary of Labor.  The proposed rule, issued following Executive Order 14026, is open for public comment until August 23, 2021, and must be finalized by November 24, 2021.  The current minimum wage is $10.95 per...
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Montgomery Co. Employer Alert: Minimum Wage Increase Effective July 1

Bernadette Hunton
Bernadette Hunton
07/07/2021
State Law, Wage & Hour
On July 1, 2021, the following minimum wage increases took effect for Montgomery County, Maryland: EMPLOYER SIZE MINIMUM WAGE RATE Large Employer (51 or More Employees) $15 Mid-Sized Employer (11 to 50 Employees) $14 Small Employer (10 or Less Employees) $13.50 Employers doing business in Montgomery County that employ 1 or more employees in the County (not counting the business owners) are subject to the requirements of...
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Bonus and Volunteer Work Counts Toward Overtime? Fourth Circuit says “No!”

Darrell VanDeusen
Darrell VanDeusen
06/28/2021
Wage & Hour
Overreaching has become an unfortunate consequence of life these days.  Here’s one example.   The Fourth Circuit recently affirmed dismissal of a lawsuit filed by a group of Lowe’s employees who alleged that bonus payments and volunteer time should count in the calculation of overtime due them.  McPhee v. Lowe’s Home Ctrs., 2021 U.S. App. LEXIS 18076 (4th Cir. June 17, 2021). You may recall way back in late 2017 there was a change in the...
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New Virginia Overtime Law Takes Effect July 1

Eric Paltell
Eric Paltell
06/21/2021
Virginia Employment Law, Wage & Hour
On July 1, 2021, Virginia’s new Overtime Wage Act will take effect.  Employers with employees  in Virginia need to review the way in which they calculate overtime for salaried non-exempt employees, as the new law makes it impermissible to use the FLSA’s “fixed salary for fluctuating workweek” methodology that allows employers to pay a half-time premium for overtime hours. The new law was signed by Governor Northam or March 30, 2021, and...
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Judge Rejects DOL Opinion Letter on Reimbursement of Delivery Drivers

Clifford Geiger
Clifford Geiger
05/14/2021
Wage & Hour
Waters v. Pizza to You LLC, S.D. Ohio, No. 3:19-cv-00372, 5/7/21, is a case that involves delivery drivers who used their own vehicles to deliver pizzas for their employer.  During the period at issue, the drivers were reimbursed $1 for each delivery, and that rate eventually was increased to $1.25.  Given the average delivery radius, the reimbursement was less than the IRS business mileage rate, which was $0.54/mile.  No actual vehicle expenses...
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DOL Reverses Policy Limits On Liquidated Damages For Wage Violations In Pre-Litigation Settlements

Bernadette Hunton
Bernadette Hunton
04/12/2021
Agency Activity, Wage & Hour
On April 9, 2021, the Department of Labor issued revised guidance on the agency’s use of liquidated damages to settle wage violations, rescinding limits imposed by the Trump administration less than a year ago. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), employers who violate certain provisions of the Act pertaining to minimum wage, overtime, and tipped employees, are liable for unpaid wages plus an additional equal amount as liquidated damages. ...
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Biden DOL Revokes Three Eleventh-Hour Trump DOL Opinion Letters

Randi Klein Hyatt
Randi Klein Hyatt
01/27/2021
Agency Activity, DOL Opinion Letters, Wage & Hour
In its final days under the Trump administration, the Department of Labor (DOL) had advanced three opinion letters on independent contracting and tip-pooling rules.  On Tuesday, the DOL's Wage and Hour Division revoked the letters under the Biden administration's regulatory review freeze.  The independent contracting rule would have permitted a simpler legal standard for classifying workers as independent contractors rather than employees covered...
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DOL Issues Four New Wage & Hour Opinion Letters

Clifford Geiger
Clifford Geiger
01/20/2021
Agency Activity, Wage & Hour
The U.S. Department  of Labor issued four new opinion letters on January 19, 2021: FLSA2021-6 A trade association of staffing firms asked for an opinion on whether the Fair Labor Standards Act’s (FLSA) “retail or service establishment” exemption applies to staffing firms that recruit, hire, and place employees on temporary assignments with clients.     Qualifying for the exemption would mean there is no overtime requirement under the...
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Two New Wage & Hour Opinion Letters from DOL

Darrell VanDeusen
Darrell VanDeusen
01/12/2021
Agency Activity, Wage & Hour
In the final weeks of the Trump administration, the Department of Labor has been busy putting out guidance on wage and hour matters.   Let’s put aside last week’s Final Rule on independent contractors, issued January 6, 2021.  That rule is expected to face substantial challenge in court, so while it is an interesting change in approach by the DOL, all should recognize the uncertainty of its lasting effect. Please turn instead to two Wage...
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