On July 1, 2019, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued an opinion letter regarding permissible rounding practices under the Service Contract Act (“SCA”). While the SCA governs government contractors, the DOL’s guidance is nevertheless helpful to retailers because the SCA incorporates Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) rounding principles, which are applicable to them.
Continue Reading Latest DOL Guidance Sanctions Rounding Practices
As reported on the Hunton Employment & Labor Perspectives Blog on May 14, 2019, Massachusetts’ highest court, The Supreme Judicial Court (“SJC”), recently issued its long awaited decision in Sullivan v. Sleepy’s LLC, SJC-12542, in which the SJC responded to certified questions of first impression from the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts.
Continue Reading Massachusetts Retail and Inside Salespersons Are Now Entitled to Overtime and Sunday Premium Pay
Each year, the California Chamber of Commerce (“Chamber”) identifies proposed state legislation that the Chamber believes “will decimate economic and job growth in California.” The Chamber refers to these bills as “Job Killers.” In March, the Chamber identified the first two Job Killers of 2019: AB 51 and SB 1. Both bills would negatively impact retailers in California.
Continue Reading California Chamber of Commerce Identifies First “Job Killer” Bills of 2019
As the new year gets off to a start, employers in the retail industry will be making wage adjustments to meet current and future minimum wage increases.
Continue Reading 21 States Raise Minimum Wage in 2019
On July 1, 2018, the majority of Oregon’s Fair Work Week Act (also known as Oregon’s predictive scheduling law) will go into effect and will add significant challenges and costs for retailers.
Continue Reading Oregon Becomes Latest Jurisdiction and First State to Enact Predictive Scheduling Law
California is the land of employment legislation, and 2018 is shaping up to be another year of change. We are less than six months into the year, and already several bills that could significantly impact California businesses—for better or for worse—are pending in the California legislature.
Continue Reading Brace for Impact: Wave of Employment Bills Pending in California
The California Supreme Court has adopted a new three-part test to determine whether a worker is an independent contractor or an employee under California’s wage orders. The highly anticipated ruling could have wide ranging effects for businesses operating in California and beyond as companies try to navigate the new gig economy.
Continue Reading California Supreme Court Adopts New Independent Contractor Test
Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, employers in some instances may deduct money directly from the employee’s paycheck, notably for mistake or fraud. Continue reading for an in-depth look at the relevant laws retailers need to understand.
Continue Reading Employee Theft: Can Employers Deduct Suspected or Known Theft from an Employee’s Paycheck?
Recently, the New York Department of Labor released a set of proposed regulations affecting the Minimum Wage Order for Miscellaneous Industries and Occupations, which applies to most employers, except hotels and restaurants.
Continue Reading New York Proposes Predictable Scheduling Regulations for Employees
Earlier this month, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) dropped its defense of an Obama-era regulation that sought to increase the salary level for overtime-exempt employees from $23,660 per year to $47,476 per year. The regulation had been set to take effect in November 2016, but a last-minute preliminary injunction issued by a federal district court in Texas stayed the implementation of the regulation.
In the preliminary injunction ruling, the district court ruled that the new $47,476 salary threshold exceeded the scope of the DOL’s authority because such a high salary level had the effect of making an employee’s salary—and not their primary duty—the determinative factor in the exemption inquiry. Importantly, the district court’s preliminary injunction ruling went well beyond the appropriateness of the particular salary level at issue in the new regulation, and instead expressed the broader view that the DOL lacked the authority to impose any salary level requirement (regardless of the level of salary chosen) because the relevant provision of the FLSA focused on an employee’s duties, not their salary.
Continue Reading DOL Drops Appellate Defense of Overtime Rule