On June 25, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued two opinion letters concerning the exemption of outside salespeople. In FLSA2020-6, the DOL opined that an employee qualifies for the outside sales exemption when deployed to high-population areas and events to sell products via stylized trucks (which is not itself a “place of
DOL Issues Final Rule Allowing Employers to Pay Bonuses Under Fluctuating Workweek Method
On May 20, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published its final rule allowing employers to pay bonuses and incentives to employees who are paid a salary plus overtime on the fluctuating workweek method (FWM) of computing overtime (employees who are paid a salary whether they work few hours or many, plus 1/2 overtime
DOL Issues Final Rule Providing Flexibility to Retail and Service Industry Employers
On Monday, May 18, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor released a final rule, effective immediately, regarding retail and service industry exceptions from overtime for employees primarily paid on commissions. The new rule simply removes two (2) previous provisions which listed industries that the DOL then-viewed as having “no retail concept” or “may be
Potpourri of Wage & Hour News
In the past week there was nothing really Earth-shattering as far as wage and hour updates, but certainly some updates to note:
- MnDOLI issued a reminder to employers that most Minnesota employers are subject to both state and federal wage laws…employers must review both laws (and ordinances) to ensure compliance! For example, unlike FLSA:
DOL Issues New Rule for Determining Joint Employers Under FLSA
So this is exciting! No, really, it is! As you know, under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the employee of one company can be found to be a “joint employee” of another, making both jointly and severally liable for that employee’s wages (and thus, overtime). Historically, whether two companies were “joint employers” was been
Department of Labor Clarifies Salary Basis Requirements for Per-Project Pay
So probably not super exciting or applicable for many employers, but, as I blog all things wage and hour, here you go! On January 7, 2020, the Department of Labor (DOL) released Opinion Letter FLSA2020-2, opining as to whether educational assistants paid on a per-project basis can meet either the “salary basis” or “fee basis”
DOL Opinion Letter Clarifies Method for Calculating Overtime Pay for Nondiscretionary Bonus
On January 7, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor issued its first Opinion Letter of the new year – FLSA2020-1. In this instance an employer pays employees a non-discretionary lump sum bonus of $3,000 who complete a 10 week training program and agree to continue training for another 8 weeks. However, the employee will
It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like [Bonus Time] Everywhere You Go…
It’s that time of year where employers and employees alike get into the holiday spirit. Being the wage and hour blog that it is, I thought about sharing a few general holiday reminders (keep in mind I’m keeping this super simple just to toggle your brain):
- Hourly employees who are provided a non-discretionary bonus must
DOL Defines a “Month” for Retail or Service Establishment Exemption
In a September 10, 2019 opinion letter, FLSA2019-23, the U.S. Department of Labor was asked to interpret what a “month” means for purposes of the retail or service establishment exemption (29 U.S.C. 207(i)). In this exemption, an employee need not be paid overtime if the employee is employed by a “retail or
Minneapolis Considering Freelance Worker Protection Ordinance As Companion to Its Wage Theft Ordinance
On September 12, 2019, three City of Minneapolis Council members shared a draft ordinance, the Minneapolis Freelance Worker Protections Ordinance. As it is just in the draft stages, I won’t go into great detail here, but to point it out. For those Minnesota employers who rely on independent contractors – the development of this