Late on Friday September 11 via a temporary rule published in the Federal Register, The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) updated provisions within its final rule implementing the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, in response to an August federal court ruling that struck down aspects of the original rule. These updates take effect September 16.

Among the changes is a revision of DOL's definiti...

On August 27, The Department of Labor threaded a needle with some very fine distinctions in it's latest updates to their FFCRA FAQ page as it regards the current start of the school year and the applicability of the FFCRA's Family Leave. (Answers #98, 99, 100)

FFCRA leave is not available to take care of a child whose school is open for in-person attendance. If a school offers both in-person and on...

In April, the New York Attorney General sued the Department of Labor over the DOL’s April 1 rule that told employers how to implement the Families First Coronavirus Response Act  (FFCRA) on the theory the rule "unlawfully narrows" the number of people who are covered by the emergency paid leave law.

The rule defines the limits of who qualifies for paid leave and the suit challenged four parts of th...

One threshold in determining whether an employee is non--exempt or exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is the earnings threshold.  Currently, FLSA Regulations (promulgated by the U.S. Department of Labor) state that employees earning less than $23,600 per year ($455 per week) are nonexempt while Employees who earn more than $100,000 per year are almost certainly exempt.  

On...

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has published a final rule adjusting for inflation the civil monetary penalties assessed for violations of a number of federal labor laws. The increases generally apply to civil penalties assessed after January 13, 2017, whose associated violations occurred after November 2, 2015. 

Key Penalty Increases
Penalty increases that may be of particular...