Category Archives: Fair Labor Standards Act

U.S. Department of Labor’s Proposed Rule Could Make Millions of Employees Overtime-Eligible

Key Takeaways:

  • Under a new rule proposed by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), the salary threshold for employees to qualify for the white-collar exemptions under the Fair Labor Standards Act (the “FLSA”) would increase from $35,568 to $55,068.
  • The salary threshold for the FLSA’s highly compensated employee exemption also would increase, from $107,432 to $143,988.
  • Further, the salary thresholds for these FLSA exemptions would increase automatically every three years under the new proposal.…
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Supreme Court Delivers Major Blow to Public Sector Unions

On June 27, 2018, in a 5-4 decision in Janus v. AFSCME, the United States Supreme Court overruled longstanding precedent and held that public employees who are not members of a union elected to be their collective bargaining agent could not be required to pay so-called “agency fees” to that union.  The decision is expected to have significant impact on organized labor, which relies on such fees to fund their activities.… More

Supreme Court Adopts More Expansive View of FLSA Exemptions

Since the 1950s, the U.S. Supreme Court has taken the view that the exemptions to the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), which exempt employees from the FLSA’s minimum wage and overtime requirements, should be interpreted narrowly. In its April 2, 2018 decision in Encino Motorcars v. Navarro, however, the Supreme Court reversed course and rejected this principle. As a result, the decision allows courts to give broader interpretations to the FLSA exemptions,… More

Federal Court Blocks New Overtime Rule

On November 22, 2016, a federal judge in Texas issued a nationwide injunction preventing the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) from implementing its new overtime rule. The rule – which would have raised the salary threshold below which employees must be paid overtime to $47,476/year – was scheduled to go into effect on December 1, 2016. (The firm’s previous client alert on the rule can be found here.) As a result,… More

Watch: Labor & Employment Webinar

The past year has been busy in the labor and employment law field. Foley Hoag recently presented a webinar detailing the latest legal developments.

Watch the recording:

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Topics discussed include:

  • Upcoming changes to the overtime regulations
  • The expansion of the “joint employer” doctrine
  • The increasingly aggressive EEOC
  • Legislative initiatives to change non-compete law
  • Pay equity laws
  • Current issues in immigration laws

Speakers:

Are Unpaid Internships in Massachusetts Okay Again? Nope

Nothing says summer like an unpaid internship. It’s a chance for a college student or new entrant to the job market get a foot in the door, learn about a company and gain (hopefully) valuable experience. For employers, an unpaid internship is a great way to bring in extra help at little-to-no cost at a time when many regular employees want to hit the beach. It also helps employers to identify and evaluate potential future hires in the real-world work environment.… More