In an effort to clarify the circumstances that may create a joint-employment relationship, the U.S. Department of Labor issued an Administrator’s Interpretation this week. This Administrator’s Interpretation, which can be found at this link, analyzes joint employment under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) and the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act. 
Joint
The United States Supreme Court issued its decision in Integrity Staffing Solutions, Ins. v. Busk on December 9, 2014 and reversed the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal in a much awaited wage and hour decision concerning the issue of “compensable time” under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”).
The facts of the case are very straight forward. Integrity Staffing Solutions, Inc. (“Integrity”) required its hourly non-exempt warehouse workers (who retrieved products from warehouse shelves and packaged them for delivery to Amazon.com customers), to undergo a security screening before leaving the warehouse each day. A number of former employees sued Integrity alleging, in part, that they were entitled to compensation under the FLSA for the roughly 25 minutes each day that they spent waiting to undergo and undergoing those screenings. The employees also alleged that the company could have reduced that time to a de minimis amount by adding screeners or staggering shift terminations and that the screenings were conducted to prevent employee theft and, thus, for the sole benefit of the company and its customers.
Continue Reading VICTORY FOR EMPLOYERS…. The U.S. Supreme Court Holds that Employees are Not Entitled to Compensation for Time Spent Going through Employer’s Security Screening
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has many mandates for both individuals and employers. While the main employer mandate facing certain large employers (the “play or pay” penalty) has been delayed until 2015, the ACA still requires employers who are otherwise covered by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), to provide a notice to their employees by October 1, 2013 explaining the new Health Insurance Marketplace (“Marketplace”).
Continue Reading Employers: Don’t Forget to Provide Your Employees with Timely Notice Under the Affordable Care Act
Under the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA"), employers are generally required to pay overtime wages to employees who work longer than 40 hours per week. The FLSA provides several exceptions to this rule. Those "employed in a bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacity[,] . . . or in the capacity of outside salesman," for example, are exempt from the statute’s minimum wage and maximum hour requirements. Whether mortgage loan officers (who typically assist prospective borrowers in identifying and then applying for various mortgage offerings) qualify for this "administrative exemption" has been the subject of some debate, even within the Department of Labor.Continue Reading Mortgage Loan Officers Exempt? Don’t Take it to the Bank Just Yet
The Supreme Court shut down a proposed class action against Comcast last week, another step in the right direction for employers faced with class action lawsuits. (Comcast Corp. et al v. Behrend et al, No. 11-864 (March 27, 2013).)Continue Reading Breaking News for Employers: The Comcast Class Action is Off the Air
