Andrea M. Kirshenbaum

November 01, 2015 | The Legal Intelligencer

Much has changed in the United States since the country's foundational wage-and-hour law, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), was enacted more than 75 years ago in 1938. Although the FLSA has been amended multiple times, the central aspects of the law remain intact—workers who qualify as "employees" are entitled to the minimum wage and overtime protections of the law, while workers not so classified are not. Yet, as the country moves further and further away from the world that existed during the Great Depression, the concepts enshrined in the law—from the classification of employees as exempt or nonexempt, to a determination of time worked in the digital age, or even identification of workers as employees or independent contractors—have become exponentially more difficult to apply.

By Andrea M. Kirshenbaum

6 minute read

September 10, 2015 | The Legal Intelligencer

On July 15, U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Wage and Hour Division (WHD) administrator David Weil issued an administrator's interpretation on the application of the Fair Labor Standards Act's (FLSA) definition of "employ" on the identification of employees who are misclassified as independent contractors. The administrator's interpretation (AI) concludes that "most workers are employees under the FLSA." The AI was issued in the context of the DOL's larger Misclassification Initiative, which provides for the collaboration of the DOL, Internal Revenue Service and 26 states through information-sharing and coordinated enforcement.

By Andrea M. Kirshenbaum and Peter D. Hardy

10 minute read

September 09, 2015 | The Legal Intelligencer

On July 15, U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Wage and Hour Division (WHD) administrator David Weil issued an administrator's interpretation on the application of the Fair Labor Standards Act's (FLSA) definition of "employ" on the identification of employees who are misclassified as independent contractors. The administrator's interpretation (AI) concludes that "most workers are employees under the FLSA." The AI was issued in the context of the DOL's larger Misclassification Initiative, which provides for the collaboration of the DOL, Internal Revenue Service and 26 states through information-sharing and coordinated enforcement.

By Andrea M. Kirshenbaum and Peter D. Hardy

10 minute read

July 06, 2015 | The Legal Intelligencer

On June 30, the U.S. Department of Labor released its long-awaited Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, which contains a new minimum salary threshold for workers to qualify for "white-collar" exemptions to the Fair Labor Standards Act overtime requirements. Most significantly, the DOL's proposed new minimum salary threshold for the "executive," "administrative" and "professional" exemptions from overtime pay, which are pegged to the earnings percentiles for full-time salaried workers, would more than double the current salary basis of $23,660 per year ($455 per week). The DOL also proposed raising the salary floor for the "highly compensated employee" exemption.

By Andrea M. Kirshenbaum and Darren M. Creasy

9 minute read

July 06, 2015 | The Legal Intelligencer

On June 30, the U.S. Department of Labor released its long-awaited Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, which contains a new minimum salary threshold for workers to qualify for "white-collar" exemptions to the Fair Labor Standards Act overtime requirements. Most significantly, the DOL's proposed new minimum salary threshold for the "executive," "administrative" and "professional" exemptions from overtime pay, which are pegged to the earnings percentiles for full-time salaried workers, would more than double the current salary basis of $23,660 per year ($455 per week). The DOL also proposed raising the salary floor for the "highly compensated employee" exemption.

By Andrea M. Kirshenbaum and Darren M. Creasy

9 minute read

May 04, 2015 | The Legal Intelligencer

As part of the annual budgeting cycle, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has offered employers a window into its compliance priorities and initiatives, which continue to focus on directed investigations initiated by the DOL in "high risk" industries and so-called "fissured workplaces." The insights come courtesy of the DOL Wage and Hour Division's (WHD) fiscal year 2016 Budget Justification, as well as Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez's testimony at hearings in March before the U.S. House of Representatives' Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Subcommittee, and the House Education and the Workforce Committee.

By Andrea M. Kirshenbaum

6 minute read

May 03, 2015 | The Legal Intelligencer

As part of the annual budgeting cycle, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has offered employers a window into its compliance priorities and initiatives, which continue to focus on directed investigations initiated by the DOL in "high risk" industries and so-called "fissured workplaces." The insights come courtesy of the DOL Wage and Hour Division's (WHD) fiscal year 2016 Budget Justification, as well as Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez's testimony at hearings in March before the U.S. House of Representatives' Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Subcommittee, and the House Education and the Workforce Committee.

By Andrea M. Kirshenbaum

6 minute read

February 26, 2015 | The Legal Intelligencer

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is poised to release its proposed revisions to the Fair Labor Standards Act's (FLSA) so-called "white-collar" exemptions in the days ahead. Employers are waiting with baited breath for what is widely anticipated to have major financial implications for nearly all employers covered by the FLSA.

By Andrea M. Kirshenbaum

6 minute read

February 26, 2015 | The Legal Intelligencer

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is poised to release its proposed revisions to the Fair Labor Standards Act's (FLSA) so-called "white-collar" exemptions in the days ahead. Employers are waiting with baited breath for what is widely anticipated to have major financial implications for nearly all employers covered by the FLSA.

By Andrea M. Kirshenbaum

6 minute read

January 05, 2015 | The Legal Intelligencer

On Dec. 15, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania made clear how costly wage-and-hour litigation can be to Pennsylvania employers by affirming an award of over $187 million dollars against Wal-Mart for claims relating to rest breaks and off-the-clock work in Braun v. Wal-Mart Stores, 2014 Pa. LEXIS 3324 (Pa. Dec. 15, 2014).

By Andrea M. Kirshenbaum and William J. Flannery

7 minute read