Ever wonder whether two connected businesses, like a restaurant and private club sharing a kitchen and managers, can dodge overtime by claiming they’re separate companies? The U.S. Department of Labor just answered that question loud and clear. TL;DR: When two entities share ownership, management, operations, and other common elements, and…
When employees rack up overtime without approval, it doesn’t make them look dedicated – it makes them insubordinate. And as one nurse at a VA hospital just learned, that can sink an age discrimination claim. TL;DR: The Sixth Circuit affirmed summary judgment for a VA hospital where a nurse repeatedly…
If the Department of Labor comes knocking about unpaid wages, here’s some welcome news: as of June 27, 2025, it can no longer demand liquidated damages—unless it sues you. TL;DR: In Field Assistance Bulletin (FAB) 2025-3, the U.S. Department of Labor announced that its Wage and Hour Division (WHD)…
Paying employees a flat weekly salary doesn’t make them exempt from overtime. One employer just learned that lesson the expensive way—after misclassifying dozens of workers. TL;DR: A Houston plumbing contractor paid 31 service technicians and apprentice helpers a salary and didn’t pay them overtime. But those workers didn’t qualify…
A recent DOL enforcement action shows how routine rounding practices can spiral into serious legal exposure. This post breaks down one employer’s nearly $600,000 mistake—and explains what the FLSA really permits when it comes to rounding work time. TL;DR: A construction contractor just had to pay nearly $600,000 in…
Last week, the Supreme Court clarified employers can show how certain employees don’t need to be paid overtime or minimum wage under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Spoiler alert: it’s not as tough as some courts thought. Why Did This Case Happen? The case involved sales representatives for a…
Last year, several media outlets reported about a lawsuit that a clothing designer who worked for Lizzo and her touring company had asserted against them and another individual. That lawsuit included several claims under state law for discrimination, retaliation, and assault, among others. On paper, it didn’t sound good for…
Wikipedia says that déjà vu is the phenomenon of feeling as though one has lived through the present situation before. Last Friday, a Texas federal judge vacated a U.S. Department of Labor 2024 Rule that raised the minimum salary level to be exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act overtime…
Emphasizing that the Department of Labor has used a minimum salary requirement to help decide who is overtime-eligible, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals recently determined that the Fair Labor Standards Act authorizes this benchmark. As it had done many times before, the DOL determined in 2019 to raise the minimum…
Yesterday, the Department of Labor announced that a Pennsylvania federal court awarded $35.8 million in overtime back wages and liquidated damages to 6,000 current and former workers across fifteen facilities in what it claims to be “one of nation’s largest FLSA judgments.” In its Findings of Fact and Conclusions of…