Wage and Hour

LIVE ZOOM PANEL: How the One Big Beautiful Bill Will Impact Your Workforce (July 24 at Noon ET)

July 15, 2025 | by Eric B. Meyer

Where have I been? I took a short break from July 4 through July 14 to spend some time offline on vacation with my family. Thanks for your patience—and I promise this one was worth the wait.

The One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) became law on July 4—and with it, major new tax and reporting obligations for employers. From payroll compliance to fringe benefit design, much of what’s in this law affects HR, legal, and finance teams directly.

To help employers get ahead of the coming changes, we’re hosting a live Zoom panel discussion (with time for audience Q&A) featuring three top minds in tax and benefits law.

🗓️ Thursday, July 24, 2025 at Noon ET
📍 Zoom: Register here
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Big Win for Employers: DOL Won’t Demand Double Damages in Wage and Hour Investigations

July 2, 2025 | by Eric B. Meyer

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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) can no longer seek liquidated damages in administrative investigations under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). That means employers resolving matters with the DOL—without going to court—are now only liable for back wages.

📄 Read the full Field Assistance Bulletin (FAB) 2025-3 here

The $101K Lesson: A Salary Alone Doesn’t Buy You an Exemption

June 11, 2025 | by Eric B. Meyer

ChatGPT-Image-Jun-10-2025-09_06_20-PM-683x1024 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. Continue reading

The DOL Just Relaunched Opinion Letters—Here’s Why That Matters for Employers

June 4, 2025 | by Eric B. Meyer

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On Monday, June 2, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced the relaunch and expansion of its opinion letter program. This move reinstates a valuable compliance tool for employers, particularly those navigating complex wage-and-hour for Family and Medical Leave Act regulations. Continue reading

Rounding Time at Work? Here are 594,143 Reasons to Make Sure You’re Doing It Legally.

May 28, 2025 | by Eric B. Meyer

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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 back wages and damages after the Department of Labor found systemic underpayment of overtime. A key issue? The company’s rounding and timekeeping practices. Rounding work time can be legal—but only if it doesn’t shortchange employees over time. Here’s what every employer needs to know.

A Costly Lesson in Cutting Corners

A federal judge just remanded a wage-and-hour case, and used two Simpsons references to do it. That’s enough to embiggen my blogging motivation.

May 15, 2025 | by Eric B. Meyer

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This isn’t just a cromulent decision—it’s a reminder that attorneys’ fees can’t be used to shoehorn a small state wage claim into federal court. Continue reading

Fired Over $15. Or Was It the HR Complaints?

May 14, 2025 | by Eric B. Meyer

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Fired Over $15. Or Was It the HR Complaints?

A laundromat worker reimbursed herself $15 from the register for a taxi fare—something she claimed was standard practice with a receipt. Three days later, she was fired. But because she had just complained about racial harassment, disability discrimination, and unpaid wages, the timing raised red flags.

The Second Circuit said a jury should decide whether she was fired for taking the $15—or for speaking up. Continue reading

Equal Pay, FLSA, and a $3.27M Verdict: Jury Sides with Fired Chief People Officer in Her Retaliation Case Against A Law Firm

May 13, 2025 | by Eric B. Meyer

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You’d expect a company to listen when its Chief People Officer—especially one with nearly three decades of labor and employment law experience—raises concerns about compliance. Instead, this employer—a law firm—reassigned her shortly thereafter and fired her within the week of returning from bereavement leave. A jury just awarded her $3.27 million for retaliation.

🎤 “Star Treatment, Solid Contracts” – Happening Today at Noon!

May 9, 2025 | by Eric B. Meyer

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Whether you’re drafting agreements for a C-suite hire, a high-profile consultant, or a VIP client, there are legal landmines everywhere—from misclassification to IP disputes. Today, we’re tackling them all.

TL;DR: Join me and attorney Merlyne Jean-Louis for a free Zoom session at 12 PM ET today—Friday, May 9, 2025—as we break down the legal and strategic considerations that go into working with VIPs, whether they’re public figures, top executives, or behind-the-scenes power players.
🔗 Register here

New DOL Guidance Hits Pause and Rewind on Independent Contractor Crackdown

May 2, 2025 | by Eric B. Meyer

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The Department of Labor just blinked. Again. In its latest move, the agency announced that it’s stepping back from its own 2024 independent contractor rule and reverting to older, more flexible standards. That’s not just a procedural shift—it’s a clear signal that the DOL may be moving away from stricter employee classification altogether. Continue reading