Q.  Can my Company use an applicant’s salary history to set their current pay rate?

A.  Not for employees in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (covering California, Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon and Washington).  In a case decided the day before Equal Pay Day, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that,

Q.  Have there been any new legal developments on whether gig economy workers can be classified as independent contractors?

A.  On April 11, Judge Michael Baylson of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania became the first judge to grant summary judgment on the issue of whether UberBLACK drivers are employees or

Q.  I heard that the U.S. Supreme Court just issued a ruling finding that auto service workers are exempt from overtime pay. My company is not in the automobile industry. Will this opinion apply to us?

A.  The U.S. Supreme Court issued an opinion this week in Encino Motorcars, LLC v. Navarro, finding that auto service workers – those employees who interact with customers and sell them services for their vehicles – are exempt from overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). While the decision directly impacts this small category of jobs, the opinion will have a much more far-reaching impact, since the Court rejected long-standing precedent that exemptions must be construed narrowly against the employer.
Continue Reading United States Supreme Court Revises Standard for Review of Exempt Classification

Q. I have employees in Massachusetts.  Do I need to pay for accrued sick leave upon termination?

A.  In a recent opinion, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court followed the lead of most other jurisdictions in finding that sick pay does not constitute wages under the Massachusetts Payment of Wages Law.  Unlike accrued and unused vacation, which is considered to be wages and must be paid at termination, Massachusetts employers are not required by statute to pay out accrued but unused sick pay to employees upon termination of employment.
Continue Reading A Win for MA Employers, Sick Pay Does Not Constitute Wages

Q.  Have there been any recent changes to the overtime pay rules that we have to be concerned about?

A.  Currently, under both federal and Pennsylvania law, to be exempt from overtime under the “white collar exemptions,” an employee must meet both the salary basis test and the duties test, meaning they must make more than a certain amount weekly and perform certain identified duties. The salary threshold has been stagnant for decades. In 2016, however, the Department of Labor (DOL) announced new regulations that would increase the salary threshold from $23,660 annually ($455 per week) to $47,476 (or $913 per week).  The regulations however, fell short of becoming law when a federal court in Texas enjoined the DOL from implementing it, only weeks before it was set to go into effect.  Today, the federal law remains in limbo, with speculation that new regulations will be issued raising the salary test to less than the previously anticipated increase, although the exact amount remains unclear.
Continue Reading Potential Changes on the Horizon for Pennsylvania Wage and Hour Law

Q: Do I need to pay non-exempt employees when they go on short rest breaks of 20 minutes or less?

A: Yes.

The United States Department of Labor (“DOL”) has long taken the position that when employers offer non-exempt employees short breaks of under 20 minutes, the time spent on that break is “compensable” under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”).
Continue Reading Paying Employees During Short Rest Breaks

Q: Do I need to pay my employees if my company has closed or temporarily shut down operations due to a natural disaster or inclement weather?

A: It depends.

In the aftermath of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, and in anticipation of the upcoming winter snow season, many employers are questioning whether they need to pay employees when their company cannot open due to a natural disaster or inclement weather.
Continue Reading Paying Employees during a Shutdown due to Natural Disasters and Inclement Weather

Q.  What is the status of the EEOC’s requirement that we submit pay data with our annual EEO-1 Form?  Also, have there been any updates on the lawsuit blocking the DOL’s rule raising the salary basis for certain non-exempt employees?

A.  As we reported previously, the EEOC, as part of its effort to detect and remedy pay discrimination, amended its EEO-1 Form to require that employers with 100 or more employees submit detailed pay data on their workforce.  On August 29, 2017, the OMB sent a memorandum to the EEOC, staying implementation of this requirement.  Thus, at least for now, employers may limit the information provided on the EEO-1 Form to data on race, ethnicity and gender by occupational category (but not data on pay or hours worked).
Continue Reading Employers Not Required to Submit Pay Data or Follow Higher Salary Basis Threshold for Exempt Employees

Q.  I heard there is a new law in New York City that covers retail and fast food establishments. What do I need to know?

A.  Effective November 26, 2017, retail and fast food employers will be subject to strict new laws that govern scheduling. The law is meant to provide retail and fast food employees with more predictability around scheduling by requiring employers to provide schedules a certain amount of time in advance, and prohibiting on-call shifts, among other provisions. Retail employers are simply prohibited from violating the law, while the law provides that fast food employers are required to pay employees premiums of varying amounts for some violations.
Continue Reading NYC Predictable Scheduling Law To Have Wide-Ranging Effects on Retail and Fast Food Employers

Q.  An employee worked several hours of overtime last week. Can I offer him compensatory time off, to use in the future, rather than pay him overtime?

A.  Currently, unless you are a public-sector employer, the answer is no. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, employees who are not exempt must be paid overtime pay (one and one-half times their regular pay rate) for all hours worked over 40 in a work week.

That may soon change, however.
Continue Reading Comp Time in Lieu of Overtime