Tag: DOL

Upcoming Proposed Changes to DOL’s Independent Contractor and Overtime Rules

The Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division is expected to propose new rules on independent contractor classification and overtime entitlement requirements in the coming weeks.  The proposals would alter the qualifications for certain employees to receive overtime payments under the Fair Labor Standards Act when they work in excess of 40 hours in one week.

The Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) grants the Department of Labor authority regarding overtime eligibility under the statute.  Currently and among other considerations, employees are non-exempt under the FLSA when they earn less than a guaranteed $684 per week or $35,568 per year.  If the DOL raises this salary threshold, as it is considering, an even larger swath of the workforce could be entitled to overtime payments.

The proposals follow President Biden’s withdrawal of former President Trump’s independent contractor rule in May 2021, which had not yet taken effect when President Biden took office.  However, United States District Judge Marcia A. Crone held in March 2022 that the DOL had not properly followed the requirements for withdrawal as set forth in the Administrative Procedure Act.  In so holding, Judge Crone gave the Trump administration’s independent contractor rule the effect of law as if it had gone into effect in March 2021, as scheduled. The Biden administration’s proposed changes to the existing rule will likely affect the salary basis and exemption requirements of the employee versus independent contractor misclassification analysis under the FLSA.  Employers should prepare for these upcoming changes by reviewing their employee job descriptions and time record procedures.  Employers should also engage counsel to re-examine their employee classifications at large to ensure their exempt employees are truly exempt under the current rules and that they understand that changes may need to be implemented when the new rules take effect.

Article By Holly H. Williamson and Savannah R. Gibbs of Hunton Andrews Kurth

For more government contractor legal news, click here to visit the National Law Review.

Copyright © 2022, Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP. All Rights Reserved.

An Updated Federal Overtime Rule: When’s It Coming?

Twice a year (in the spring and the fall), each federal agency publishes a “Regulatory Agenda” that discloses the proposal and final rules it has recently issued, together with those that it plans to issue.  Back in the fall of 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division noted in the agenda that it was reviewing the regulations for exemption of executive, administrative, and professional (“EAP”) employees from the Fair Labor Standards Act’s minimum wage and overtime requirements codified in 29 C.F.R. Part 541.

One of the “primary goals” of the planned rulemaking is to update the minimum salary level requirement for employees who, by virtue of their duties, would qualify for an EAP exemption under section 13(a)(1) of the FLSA.  You may recall that in May 2016, the Obama DOL issued a new overtime rule, to take effect on December 1 of that year, that would have—among other things—required the DOL to update (i.e., increase) the salary threshold for EAP exemptions every three years.  In November 2019, before it could take effect, a federal judge in Texas enjoined the new overtime rule on a nationwide basis, declaring it “unlawful.”

In September 2019, the Trump DOL issued a new overtime rule, which took effect on January 1, 2020, raising the weekly minimum salary for EAP exemptions from $455 per week ($23,660 per year) to $684 per week ($35,568 per year).  The increase was the first in 15 years, but nowhere near the boost the Obama administration tried to roll out in 2016 (to $913 per week, or $47,476 per year).

Cut to the Biden administration.  The DOL noted in the fall 2021 Regulatory Agenda that “[r]egular updates [to the minimum salary for EAP exemption] promote greater stability, avoid disruptive salary level increases that can result from lengthy gaps between updates and provide appropriate wage protection.”  The agency listed a timetable for issuance of a proposed overtime rule update (a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, or NPRM) as April 4, 2022.  Seven months later, we’ve seen no proposed rule.

If and when issued, the public will have the opportunity to comment on the proposed rule.  (Back in 2016, the Obama DOL received more than 293,000 comments to its proposed overtime rule.)  Stay tuned.

Article By Allan S Bloom of Proskauer Rose LLP

For more labor and employment legal news, click here to visit the National Law Review.

© 2022 Proskauer Rose LLP.

ERIC Files Amicus Brief Rebutting DOL Attempt to Create New Regulations in Lawsuit, Petitions US Supreme Court on Seattle Healthcare Case

Read on below for coverage of recent law firm news from McDermott Will & Emery.

ERIC Files Amicus Brief Rebutting DOL Attempt to Create New Regulations in Lawsuit

McDermott Will & Emery’s Andrew C. Liazos, Michael B. Kimberly and Charlie Seidell recently filed an amicus brief in the US Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit on behalf of the ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC). McDermott filed the brief in response to a US Department of Labor (DOL) amicus brief that advanced a novel interpretation of its regulations which, if adopted through litigation, would change longstanding procedures for benefit determinations under self-funded medical plans sponsored by large employers. The amicus brief focuses on key arguments against the DOL’s attempted regulatory reinterpretation, including that:

  • DOL may not rewrite its regulations outside of notice-and-comment rulemaking;
  • DOL’s interpretation of its own regulations is inconsistent with the plain text of the regulations;
  • There are good policy reasons underlying differential treatment of healthcare and disability benefits determinations; and
  • DOL’s interpretation of the regulations in its amicus brief is not entitled to deference under the Supreme Court decision in Kisor.

Read ERIC’s amicus brief here.

Read ERIC’s statement here.

ERIC Petitions US Supreme Court on Seattle Healthcare Case

McDermott Will & Emery’s Michael B. Kimberly, Sarah P. Hogarth and Andrew C. Liazos, are co-counsel on a petition for certiorari before the Supreme Court of the United States on behalf of the ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC). The petition calls for review of ERIC’s legal challenge to the City of Seattle’s hotel healthcare “play or pay” ordinance. The ordinance mandates hospitality employers make specified monthly healthcare expenditures for their covered local employees if their healthcare plans do not meet certain requirements. The petition demonstrates that Seattle’s ordinance is a clear attempt to control the benefits provided under medical plans in violation of the preemption provision under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA). This case is of significant national importance. Several other cities have proposed making similar changes, and complying with these types of ordinances will substantially constrain the ability of employers to control the terms of their medical plans on a uniform basis. ERIC’s petition is joined by several trade associations, including the US Chamber of Commerce, the American Benefits Council and the Retail Industry Leaders Association.

Read ERIC’s petition for writ of certiorari here.

Read ERIC’s statement here.

 

Article by , , and .

Attorney Advertising © 2022 McDermott Will & Emery

For more legal industry news, click here to visit the National Law Review.

 

Inflation Woes: Four Key Ways for Companies to Address Inflation in the Supply Chain

The U.S. economy is grappling with the highest inflation in decades, with extensive inflation in the supply chain affecting companies worldwide. Supply chain disruptions undoubtedly have contributed to rising inflation, as extensive delays and skyrocketing costs continue to plague the industry.

In March 2022, the consumer-price index (or CPI) — a measure of the prices consumers pay for products — rose at an annual rate of 8.5%, which is the highest increase in 47 years.1 Meanwhile, the producer-price index (or PPI) — a measure of inflation meant to gauge the impact on suppliers — similarly rose significantly at an annual rate of 11.2%.2 Finally, the employer cost index (or ECI) demonstrates that, from March 2021 to March 2022, total compensation rose 4.5%, wages and salaries rose 4.7%, and benefit costs rose 4.1%.3

Because inflation increases the prices of goods or services, negotiations about who bears that risk in business partner relationships and the consequences of that risk allocation will have significantly greater financial impacts than we have seen in recent memory. As a result, ensuring your business teams are well versed on the impacts of and means of mitigating inflation in new contracts has a direct impact on your bottom line.

In this article, we provide ways for companies in the supply chain to address high inflation and alleviate associated pressures, including (1) how to revisit and use existing agreement provisions to address inflation risk, (2) approaches to negotiating new agreements and amendments to existing agreements, (3) approaches to limit inflationary exposure, and (4) strategies for cost reduction.

Figure 1:

Percent Change in CPI March 2021 versus March 2022

CPI March Chart

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Consumer Price Index – March 2022, issued April 12, 2022

Four Key Ways to Mitigate the Effects of Increasing Inflation in the Supply Chain

1. Revisit and Use Provisions in Existing Agreements

Companies faced with rising costs must review their supply agreements to determine if they already contain mechanisms the company can use to address inflation. On the buy side, companies should look in their agreements for terms relating to fixed prices. On the sell side, companies should investigate ways to pass increased costs on to customers. Most supply contracts contain a variety of provisions that may assist in combatting inflationary pressures.

(a) Pricing Provisions

From a seller’s perspective, a contract may include index-based price escalation provisions, which tie contract prices to one or more indices. The underlying indices may be (i) broad economic indices such as the PPI or “market basket” indices tied to all items and all urban consumers, (ii) targeted indices such as ECI for a specific location, or (iii) tied to the cost of a specific commodity used in the underlying product. Contracts will sometimes incorporate several commodity indices based on the percentage those commodities are used in the product that is the subject of the agreement, in order to accurately reflect the costs associated with producing the good.

Allocations under these pricing provisions vary depending on negotiation power. They could put all of the risk on one party, share the risk equally, or share the risk according to particular percentages. The latter two options represent ways to avoid a “win/lose” approach.

Sellers will want to see whether their agreements allow for periodic negotiations for updated prices and take advantage of those opportunities. A buyer, meanwhile, may look for provisions that allow it the flexibility to limit the quantities ordered, enabling it to reduce costs as necessary or to seek a more cost efficient alternative. A buyer also will want to determine if the contract prohibits the seller from changing prices.

Regardless of the existing provisions, the real impact of inflation is likely to trigger commercial discussions to address rising costs; this is true both for hard goods supply agreements and indirect services agreements with longer terms such as outsourcing and managed services relationships.

(b) Force Majeure as a Mechanism to Adjust Price?

Outside of pricing provisions such as the above, however, a party may look to other contract provisions, such as force majeure, to see if its performance under the contract could be excused; increased costs alone are not enough to constitute a force majeure event. In order for a force majeure to arguably apply, the increase in costs must be caused by an event that itself is a qualifying force majeure event under the terms of the applicable contract (which may include events like a labor strike or pandemic).

Force majeure provisions are intended to excuse performance under a contract but not to act as a pricing adjustment mechanism. However, force majeure and its extra-contractual cousin, commercial impracticability, can be used as tools to bring the parties to the negotiating table where events beyond either party’s reasonable control are impacting the ability to produce and deliver products.

2. Negotiate Amendments to Existing Agreements

To the extent sellers have fixed-price contracts with their customers, sellers should consider negotiating with such customers to adjust these contracts in order to keep the prices they charge their customers in line with their input costs. When entering these discussions, companies that wish to implement a price adjustment, or eliminate fixed pricing entirely, should consider meaningful ways to incentivize their customers to agree to such changes. Would the customer be willing to agree to a price adjustment in order extend the agreement or adjust the quantity? Any items that maintain the relationship between the parties while also allocating cost increases in an equitable way should be considered.

Conversely, buyers faced with price-increase requests should carefully consider their options:

  • First, a customer receiving a price-adjustment request should confirm the request is actually tied to inflation and not just an attempt by a supplier to increase its bottom line. Seek detailed calculations supporting the price adjustments, and require suppliers to demonstrate how much their costs have increased above expectations.
  • Second, customers should consider what items they would like to request in return for accepting a given price-adjustment request, such as whether they would like to adjust their quantity or timing of delivery.
  • Third, a customer faced with a price increase request should consider whether the request should include the opportunity for the customer to obtain pricedowns in the future, in the event there are changes in the pricing environment.

3. Pricing Tied to Indexing and Other Ways to Limit Future Inflationary Exposure when Drafting New Agreements

When drafting new agreements, companies should consider how best to mitigate the effects of inflation.

For nearly 40 years, we have enjoyed relatively low and steady levels of inflation, which explains why existing agreements may not adequately address the allocation of significant and unexpected economic change.

Many of those at the upper echelons of leadership today have never dealt with a high inflationary environment. To put it in perspective, the CEO of Walmart, the No. 1 company on the Fortune 500 list for 2021, was 19 years old when inflation was last a newsworthy topic.

In the future, however, we expect far fewer agreements to have long-term fixed prices, as sellers negotiating agreements will want to incorporate a variety of strategies that allow for pricing flexibility and avoid longstanding, fixed prices. One such strategy is tying prices to an index. As discussed above, this could be a general index such as the CPI or PPI or be much more specific depending on the item sold. There are numerous indices for various products and commodities that parties may use to reflect accurately the costs of producing the goods that are the subject of their agreement. Parties may consider incorporating a mechanism for revisiting these provisions, especially in the event that inflation slows. Caps on inflation risk also may be incorporated as a backstop.

If not tying prices to an index, selling parties will want to shorten the term of their agreements or require the parties to renegotiate prices at set points throughout the duration of their agreements. Alternatively, parties may consider price increases of a certain percentage that are automatically implemented periodically. The seller may even want to leave the pricing open and establish pricing at the time the order is placed.

On the other hand, customers will want to incorporate provisions that cause the supplier to bear the inflationary risk. Principally, this means locking in prices for as long of a period as the seller will agree to and ensuring prices are fixed upon the issuance of purchase orders.

If and when sellers push back on extended fixed-pricing provisions, there are a variety of methods parties may use to meet in the middle:

  • Pricing arrangements that are tied to one or more indices may be capped to a certain percentage, ensuring the customer will know its upward exposure.
  • Include thresholds of index movement such that the price remains static unless and until the percentage threshold is exceeded.
  • Allocate increased cost exposure so a certain percentage range of index movement is allocated to one party and then the next percentage range is allocated to the other party. Parties then may share any exposure above those ranges.
  • Additionally, index-based pricing can be clarified to include both upward and downward movement, ensuring that customers, while risking inflationary costs, may also receive the benefits of deflationary environments.

4. Think Strategically to Reduce Costs

Aside from considering purely contractual methods to combat inflation, companies should think strategically about ways to reduce costs more efficiently.

  • Streamlining. In order to pursue this strategy, companies need to determine which areas are driving increased spending and consider ways those areas may be managed differently. For example, companies may consider whether there are different inputs that can be used to lower costs or processes that may be streamlined. Companies can review their inventory management, labor inputs, and other areas to determine where cost cutting may be an option without sacrificing product or service quality. This streamlining might include ending product lines with lower levels of profitability.
  • Technology & Innovation. In addition, with labor constituting such a high percentage of the cost increases companies are experiencing, a company may want to double down on technology and innovation that reduces headcount. Or, as prices rise, a company may pursue other pricing models. For example, a heavy equipment manufacturer may opt for a pay-per-use model in lieu of the traditional sale model.
  • Diversification of the Supply Chain. Another method companies may use is diversifying their supply chains, ensuring they provide the flexibility and sustainability needed to weather turbulent periods. Though adding links to supply chains will not lower costs in the near term, it can help ensure a business continues to function smoothly even in the event of price shocks, material shortages, or other disruptions.

The stressors driving inflation are unlikely to be relieved any time soon. Companies should use every resource available to leverage their current contracts and negotiate new terms to address inflation’s serious repercussions on their bottom line.

FOOTNOTES

1 How High Is Inflation and What Causes It? What to Know, Wall Street Journal (April 12, 2022).

2 Supplier Prices Rose Sharply in March, Keeping Upward Pressure on U.S. Inflation, Wall Street Journal (April 13, 2022).

3  Employment Cost Index – March 2022, U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics (April 29, 2022).

Article By Vanessa L. Miller, Kathleen E. Wegrzyn, Leah R. Imbrogno, James R. Kalyvas, and Austin R. Kissinger of Foley & Lardner LLP

For more financial institutions and banking news, click here to visit the National Law Review.

© 2022 Foley & Lardner LLP

DOL Publishes Final Rule Implementing President Biden’s $15 Federal Contractor Minimum Wage Executive Order 14026

The Department of Labor (DOL) has published its Final Rule implementing President Biden’s April 27, 2021, Executive Order 14026 raising the minimum wage from $10.95 an hour to $15 an hour (with increases to be published annually). The new wage rate will take effect January 30, 2022, though as discussed below, the rate increases will not be applied to contracts automatically on that date.

The Final Rule is substantially similar to the DOL’s proposed Notice of Rulemaking issued in July 2021 and is more expansive in coverage than the current federal contractor minimum wage requirements in effect under former President Obama’s Executive Order 13658.

$15 Wage Rate Does Not Apply to All Federal Contractors, All Federal Contracts, or All Workers

Covered Contracts

The $15 wage rate will apply to workers on four specific types of federal contracts that are performed in the U.S. (including the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and certain U.S. territories):

  • Procurement contracts for construction covered by the Davis-Bacon Act (DBA), but not the Davis-Bacon Related Acts
  • Service Contract Act (SCA) covered contracts
  • Concessions contracts – meaning a contract under which the federal government grants a right to use federal property, including land or facilities, for furnishing services. The term “concessions contract” includes, but is not limited to, a contract the principal purpose of which is to furnish food, lodging, automobile fuel, souvenirs, newspaper stands, or recreational equipment, regardless of whether the services are of direct benefit to the government, its personnel, or the general public
  • Contracts related to federal property and the offering of services to the general public, federal employees, and their dependents

The Executive Order does not apply to contracts or other funding instruments, including:

  • Contracts for the manufacturing or furnishing of materials, supplies, articles, or equipment to the federal government
  • Grants
  • Contracts or agreements with Indian Tribes under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act
  • Contracts excluded from coverage under the SCA or DBA and specifically excluded in the implementing regulations and
  • Other contracts specifically excluded (See NPRM Section 23.40)

Effective Date; Definition of “New” Contracts Expanded

The Final Rule specifies that the wage requirement will apply to new contracts and contract solicitations as of January 30, 2022. Despite the “new contract” limitation, the regulations, consistent with the language of the Biden Executive Order, strongly encourage federal agencies to require the $15 wage for all existing contracts and solicitations issued between the date of the Executive Order and the effective date of January 30, 2022.

Similarly, agencies are “strongly encouraged” to require the new wage where they have issued a solicitation before the effective date and entered into a new contract resulting from the solicitation within 60 days of such effective date.

Pursuant to the Final Rule, the new minimum wage will apply to new contracts; new contract-like instruments; new solicitations; extensions or renewals of existing contracts or contract-like instruments; and exercises of options on existing contracts or contract-like instruments on or after January 30, 2022.

Geographic Limitations Expanded

The Final Rule applies coverage to workers outside the 50 states and expands the definition of “United States” to include the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Outer Continental Shelf lands as defined in the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Wake Island, and Johnston Island.

Workers Performing Work “On or In Connection With” a Covered Contract

Only workers who are non-exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act and performing work on or in connection with a covered contract must be paid $15 per hour. The wage requirement applies only to hours worked on or in connection with a covered contract.

A worker performs “on” a contract if the worker directly performs the specific services called for by the contract. A worker performs “in connection with” a contract if the worker’s work activities are necessary to the performance of a contract but are not the specific services called for by the contract.

The Final Rule includes a “less-than-20% exception” for those workers who only perform work “in connection with” a covered contract, but do not perform any direct work on the contract. For workers who spend less than 20% of their hours in a workweek working indirectly in connection with a covered contract, the contractor need not pay the $15 wage for any hours for that workweek.

Tipped Employees

Under the Final Rule, DOL is phasing out lower wages and tip credits for tipped employees on covered contracts. Employers must pay tipped employees $10.50 per hour in 2022 and increase those wages incrementally, under a proposed formula in the NPRM. Beginning in 2024, tipped employees must receive the full federal contractor wage rate.

$15 Wage Contract Clause Requirements, Enforcement Obligations

The Final Rule provides that a Minimum Wage contract clause will appear in covered prime contracts, except that procurement contracts subject to the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) will include an applicable FAR Clause (to be issued by the Federal Acquisition Regulation Council) providing notice of the wage requirement.

In addition, covered prime contractors and subcontractors must include the Contract Clause in covered subcontracts and, as will be in the applicable FAR Clause, procurement prime contractors and subcontractors will be required to include the FAR clause in covered subcontracts.

In addition, the Final Rule provides that contractors and subcontractors:

“… shall require, as a condition of payment, that the subcontractor include the minimum wage contract clause in any lower-tier subcontracts … [and] shall be responsible for the compliance by any subcontractor or lower-tier subcontractor with the Executive Order minimum wage requirements, whether or not the contract clause was included in the subcontract.”

The DOL will investigate complaints and enforce the requirements but under the Final Rule, contracting agencies may also enforce the minimum wage requirements and take actions including contract termination, suspension and debarment for violations.

Preparation for the $15 wage

To prepare, contractors and subcontractors of covered contracts should consider taking the following steps:

  • Review existing multi-year contracts with options or extensions that may be exercised on or after January 30, 2022, to plan for wage increases at the exercise of the option or extension, but also review any contract modifications to see if an agency is including the requirement early than required, as is allowed under the Final Rule
  • Identify job titles that typically perform work directly on covered contracts and those that perform indirect work above 20% in a workweek
  • Plan for wage increases for covered workers who are not already making $15 per hour
  • Determine impact on existing collective bargaining agreements particularly on SCA-covered contracts
  • Prepare for submission of price/equitable adjustments based on wage increases if allowed under the contract terms

Article By Leslie A. Stout-Tabackman of Jackson Lewis P.C.

For more labor and employment legal news, read more at the National Law Review.

Jackson Lewis P.C. © 2021

Another One Bites the Dust: You Might Be Your Brother Employer’s Keeper (Again)

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has announced a final rule rescinding the Trump administration’s “Joint Employer Status Under the Fair Labor Standards Act” rule, which took effect in March 2020 and provides guidance for determining when multiple employers are considered joint employers and, therefore, jointly liable for labor law violations. The repeal of the rule will likely result in more workers receiving minimum wage and overtime protections under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and, in turn, greater legal and financial exposure for employers.

The FLSA generally requires employers to pay non-exempt workers at least the federal minimum wage for all hours worked and at least time and one half the regular rate of pay for hours worked more than 40 in a workweek. Under certain circumstances, an employee of one business may be considered a joint employee of a second business. (The joint employer concept can arise in any context when one company’s workers perform work for another company, but most frequently it arises in the context of staffing agency or leased employees).  If the second business is deemed a “joint employer,” both companies might be liable to the worker for minimum wages and overtime pay under the FLSA.

The joint employer rule that became effective in March 2020 established a four-factor balancing test for determining joint employer status under the FLSA. In determining whether a second company is a joint employer of a worker, the test examines:

  1. Whether the company hires and fires the worker;
  2. Whether the company supervises and controls the worker’s work schedules or conditions of employment to a substantial degree;
  3. Whether the company determines the worker’s rate and method of payment; and
  4. Whether the company maintains the worker’s employment records.

In a news release announcing rescission of the rule, the Biden administration’s DOL concluded that the rescinded rule “included a description of joint employment contrary to statutory language and Congressional intent” and “failed to take into account the department’s prior joint employment guidance.”

The final rule repealing the prior rule becomes effective September 28, 2021. The prior rule made it more difficult for companies to be held liable as joint employers and was generally considered a positive development for the business community.

©2021 Roetzel & Andress

Article by Monica L. Frantz of Roetzel & Andress LPA

For more articles on the DOL, visit the NLR Labor & Employment section.

Another One Bites the Dust: You Might Be Your Brother Employer’s Keeper (Again)

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has announced a final rule rescinding the Trump administration’s “Joint Employer Status Under the Fair Labor Standards Act” rule, which took effect in March 2020 and provides guidance for determining when multiple employers are considered joint employers and, therefore, jointly liable for labor law violations. The repeal of the rule will likely result in more workers receiving minimum wage and overtime protections under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and, in turn, greater legal and financial exposure for employers.

The FLSA generally requires employers to pay non-exempt workers at least the federal minimum wage for all hours worked and at least time and one half the regular rate of pay for hours worked more than 40 in a workweek. Under certain circumstances, an employee of one business may be considered a joint employee of a second business. (The joint employer concept can arise in any context when one company’s workers perform work for another company, but most frequently it arises in the context of staffing agency or leased employees).  If the second business is deemed a “joint employer,” both companies might be liable to the worker for minimum wages and overtime pay under the FLSA.

The joint employer rule that became effective in March 2020 established a four-factor balancing test for determining joint employer status under the FLSA. In determining whether a second company is a joint employer of a worker, the test examines:

  1. Whether the company hires and fires the worker;
  2. Whether the company supervises and controls the worker’s work schedules or conditions of employment to a substantial degree;
  3. Whether the company determines the worker’s rate and method of payment; and
  4. Whether the company maintains the worker’s employment records.

In a news release announcing rescission of the rule, the Biden administration’s DOL concluded that the rescinded rule “included a description of joint employment contrary to statutory language and Congressional intent” and “failed to take into account the department’s prior joint employment guidance.”

The final rule repealing the prior rule becomes effective September 28, 2021. The prior rule made it more difficult for companies to be held liable as joint employers and was generally considered a positive development for the business community.

©2021 Roetzel & Andress

DOL Ends PAID Program: Creating a Catch-22 for Employers; Cross Your Fingers or Come Clean?

Following the anticipated agenda of the new Biden administration, on January 29, 2021, the Department of Labor immediately ended the Payroll Audit Independent Determination program (the “PAID Program”) first launched in 2018 by the Department’s Wage and Hour Division. Ending the PAID Program signals that, under the new administration, the Wage and Hour Division will be increasingly focused on payroll policies and practices and will seek to penalize employers without first providing an opportunity to self-report and remedy mistakes.

Employers who fail to comply with the minimum wage and overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) expose themselves to liability for payment of any back wages owed, which are then doubled as liquidated damages, plus certain costs and fees, including attorney fees an employee incurs in pursuing an action against the employer. The PAID Program provided employers potential relief from the significant penalties resulting from a minimum wage or overtime violation, which often happens without any intent or malice on the employer’s part. Under the program, employers could audit their minimum wage and overtime payroll practices, and if such an audit uncovered any FLSA violations, the employer could self-report the same and work with the Department of Labor to ensure all back wage payments were made. Upon doing so, the employer would obtain a release of any FLSA claims relating to the error and avoid potential liability for liquidated damages, other civil penalties, and employees’ attorney fees.

With the PAID Program cancelled, employers who discover minimum wage and overtime violations are left with difficult choices as to remedying such violations. This cancellation, in fact, creates a catch-22 situation for employers—does the employer cross its fingers and hope the violation is never uncovered, or does it come clean and pay its employees back wages, only to signal the violation and open the door for a lawsuit and the associated liquidated damages, penalties and employee attorney fees? While individual circumstances would dictate how the employer should react, of course, losing the opportunity to remedy the situation, make the employees whole, and avoid multiplied liability is an unfortunate development for employers.

As the cancellation of the PAID Program is a likely harbinger of the Biden administration’s treatment of wage and hour issues, now is a good time to review your payroll policies to ensure compliance with the FLSA. This is particularly important for employers who offer pay differentials or other bonus-type payment programs, including those who provide such payments as a reward to their employees for in-person work during the COVID-19 pandemic.

© 2020 Davis|Kuelthau, s.c. All Rights Reserved

ARTICLE BY Anthony J. Steffek of Davis|Kuelthau, s.c.
For more, visit the NLR Labor & Employment section

District Court Strikes Down DOL Regulation Exempting Non-Healthcare Workers from Paid Leave

On August 3, 2020, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York struck down part of a Department of Labor (“DOL”) regulation that would have prevented huge swaths of employees from taking paid leave under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”). The court’s holding has important consequences for employees who may need to take leave from work to care for themselves or others during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Congress passed the FFCRA on March 18, 2020, to provide paid leave for employees who are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19, are quarantined and cannot work because of COVID-19, or are caring for someone who is quarantined, or a child whose school or care provider is closed, because of COVID-19. In recognition of the essential role of frontline health care workers during the pandemic, however, the FFCRA permits an employer to deny an employee’s request for qualifying leave if the employee is a “health care provider or emergency responder.” The Act defines “health care provider” as “a doctor of medicine or osteopathy who is authorized to practice medicine or surgery (as appropriate)” or “any other person determined by the Secretary [of Labor] to be capable of providing health care services.” The Act also expressly authorizes DOL to “issue regulations to exclude certain health care providers and emergency responders from” from eligibility for paid leave.

DOL Expands Definition of ‘Health Care Provider’

On April 1, 2020, DOL issued a regulation implementing the FFCRA that significantly expanded the definition of “health care provider,” thereby excluding additional employees from eligibility for paid leave under the Act. The definition covered, among other employees, “anyone employed at any doctor’s office, hospital, health care center, clinic, post-secondary educational institution offering health care instruction, medical school, local health department or agency, nursing facility, retirement facility, nursing home, home health care provider, any facility that performs laboratory or medical testing, [or] pharmacy[.]” In its motion to dismiss, DOL conceded that its definition would encompass many employees who are not traditionally considered healthcare workers, such as professors, librarians, and cafeteria managers at a university with a medical school. In this sense, DOL’s new definition of “health care provider” created an exception that threatened to swallow the rule.

District Court Rejects DOL Definition

In its opinion invalidating the DOL definition, the court held that the FFCRA requires DOL to determine that a particular employee is “capable of furnishing healthcare services . . . not that [the employee’s] work is remotely related to someone else’s provision of healthcare services.” DOL’s definition, the court found, “hinges entirely on the identity of the employer, in that it applies to anyone employed at or by certain classes of employers,” as opposed to the identity of the employee, in violation of the statutory text. Administrative procedure law therefore “unambiguously foreclose[d] the [DOL’s] definition” of “health care provider.”  Finding further that DOL’s definition of “health care provider” was severable from the remainder of the regulation, the court simply invalidated that provision, restoring the definition of “health care provider” to the more limited one in the text of the statute.

The court also rejected DOL’s argument that its definition “operationalizes” the goal of “maintaining a functioning healthcare system during the pandemic.” Acknowledging that employees who “do not directly provide healthcare services to patients – for example, lab technicians or hospital administrators – may . . . be essential to the functioning of the healthcare system,” the court nevertheless held that this rationale could not supersede the “unambiguous terms” of the FFCRA, which require DOL to determine whether a particular employee can provide healthcare services.

Keeping Employees Safe 

More broadly, by enabling more employees to stay at home without sacrificing a paycheck, the court’s holding bolsters the FFCRA’s dual purpose of limiting the spread of COVID-19 while at the same time providing financial relief to American workers. The DOL regulation, on the other hand, would have forced employees to report to work despite symptoms of or exposure to COVID-19, increasing the risk of spreading the virus to others, or take leave without pay.

If you need to take leave from work because you are experiencing symptoms of or were exposed to COVID-19, or to take care of a loved one who is at home because of COVID-19, consider consulting with an employment attorney to determine whether you may be eligible for paid leave under the FFCRA.

© Katz, Marshall & Banks, LLP
ARTICLE BY Jessica L. Westerman of  Katz, Marshall & Banks, LLP
For more articles on healthcare, visit the National Law Review Health Care, Medicare, Affordable Care Act, HIPAA Legal News section.

DOL Issues Additional FFCRA Guidance as Schools Reopen

On Aug. 27, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued three new Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) related to the reopening of schools in various formats and employee paid leave eligibility under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA).

The FFCRA requires employers with fewer than 500 employees to provide up to 80 hours of paid leave to employees for certain reasons related to the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic under the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (PSLA) and expands the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to provide employees up to 12 weeks of emergency job-protected leave to care for a child as a result of school or child care closings due to a public health emergency. The recent FAQ address caregiver leave associated with the closure of schools, which, if eligible, entitles employees to two-thirds’ pay up to $200 per day ($10,000 in aggregate).

NEW FAQ ADDRESSING SCHOOL CLOSURES

The following is an overview of DOL’s three newly issued FAQ regarding school closures:

A child attends a school operating on an alternate day basis

The DOL confirmed in FAQ #98 that an employee will be eligible for paid leave on an intermittent basis to accommodate a hybrid school schedule whereby children attend school both in-person and remotely. For purposes of the FFCRA and its implementing regulations, the school is effectively closed on days that a child cannot attend in person and leave is available on remote-learning days. The DOL cautions in its guidance that even under these circumstances, leave is only available if no other suitable person is available to care for the child.

A parent chooses remote learning when in-person instruction is available

FAQ #99 makes clear that FFCRA leave is not available to take care of a child whose school is otherwise open for in-person attendance. As a result, if a child needs care because the employee chose a virtual or remote school option, the employee is ineligible for leave. The DOL notes, however, that if the child is home due to a quarantine order or has been advised by a health care provider to self-isolate or self-quarantine, an employee may be eligible to take paid leave to care for the child.

School begins with remote learning, but shifts to in-person instruction if conditions change

FAQ #100 clarifies that leave eligibility will change as schools adopt different teaching models. Using the example of a school that starts virtually with the hope of returning to in-person teaching in the future, the DOL explains that an employee will be eligible for leave during the remote learning period for so long as the school remains closed, but eligibility will end when the school converts to in-person instruction.

ADDITIONAL FFCRA RESOURCES

Consider reviewing the following resources to learn more about the FFCRA:

Copyright © 2020 Godfrey & Kahn S.C.

ARTICLE BY Margaret R. Kurlinski and Christine McLaughlin of Godfrey & Kahn S.C. 

For more on DOL guidance, see the National Law Review Labor and Employment Legal and Regulatory Law News section.