Tag: fair pay

Supreme Court Takes Up FLSA High Earners Exemption

On October 12, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case that considers whether a supervisor who earned over $200,000 annually may still be eligible for overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The case centers on the interpretation of the regulatory scheme surrounding highly compensated employees and their exemption status under the FLSA.

The Plaintiff in the case was a worker in a supervisory role on an oil rig and his compensation was based on a daily rate. The plaintiff argued that his daily rate of pay did not constitute a salary.  Prior to the Supreme Court, the Fifth Circuit en banc agreed with the Plaintiff and found that he was not paid a salary such that he was not an exempt employee under the FLSA.

This case has implications for how employers will pay workers, and whether there is potential exposure for overtime claims, even for highly compensated employees.

For more Labor and Employment legal news, click here to visit the National Law Review.

© Polsinelli PC, Polsinelli LLP in California

Congress Boots “Blacklisting” Regulation and Sends it to President’s Desk

Congress Capitol blacklistingOn March 6, 2017, on a narrow straight party line vote of 49–48, the U.S. Senate passed a Congressional Review Act (CRA) Joint Resolution of Disapproval, which moots Executive Order (EO) 13673, “Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces“—also referred to as government contractor “blacklisting”— and which revoked its implementing regulations and Labor Department guidance. The U.S. House of Representatives passed the joint resolution, H.J. Res. 37 on February 2, 2017. The next step is to send the Joint Resolution of Disapproval to the president for signature.

If signed by the president, the CRA Joint Resolution of Disapproval prohibits the future re-issuance of a federal regulation in the same or substantially similar form without authorization of Congress.

President Obama signed EO 13673 on July 31, 2014, and implementing regulations were issued in final on August 24, 2016. The EO and its implementing regulations would require federal contractors and subcontractors to notify federal contracting officers of violations and “administrative merits determinations” of 14 federal labor and employment laws, and their state equivalents, including wage and hour, discrimination, union organizing, and collective bargaining, and workplace safety and health laws.

Key Takeaways

The resolution of disapproval does not repeal the executive order; it only disapproves of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (published at 81 Fed. Reg. 58562) to implement the EO, which the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), General Services Administration (GSA), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) finalized on August 25, 2016. Nevertheless, the joint resolution has the effect of essentially repealing the EO or rendering it moot. President Trump is expected to revoke the EO in a separate action

In addition, the resolution will prohibit the paycheck transparency provision of the EO from being implemented. (A district court temporarily enjoined the other provision of the EO; the joint resolution also renders this injunction moot.)

This resolution of disapproval should relieve government contractors of having to implement the provisions requiring them to disclose labor law violations and revamp their payroll systems to meet the requirements of the EO’s paycheck transparency provisions. Not only would we expect the president to sign the resolution, but we also anticipate, at some point, that Executive Order 13673 will be rescinded and that the Labor Department will withdraw its guidance.

ARTICLE BY Harold P. Coxson & Alfred B. Robinson, Jr. of Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C.

© 2017, Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C., All Rights Reserved.

Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Final Rule Released

Fair pay safe workplaces DOLThe Department of Labor and FAR Council have released, for publication tomorrow, final guidance and regulations implementing Executive Order 13673: Fair Pay & Safe Workplaces (also colloquially referred to as the Blacklisting Executive Order.)

We are in the process of digesting the almost 1000 pages of regulations, as well as an amendment to the Executive Order itself, and will be back with an in-depth analysis and our insights soon, so stay tuned.

ARTICLE BY Laura A. Mitchell of Jackson Lewis P.C.

Jackson Lewis P.C. © 2016