DOL Recovers $4.83 Million in Back Wages From Wal-Mart for More Than 4,500 Workers

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Published on Tuesday, 01 May 2012 22:22

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., has agreed to pay $4,828,442 in back wages and damages to more than 4,500 employees nationwide following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (DOL) that found violations of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act's overtime provisions. Wal-Mart has also agreed to pay $463,815 in civil money penalties. The alleged violations related to current and former vision center managers and asset protection coordinators at Wal-Mart Discount Stores, Wal-Mart Supercenters, Neighborhood Markets and Sam's Club warehouses. The DOL alleged that Wal-Mart failed to compensate these employees with overtime pay, considering them to be exempt from the FLSA's overtime requirements. However, the DOL’s investigation apparently determined that the employees were nonexempt and consequently Wal-Mart owed them for overtime pay for any hours worked beyond 40 in a week.

According to Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis, "Misclassification of employees as exempt from FLSA coverage is a costly problem with adverse consequences for employees and corporations…Let this be a signal to other companies that when violations are found, the Labor Department will take appropriate action to ensure that workers receive the wages they have earned." The FLSA provides an exemption from both minimum wage and overtime pay requirements for individuals employed in executive, administrative, professional and outside sales positions, as well as certain computer professionals, provided the employees meet certain criteria regarding their job duties and are paid on a salary basis at not less than $455 per week (the federal standard). It is important for employers to recognize that job titles and job descriptions do not determine exempt status. In order for an exemption to apply, an employee's specific job duties and salary must meet all the requirements of the DOL’s regulations. Read More.

Fewer Employers Offering Unpaid Internships

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Published on Thursday, 15 March 2012 20:34

As summer approaches, it is interesting to note that according to a recent article in USA Today, fewer employers are offering unpaid internships or they are converting them to paid programs in light of the increasing number of lawsuits claiming that interns should have been compensated for their work. Unpaid internships are legal only if they meet stringent wage and hour criteria. For example, programs must provide training and benefit interns, not employers. More specifically, according to Fact Sheet #71, issued by the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division, the following six criteria must be considered when determining if an intern must be paid or not: (1) the internship, even though it includes actual operation of the facilities of the employer, is similar to training which would be given in an educational environment; (2) the internship experience is for the benefit of the intern; (3) the intern does not displace regular employees, but works under close supervision of existing staff; (4) the employer that provides the training derives no immediate advantage from the activities of the intern; and on occasion its operations may actually be impeded; (5) the intern is not necessarily entitled to a job at the conclusion of the internship; and (6) The employer and the intern understand that the intern is not entitled to wages for the time spent in the internship. If all of these six factors are met, an employment relationship does not exist under the Fair Labor Standards Act, and the Act’s minimum wage and overtime provisions do not apply to the intern. Read More.

DOL Extends Comment Period on Proposed Rule to Require Minimum Wage and Overtime Protections for In-Home Care Workers

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Published on Tuesday, 13 March 2012 17:49

The U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division has announced a nine-day extension of the comment period for its proposed rule to require minimum wage and overtime protections for workers who provide in-home care services. The division originally published a notice of proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register on December 27, 2011, with a comment period set to end on February 27, 2012. The division then extended the comment period to March 12. The DOL has now decided to extend the comment period through March 21. Comments received between December 27 and March 21 will be included in the rulemaking record. The extension of time is intended to provide additional time for members of the public to analyze the issues raised in the proposal and to provide comments. The proposed rule expands minimum wage and overtime protections to include all home care workers employed by third parties, such as staffing agencies. It also clarifies that individuals performing skilled in-home care work are entitled to minimum wage and overtime pay. However, individuals engaged by families for “true companionship or fellowship activities,” such as visiting with friends or pursuing hobbies, still would be considered "companions" and thus will not be required to meet the act's labor standards provisions. To learn more about the proposed rule, visit http://www.dol.gov/whd/flsa/companionNPRM.htm.

DOL Extends Comment Period on Proposed Rule to Provide Minimum Wage and Overtime Protections for In-Home Care Workers

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Published on Wednesday, 22 February 2012 04:42

The U.S. Department of Labor's (DOL) Wage and Hour Division has extended the comment period for its proposed rule to provide minimum wage and overtime protections for in-home care workers. The comment period will be extended for 14 days. Currently, workers classified as "companions" are exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act's minimum wage and overtime pay requirements. However, according to the DOL, when established in 1974, the exemptions were meant to apply to casual babysitters and companions for the elderly— not to workers who choose in-home care service as a vocation. If the proposal is enacted, it would grant the exemption to households where the services are provided but not third-party staffing agencies. It would also clarify that “companionship services are those directly related to the fellowship and protection of a care recipient.”

The DOL first announced its proposal to revise the rules concerning in-home care workers in its regulatory agenda published on April 28, 2010. The proposed rule “would expand minimum wage and overtime protections by ensuring that all home care workers employed by third parties such as staffing agencies receive these protections. It also would clarify that individuals performing skilled in-home care work are  entitled to minimum wage and overtime pay. However, families that engage individuals for true companionship or fellowship activities, such as visiting with friends or pursuing hobbies, still would be considered ‘companions’ and not be required to meet the act's labor standards provisions.” Read More.