Lawmakers in Colorado are in the process of evaluating House Bill 1267, which would reclassify wage theft from a misdemeanor to a felony if the amount at issue exceeds $2,000.00. Under existing Colorado law, an employer may be guilty of wage theft if it willfully refuses to pay a wage claim or falsely denies the
Wage and Hour Laws
U.S. Department of Labor’s PAID Program Goes Into Effect: NY Attorney General Says “Not So Fast”
By Michael E. DeLarco & Zachary Siegel on
Posted in Wage and Hour Laws
Last month, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Wage and Hour Division’s Payroll Audit Independent Determination (PAID) program went into effect. The pilot program allows employers to quickly pay back wages to workers in full for any accidental overtime or minimum wage violations of federal law under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). We previously…
Labor Department Launches Pilot Program For Employers to Self-Report Wage Violations
Posted in FLSA, Wage and Hour Laws
During a Congressional hearing on March 6th, Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta unveiled a six-month pilot program intended to encourage employers to self-audit and self-report accidental violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). Under the program, called Payroll Audit Independent Determination (PAID), the Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of the U.S. Department of Labor…
DOL Clarifies Approach to Unpaid Internships
By Michael E. DeLarco & Zachary Siegel on
Earlier this month, US employers received important news just as the season of hiring summer interns is set to begin. The Department of Labor (“DOL”), through Fact Sheet #71, clarified its position regarding unpaid internships and officially adopted the “primary beneficiary test” for determining whether interns are considered employees under the Fair Labor Standards…
Settling Individual California Labor Disputes May Eliminate PAGA Claims
By Robin J. Samuel & Sophie Duffy on
Posted in PAGA, Wage and Hour Laws
On December 29, California’s Second Appellate District held that employees who settle and dismiss their individual wage claims may not assert claims under the state’s Private Attorneys General Act (“PAGA”) on behalf of other employees. PAGA allows employees to file lawsuits to recover civil penalties for violations of the California Labor Code on behalf of…
New York’s Minimum Wage Increased on December 31, 2017
Posted in Minimum Wage, Wage and Hour Laws
It’s that time of year for all employers in New York to confirm that their payroll is set up to pay the new minimum wage that went into effect on December 31, 2017. Additionally, in order for exempt employees to remain exempt into the new year, employers will need to ensure that their annual salaries…
New York DOL Proposes New Regulations for “Call-In” Pay and Employee Scheduling
By Michael E. DeLarco & David Mitchell on
Posted in Wage and Hour Laws
New York employers may soon be subject to new scheduling and pay requirements pertaining to their non-exempt employees who work “on-call” shifts. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo recently announced that the New York State Department of Labor (NYDOL) is advancing regulations on “just-in-time” or “on demand” scheduling, which allows employers to schedule employees’ shifts shortly…
Emergency New York Department of Labor Amendment Attempts to Clarify Pay Requirements for Home Health Care Workers
By Kenneth Kirschner & Sophie Duffy on
Posted in Wage and Hour Laws
The home health care industry has been buffeted in the past year by almost constant winds of change and conflicting guidance. Home health care agencies, which provide crucial live-in aides to New York’s most vulnerable, elderly and ill residents, had relied on the New York Department of Labor’s guidance to pay their workers for years.…