Travel time and sleeping time are dealt with under two general policies: one for employees on tours of duty of less than 24 hours, and another for those who work around the clock. Work time during preparatory and finishing activities is also analyzed on a fact specific basis.

Three other acts affect work that has peripheral connections to the federal government, and should be considered particularly by companies operating in the construction industry. The Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program assists individuals who do not qualify for regular unemployment compensation and are unable to continue working as a result of the coronavirus, including self-employed workers, independent contractors, and gig workers. If the DOL determines that your company has violated wage and hour laws, that determination can be challenged, and employers should not be afraid to negotiate with the DOL. These factors did not negate the exemption, as the court held that the employee was clearly able to use his on call time effectively for his own purposes. Learn How to File for Unemployment Insurance. On the other hand, the DOL and courts do not allow employers to get away with not paying an employee overtime if the employer knows that the employee is putting in extra time, but not recording those extra hours on time sheets. The answer is "yes" and "no." In that case, the employee was required to wear a beeper, restrict alcohol consumption and be able to report to the employer's place of business within twenty to thirty minutes. Kimberly Amadeo has 20 years of experience in economic analysis and business strategy. Is the alleged independent contractor assigned to a particular territory without freedom of movement outside thereof? As long as someone at the site grants permission to the interviewers (that someone is likely to be a project superintendent or manager who represents the owner or general contractor), your employees might be interviewed by the DOL with no knowledge or preparation on your part. For more information on UIPLs or previous guidance, please visit https://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/.

whether the contract gives any right to the hiring party to detail how the work is to be performed.

The DOL has 28 agencies within it, and the seven most notable ones are: The Balance uses cookies to provide you with a great user experience.

The amount and nature of locally prevailing wages and benefits are determined by the Secretary of Labor. The first fundamental question raised by this analysis is how to determine whether an employee is exempt from the FLSA. Meeting these exemptions is not as easy as it sounds. These include procurement, information technology, and human resources. If an employee works more than 40 hours in any 7-day period, the employer must pay the individual at least one and one-half times their regular rate of pay for each hour worked in excess of 40 hours. Stay up-to-date with FindLaw's newsletter for legal professionals, independent contractors as opposed to employees. The Service Contract Labor Standards Act provides that all employees engaged in providing services to the federal government pursuant to contracts in excess of $2,500.00 must be paid the locally prevailing wages and paid separately the locally prevailing fringe benefits or an amount equal to those benefits. Copyright © 2020, Thomson Reuters. Other Department of Labor Agencies . These records must be retained for two years. The exempt or non-exempt status is "determined on the basis of whether his duties, responsibilities and salary meet all the requirements of the appropriate section of the regulations.". If your company retains employees on an on-call basis, you should analyze that on-call time to determine whether the employees are entitled to compensation. “The CARES Act provides valuable relief to American workers facing unemployment, including unemployed workers who may not otherwise be eligible for regular Unemployment Insurance benefits,” U.S. Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia said. This particular area of the law represents some of the most misunderstood and misapplied provisions of the basic wage and hour laws. The DOL was created on March 4, 1913, by President William Howard Taft, and its creation gave workers a seat in the president's Cabinet for the first time.

While we cannot provide all of the answers to the issues presented by an investigation from the DOL, we can provide you with a list of questions you should ask yourself today to determine whether you are prepared for a visit from the DOL tomorrow. As with most legal problems, however, review and preparation today will prove invaluable when facing a visit from the DOL tomorrow. Your first question may be whether the DOL is authorized to enter your business establishment (or approach your employees offsite) and conduct its investigation without a subpoena. For example, if the company knows that its receptionist, Susan, arrives thirty minutes early every work day so that she can organize her desk, clear up matters from the day before, and generally prepare for the working day before the rest of the staff arrives, the employer must pay Susan overtime for those hours, even if she does not record that time on her time sheets. These services are primarily provided through state and local workforce development systems. The Office of Public Liaison is a unit within the Executive Office. The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration & Management manages administration functions for the DOL. Disputes in litigation over what constitutes working time under the FLSA and the Portal Act are common and can be complex. The program, lecture or meeting is not directly related to the employee's job. Such work still is considered work for the benefit of the employer, and the employee must be paid accordingly. They also assist veterans in integrating themselves into the community by helping them find meaningful careers and obtain employment support.
Employee Benefits Security Administration, Centers for Faith and Opportunity Initiatives, Office of Congressional & Intergovernmental Affairs, Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy, Ombudsman for the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program. The act requires all employers to retain the following categories of documents as to each employee for three years: In addition, the FLSA requires retention of records reflecting calculation and payment of wages in general, including time cards, wage rate tables, work time schedules, and records explaining the basis for wage differentials. The FLSA mandates minimum wage requirements, overtime pay, child labor prohibitions, and record keeping requirements. 1-866-487-2365

If you are not moved to do so out of common courtesy, remember that being disrespectful to a government agent with the power to make your life very difficult and assess large financial penalties is not a wise business decision.

The .gov means it’s official. This is true even in cases where the employees are allowed to leave the job site or the premises. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely. Contact your lawyer immediately. An employee who arrives on his own earlier than the time he should have arrived is not entitled to be paid for the time he waits. The FLSA also prohibits oppressive child labor, and an employer who finds himself in violation of the child labor laws may face substantial civil penalties for violation of those requirements.

the performance of functions in the administration of a school system, or educational establishment...; and . Typically, many employers are unable to meet the requirements of the executive exemption because their employees do not supervise two or more employees and/or do not have the authority to hire or fire. You are informed that your company now owes this employee back pay and may be subject to administrative penalties. who does not devote more than 20% of his time, or 40% in the case of retail or service establishments not directly related to the duties in paragraphs (a) through (c); and. The Act contains some exemptions for the provision of transportation, telecommunication services, and public utility services, and also contains a unique successorship provision which requires a contractor who replaces an earlier contractor on a contract to pay the wages and benefits required under the predecessor's collective bargaining agreement. The mission of the Department of Labor is to foster, promote and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers, and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights. Under the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation program, states can provide up to 13 weeks of federally funded benefits to qualified individuals who: The cost of PEUC benefits is 100% federally funded.