When employers fail to honor wage and hour settlement agreements, the Department of Labor's next step is to seek a court order. In this recent incident, a Washington employer operating four restaurants allegedly backed out of a deal to settle…
Employment Law
Employers that fall short on Affordable Care Act (ACA) coverage will pay more in 2027. The IRS released the indexed employer shared responsibility penalty amounts, effective forplan years beginning after Dec. 31, 2026. IRS Announces ACA Penalties for Next Year…
A federal court has blocked the $100,000 H-1B visa fee, ruling it was an unlawful tax and removing a major cost driver from workforce planning assumptions, at least for now. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin in Boston…
Illinois' Family Neonatal Intensive Care Leave Act took effect on June 1, providing employees with children in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) with unpaid, job-protected leave. For Payroll, that means new administration, coding and tracking requirements for the new…
A new DOL opinion letter addresses off-the-clock work, rounding policies, and the de minimis defense – and the conclusions should prompt a hard look at pre-shift timekeeping practices. The question came from a public hospital with roughly 18,000 non-exempt workers.…
Does dual-role scheduling put your overtime compliance at risk? A new DOL opinion letter says it depends on the specific facts of the arrangement. The question came from an academic medical center, but the answer applies broadly to any employer…
The Department of Labor (DOL) has finalized a technical amendment restoring the 2019 overtime salary threshold to the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) following two federal court decisions that invalidated the 2024 rule. For payroll teams, the amendment closes the…
A California placement agency and its owners are facing a $4.4 million citation after investigators found they engaged in worker misclassification, treating 144 caregivers as independent contractors rather than employees. The California Labor Commissioner's Office cited Hart Placement Agency Inc.…
An IHOP franchisee operating in North and South Carolina owes $95,095 in back wages after a DOL investigation found cooks were paid straight time for overtime hours. The agency has recently narrowed when it will pursue liquidated damages, which can…
Wage and hour litigation presents a recurring financial risk, with new data highlighting variability in employer exposure under the FLSA. A recent report from Seyfarth Shaw LLP provides benchmarks for assessing potential liability, forecasting legal spend and evaluating risk concentration…
A federal court found a worker had been misclassified and identified more than 800 hours of potential overtime. But the Fifth Circuit still upheld a jury verdict denying overtime pay. The case draws a clear line between compliance risk and…
A California carwash has agreed to a $1.2M settlement to resolve wage theft allegations, according to the California Labor Commissioner’s Office (LCO). The seven-figure payout averages $52,174 per affected employee across 23 workers, with individual settlements ranging from $8,500 to…
