Eric Hemmendinger

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The U.S. Department of the Treasury issued, on August 28, 2020, a Notice concerning President Trump’s Presidential Memorandum concerning employers’ deferral of payroll taxes.  Here are the key points:
Continue Reading Treasury Department Provides Guidance on President Trump’s Deferral of Payroll Taxes

President Trump issued, on August 8, 2020, Memoranda and Executive Orders concerning unemployment insurance, payroll tax withholding, evictions, and student loans.  Below, we discuss the two employment-related Presidential Memoranda (which have been incorrectly designated Executive Orders in the media, although there is little technical distinction between the two).  Neither requires immediate action by employers.
Continue Reading President Issues Memoranda on Payroll Taxes and Unemployment Insurance

In the COVID-19 recession, many employers made reductions in force en masse, thus avoiding selection decisions that might be challenged as discriminatory.  If the same employers recall or rehire employees en masse, they will continue to avoid such decisions.  But what if the employer’s need to recall or rehire is partial or gradual, such that some employees are brought back before others?  Such choices can give rise discrimination claims.  To protect itself, an employer will need to apply and document a non-discriminatory method of choosing among employees.
Continue Reading Selecting Employees for Recall or Rehire

Apparently inspired by the tidying up trend, the Department of Labor threw out two sections of its interpretation concerning the commission sales exemption from overtime that no longer gave it joy.  The commission sales exemption covers sales employees who are primarily paid by commission.  To come under the exemption, the employee must be employed in a “retail or service” establishment, must earn at least 1.5 times the minimum wage, and more than half the employee’s compensation for a representative period (not less than one month) must represent commissions.
Continue Reading DOL Streamlines Its Regulation Interpreting Commission Sales Exemption from Overtime

In our March 27 E-lert, we explained important provisions of the CARES Act. One of them provides small businesses and nonprofits with forgivable loans to fund payroll and other costs incurred between February 15 and June 30, 2020 as an incentive to keep employees on the payroll.  Under the “Paycheck Protection Program” the federal government will essentially give an employer 2.5 times its monthly payroll, to use for paying wages, rent, mortgage interest and utilities.
Continue Reading To Avoid Job and Wage Cuts CARES Act Funds Payrolls

On December 12, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced a revised interpretation listing payments that can be excluded from the “regular rate” used to compute overtime pay for non-exempt employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The DOL also issued a Fact Sheet and Highlights on this revised interpretation.

Continue Reading Department Of Labor Issues Final Rule On Regular Rate Exclusions From Overtime Calculations

The Department of Labor issued, on September 24, 2019, its final rule revising the salary requirements for exemption from the Fair Labor Standards Act’s mandate to pay overtime for hours worked over 40 in a workweek. The new rule increases the salary required to meet the executive, professional and administrative exemptions to $684 per week (the equivalent of $35,568 per year). The required compensation for highly compensated employees is raised to $107,432.
Continue Reading DOL Issues Final Overtime Rule, Increasing Required Salary Level for Exempt Employees