On November 15, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas vacated the Department of Labor regulation increasing the salary amount required to qualify an employee for exempt status as an executive, administrative or professional (“EAP”) employee under the Fair Labor Standards Act (the so-called “EAP Exemption”). This means that the salary
DOL Significantly Increases Salary Threshold for Overtime Eligibility
On Tuesday, April 23, 2024, the United States Department of Labor (DOL) released a final rule raising the salary thresholds to qualify for overtime exemptions under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The rule will become effective on July 1, 2024.Continue Reading DOL Significantly Increases Salary Threshold for Overtime Eligibility
What to Expect from Maryland’s Paid Family and Medical Leave Program
Maryland has enacted a paid family and medical leave insurance program that, starting in 2026, will provide most Maryland employees with 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave, with the possibility of an additional 12 weeks of paid parental leave, as we have previously detailed in our E-lerts from April 12, 2023 and April 12, 2022. The Maryland Department of Labor (MDOL) was directed to issue regulations to interpret and implement the Act by January 1, 2024. The MDOL has begun the regulatory process, and its actions provide some insight into what the MDOL might be thinking on a variety of topics of specific interest to employers.Continue Reading What to Expect from Maryland’s Paid Family and Medical Leave Program
Why Is Giancarlo Stanton on the Injured List, not the Disabled List?
Hey baseball fans, as well as all you casual observers of the sport. If you’re like me, you’ve noticed the huge spike in home runs (Commissioner Manfred says the balls are not juiced), some of the unexpected blockbuster trades just before last week’s trade deadline, and the emergence of young second generation stars like Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Fernando Tatis Jr. But there’s another significant development that you may have overlooked. I know I was asleep at the switch and did not see the news over the winter about the renaming of the Disabled List or DL, as it’s been called for over 100 years. Truth be told, as an employment and labor lawyer, I’ve always wondered about that term. When a player went on that list with a hamstring pull or a sprained ankle, was I to assume he was really disabled? Especially as that term is defined under the Americans with Disabilities Act? Of course not. Even though the ADA can sometimes be expanded to include even transient conditions, a player with a pulled hammy is not disabled.
Continue Reading Why Is Giancarlo Stanton on the Injured List, not the Disabled List?
DOL Proposes New Overtime Rule, Increasing Required Salary Level for Exempt Employees
In the latest development in the long saga involving the overtime rule, the Department of Labor has now issued its long-awaited proposed revision to the regulations governing which employees are exempt from the requirement to pay overtime for all hours worked over 40 in a workweek.
The Current Rule: The current overtime rule, which took
We Sued the DOL, and the DOL Blinked
Back in 2016, on behalf of the Worklaw®Network, a nationwide association of independent labor and employment law firms of which Shawe Rosenthal is a member, we filed suit against the U.S. Department of Labor to block the DOL’s new interpretation of the “persuader rule,” which is the advice exemption of the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (“LMRDA”). Several other suits were filed as well, a nationwide injunction was issued by a federal court in Texas, the DOL issued a proposed rule to rescind the new interpretation, and now, repeatedly citing the favorable decisions in our lawsuit and directly quoting the comments to the DOL’s proposed rule we submitted on behalf of Worklaw, the DOL has officially rescinded the rule.
Continue Reading We Sued the DOL, and the DOL Blinked
Fired for Kneeling During the Anthem? Maybe Not So Fast…
It’s Ravens-Steelers week. All talk should be on whether T-Sizzle sacks Big Ben, can Flacco start getting the ball to his wideouts, and will the Ravens regroup following their disastrous showing in London? However, unless you are living under a rock with no Twitter account, you know what the talk is—will the Steelers stay in the tunnel again during the National Anthem (they say no), will players kneel or express their political views in any other manner, will fans start burning player jerseys in front of the stadium? This is no idle question, due to an online petition to remove the Ray Lewis statue outside the stadium after he knelt during the anthem at the last game, the Maryland Stadium Authority has placed extra security around the statue of the Ravens legend.
Continue Reading Fired for Kneeling During the Anthem? Maybe Not So Fast…
What, Did the Judge Draft Ezekiel Elliott for his Fantasy Football Team?
Last week we had our firm’s Fantasy Football draft. Ezekiel Elliott went at the end of Round 2, behind usual top running back picks David Johnson and La’Veon Bell, but also behind lesser runners Melvin Gordon and Jordan Howard. Everyone knows that Zeke would have been a top five draft choice had he not already been suspended by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell (aka the most hated man in Foxboro, MA), whose decision was then upheld by a labor arbitrator. I’m kicking myself for taking Atlanta’s running back Devonta Freeman instead of Elliott. Why, you say?
Continue Reading What, Did the Judge Draft Ezekiel Elliott for his Fantasy Football Team?
Animal Subcontracting – Getting the Union’s Goat!
Last year, Fiona’s sister told her that a herd of goats, complete with a goat herder, had moved into the park next to her house. They were brought in to clear certain park areas of overgrown vegetation. What a charming, effective, and environmentally-friendly solution! Apparently Western Michigan University had the same thought, because it also brought in goats to clear areas of the campus. But a union has decided to butt in and has filed a grievance against the University, claiming that the goats were performing “union work!” (We can see it now, brave goats crossing a picket line to get to their jobs!)
Continue Reading Animal Subcontracting – Getting the Union’s Goat!
We Sued the Department of Labor, and Now It Has Backtracked on the Persuader Rule
As we previously blogged, Shawe Rosenthal, on behalf of the Worklaw®Network, a nationwide association of independent labor and employment law firms of which we are a member, filed suit last year against the U.S. Department of Labor to block the DOL’s new interpretation of the advice exemption of the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (“LMRDA”), or the “persuader rule.” And now, on Monday, June 12, 2017, the DOL announced a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”) that proposes to rescind that new persuader rule interpretation.
Continue Reading We Sued the Department of Labor, and Now It Has Backtracked on the Persuader Rule