• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to secondary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

DuBose Law Firm, PLLC

Main navigation

  • Our Attorneys
    • Ben K. DuBose
    • Greg W. Lisemby
    • Brett M. Powers
  • What We Do
    • Mesothelioma
    • Serious Personal Injury
    • Employment / Labor Law
  • Blog
  • Contact Us
You are here: Home / Archives for FLSA wage laws

FLSA wage laws

Final Rule: Independent Contractor Status under the Fair Labor Standards Act

January 19, 2021 By Greg Lisemby

29 CFR Parts 780, 788, and 795

A final rule clarifying the standard for employee versus independent contractor status under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) was announced by the Department of Labor (Department) on January 6, 2021. The effective date of the final rule is March 8, 2021 and includes a multi-factor test for determining whether workers are independent contractors, meaning that the business they perform work for doesn’t have to pay minimum wage or overtime that the Fair Labor Standards Act requires for employees.

Clarifications in the final rule

  • Sets forth an “economic reality” test to determine whether an individual is in business for him or herself (independent contractor) or is economically dependent on a potential employer for work (FLSA employee.)
  • Identifies and explains two “core factors” that are most probative to the question of whether a worker is economically dependent on someone else’s business or is in business for him or herself:
    • The nature and degree of control over the work.
    • The worker’s opportunity for profit or loss based on initiative and/or investment.
  • Identifies three other factors that may serve as additional guideposts in the analysis, particularly when the two core factors do not point to the same classification. The factors are:
    • The amount of skill required for the work.
    • The degree of permanence of the working relationship between the worker and the potential employer.
    • Whether the work is part of an integrated unit of production.
  • Provides that the actual practice of the worker and the potential employer is more relevant than what may be contractually or theoretically possible.
  • Provides six fact-specific examples applying the factors.

The final rule was published in the Federal Register on January 7, 2021.

Will the independent contractor status Rule be permanent? 

The rule clarifying independent contractor status is scheduled to become effective on March 8, 2021. However, a spokesperson for the Biden administration called out the rule as one that the administration is likely to revise in the days before its publication, bringing into question whether it will ever be permitted to take effect. In addition, independent contractor/employee status has been the topic of a great deal of litigation in recent years, so we can expect to see challenges should the rule is permitted to take effect.

Filed Under: Dallas employment lawyer, Employment Law, FLSA, FLSA wage laws, Legal News Tagged With: Dallas employment lawyer, employee or independent contractor, FLSA wage laws, independent contractor status, Texas employment attorney

COVID-19 and the Fair Labor Standards Act’s Protections for Workers

April 20, 2020 By Ben DuBose

Due to the crisis surrounding the Coronavirus and Covid-19, millions of Americans have been forced to grapple with less than ideal working conditions such as reductions in pay, requests by employers to “volunteer” for a period of time, the loss of overtime pay or the loss of employment altogether. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) provides numerous protections for workers, including the following:

If your employer has asked you to “volunteer” to help out as a result of the Covid-19 crisis, you may want to consider the FLSA’s stringent requirements with respect to the use of volunteers.  In general, workers protected under the FLSA that are working for private, for-profit employers must be paid at least the minimum wage and cannot be expected to volunteer their services.  

If you have been laid off and have not received your last paycheck, immediate payment may be required by state law (although it is not required by federal law).  If your regular payday has passed without payment, you may be entitled to compensation under federal and/or state law.

How many hours is an employer obligated to pay an hourly-paid employee who works a partial week because the employer’s business closed? The FLSA generally applies to hours actually worked.  It does not require employers who are unable to provide work to non-exempt employees to pay them for hours the employees would have otherwise worked.

What are an employer’s obligations to an employee who is under government-imposed quarantine? The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) encourages employers to be accommodating and flexible with workers impacted by government-imposed quarantines. Employers may offer alternative work arrangements, such as teleworking, and additional paid time off to such employees.

May an employer encourage or require employees to telework (i.e., work from an alternative location such as home) as an infection control strategy? Yes. An employer may encourage or require employees to telework as an infection-control or prevention strategy, including based on timely information from public health authorities about pandemics, public health emergencies, or other similar conditions. Telework also may be a reasonable accommodation.

Of course, employers must not single out employees either to telework or to continue reporting to the workplace on a basis prohibited by any of the EEO laws. (See the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s publication, Work at Home/Telework as a Reasonable Accommodation, for additional information.)

Do employers have to pay employees their same hourly rate or salary if they work at home? Under the FLSA employers generally have to pay employees only for the hours they actually work, whether at home or at the employer’s office.  However, the FLSA requires employers to pay non-exempt workers at least the minimum wage for all hours worked, and at least time and one half the regular rate of pay for hours worked in excess of 40 in a workweek.  Salaried exempt employees generally must receive their full salary in any week in which they perform any work, subject to certain very limited exceptions.

Contact Us

For additional information, contact the DuBose Law Firm, PLLC, at (214) 389-8199.

Filed Under: COVID-19, FLSA Tagged With: Fair Labor Standards Act, FLSA wage laws

The Construction Industry Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)

July 14, 2019 By Ben DuBose

Businesses involved in the construction industry are engaged in the activities of new construction or reconstruction. The repair or renovation of existing commercial and/or residential structures, as well as roadway and bridge construction, are also a part of this industry. The following work activities are included in the construction industry: painting, sandblasting, tuckpointing, roofing, guttering, spouting, water well drilling, installation of flooring and landscaping. 

Requirements for construction industry 

Employers who are covered under the FLSA must comply with the recordkeeping requirements of Regulations, 29 CFR Part 516.

Also, an employer must establish a workweek (7 consecutive 24-hour periods) and must pay overtime when hours worked exceed 40 in the workweek. The practice of paying overtime only after 80 hours in a bi-weekly pay period is illegal since each workweek must stand alone. 

For non-exempt employees, covered employers must pay the Federal minimum wage and time and one half the regular rate of pay for time worked over 40 hours in a workweek. These businesses must also be aware of the potential for violations of the youth employment requirements of the FLSA. This is especially critical due to the dangerous nature of both the work performed and the tools used in this industry.

If the employer performs work on a federally financed project or a project in which the Federal government has provided assistance in financing the project, a different and somewhat stricter set of labor standards applies. Typically, this would require that employees performing on such contracts be paid a “prevailing wage rate”.

Youth Minimum Wage: The 1996 Amendments to the FLSA allow employers to pay a youth minimum wage of not less than $4.25 an hour to employees who are under 20 years of age during the first 90 consecutive calendar days after initial employment by their employer. The law contains certain protections for employees that prohibit employers from displacing any employee in order to hire someone at the youth minimum wage.

Typical Problems

(1) Failure to record all hours actually worked to include time spent working before or after the shift. (2) Shorting of hours by using terms such as down time or rain delay. (3) Failure to compensate for meal breaks where the employee is not completely relieved of all duties to enjoy uninterrupted time for the meal. (4) “Banking” of overtime hours or payment of overtime in the form of “comp time”. (5) Failure to combine the hours worked for overtime purposes by an employee in more than one job classification for the same employer within the same workweek. (6) Failure to segregate and pay overtime hours on a workweek basis when employees are paid on a bi-weekly or semi-monthly basis. (7) Failure to pay for travel from shop to work-site and back. 

Other Pertinent Labor Laws

(1) The Immigration Reform and Control Act requires employers to complete and maintain I-9 forms to verify the employment eligibility of all individuals hired after November 6, 1986. (2) The Wage Garnishment Law limits the amount of an individual’s income that may be garnished and prohibits firing an employee whose pay is garnished for a single debt. (3) The Employee Polygraph Protection Act prohibits most private employers from using any type of lie detector test either for pre-employment screening or during the course of employment. (4) The Family and Medical Leave Act requires covered employers to provide eligible employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave each year for specified family and medical reasons. (5) The Davis-Bacon and Related Acts require payment of prevailing wages on federally funded or assisted construction projects.

Filed Under: Dallas employment lawyer, Employment Law, FLSA Tagged With: Construction industry, Dallas employment lawyer, Dallas Overtime Pay lawyer, FLSA laws for construction industry, FLSA wage laws

Primary Sidebar

Mesothelioma, Lung Cancer & Serious Personal Injury Attorneys of DuBose Law Firm has decades of experience fighting for mesothelioma & personal injury victims.

Call 877-857-2914 today for free case evaluation.

Recent Posts

  • New Turn for Asbestos Reporting Under TSCA
  • World Cancer Day for Awareness, Education, and Action
  • What Can You Do to Reduce Your Risk of Cancer?
  • Final Rule: Independent Contractor Status under the Fair Labor Standards Act
  • Martin Luther King, Jr. – A Voice of Wisdom

Archives

Blog Categories

  • Asbestos
    • Abatement
    • Articles
    • asbestos in talc
    • Cancer
    • Conference
    • Legal News
    • News
    • On the Job Exposure
    • Power plants
    • US Congress
  • Asbestos legal issues
  • Asbestos safety regulations
  • DuBose Law Firm News
    • Dallas employment lawyer
    • Dallas mesothelioma lawyer
    • Dallas personal injury lawyer
    • Louisiana asbestos attorney
    • Personal Injury
      • Dallas electric scooters
      • electric scooters
      • self-driving car
    • Press Releases
  • International asbestos developments
    • Earth Day environment
  • Laws
    • Employment Law
    • FLSA
  • Louisiana attorney
  • Lung cancer medical treatment/research
    • COVID-19
  • Medicare and Medicaid
  • Mesothelioma medical treatment/research
    • Mesothelioma
    • Mesothelioma treatment
  • mesothelioma research
    • nanotechnology
  • Miscellaneous
    • Congressional bills
    • COVID-19
      • Health
      • Pandemic
    • Holidays
      • Cinco de Mayo
      • Flag Day
      • July 4th
      • Labor Day
      • Martin Luther King
      • MLK Day
      • National Cancer Prevention Month
      • Thanksgiving
      • Veterans Day
      • World Cancer Day
    • Oil & Fracturing
    • oilfield injury
    • Veterans
  • Overtime Pay
    • FLSA wage laws
  • Personal Injury
    • Cosmetics
    • Distracted Driving
    • e-cigarettes
    • Elder abuse
    • Hand Sanitizers
    • Insurance
    • Personal injury law
    • Popcorn Lung
    • Safety
  • U.S. Navy exposure
  • Uncategorized

Secondary Sidebar

Mesothelioma and Lung Cancer

  • Mesothelioma
  • Mesothelioma Frequently Asked Questions
  • Mesothelioma Related Blog Posts
  • How to Pick an Asbestos Lawyer
  • Asbestos Information
  • Asbestos Exposure U.S. Navy List of Ships
  • Lung Cancer Claims
  • Lung Cancer is Not Just a Smoking Disease

Serious Personal Injury

  • How to Pick a Serious Personal Injury Attorney
  • Medical Litigation
  • Motor Vehicle Accidents
  • Oil Field & Gas Field Injuries
  • Personal Injury Frequently Asked Questions
  • Product Liability
  • Workplace Injuries

Employment and Labor Law Attorneys

  • Employment and Labor Law
  • Medical Leave and FMLA
  • Discrimination
  • Harassment
  • Wrongful Termination
  • Overtime Pay – Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
  • Are you a Healthcare Worker not being paid overtime wages?
  • Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act – WARN Act
  • Business Interruption Claims During COVID19 Pandemic
  • Unpaid Overtime for Dispatchers
  • Arbitration Clauses, How they impact your life
  • Asbestos Exposure on September 11, 2001

Footer

Dallas, Texas – Main Office

DuBose Law Firm, PLLC
The Adelfa B. Callejo Building
4310 N. Central Expressway
Dallas, Texas 75206
Office 214.389.8199 • Fax
214.389.8399
877-857-2914

New Orleans, LA Office

DuBose Law Firm, PLLC
829 Baronne Street
New Orleans, Louisiana 70113
Office 504.581.9322 • Fax
504.324.0155

HELPFUL FREQUENTLY USED PAGES

  • Dallas Mesothelioma Lawyer
  • New Orleans Mesothelioma Lawyer
  • Mesothelioma
  • Asbestos Information
  • How to Pick an Asbestos Lawyer
  • Mesothelioma Frequently Asked Questions
  • Serious Personal Injury
  • Personal Injury Frequently Asked Questions

Copyright DuBose Law Firm © 2021 · ; Log in