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Links to WHD Highlights from
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2009
March 17, 2009
The U.S. Department of Labor published
a notice (PDF)
seeking comments on a proposal to suspend for 9 months the H-2A regulations,
which became effective on January 17, 2009, that amended the rules governing
the certification for temporary employment of nonimmigrant workers in agricultural
occupations on a temporary or seasonal basis, and the enforcement of contractual
obligations applicable to employers of such nonimmigrant workers. Interested
persons are invited to submit written comments on the proposed suspension
on or before March 27, 2009. Click
here for the Final Rule (PDF).
2008
December 19, 2008
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division published a final
rule (PDF) revising
regulations under the Davis-Bacon and related Acts and the Copeland Anti-Kickback
Act to discontinue the weekly reporting of certain employee personal information
on certified payrolls. The final rule is effective on January 18, 2009.
December 19, 2008
The U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Employment and Training Administration,
in concurrence with the Wage and Hour Division, published a final
rule (PDF)
to modernize procedures for issuing H-2B labor certifications, including
procedures the Department will institute pursuant to an agreement with the
Department of Homeland Security delegating H-2B enforcement to DOL. The
final rule is effective on January 18, 2009.
December 18, 2008
On December 18, 2008, the Department published a Final Rule implementing
changes to the H-2A Program. The final rule is effective January 17, 2009.
Click
here for the Final Rule (PDF).
November 17, 2008
The Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division published a Final
Rule under the Family and Medical Leave Act. The final rule becomes
effective on January 16, 2009, and updates the FMLA regulations to implement
new military family leave entitlements enacted under the National Defense
Authorization Act for FY 2008. It also includes revisions in response to
public comments received on the proposed rule issued in February 2008. The
Federal Register Notice and related documents are available at Wage and
Hour's FMLA Final Rule website.
October 20, 2008
The Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division published a Notice
of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that seeks to revise regulations issued
pursuant to the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts and the Copeland Anti-Kickback
Act to better protect the personal privacy of laborers and mechanics employed
on covered construction contracts. Interested parties are invited to submit
their public comments by November 19,
2008, according to the instructions
in the NPRM.
August 22, 2008
The Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division published a Notice
of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that primarily updates obsolete regulations
to reflect statutory amendments to the Fair Labor Standards Act and the
Portal-to-Portal Act enacted since the rules were originally issued. Additional
revisions would align the regulations with current court interpretations
of the law and provide clarifying guidance to the regulated community. Interested
parties are invited to submit their public comments by September
26, 2008 (extended from September 11, 2008), according to the instructions
in the NPRM. Fact
Sheet.
July 22, 2008
Effective July 24, 2008, the federal
minimum wage for covered non-exempt employees will rise from $5.85 to
$6.55 per hour. This is the second of three increases provided for by the
enactment of the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007. A third minimum wage increase
to $7.25 per hour becomes effective on July 24, 2009. Many states
have minimum wage laws with provisions that differ from the federal
law. When an employer is subject to both the federal and state wage laws,
the employer must comply with the provisions of each law.
May 22, 2008
On May 21, President Bush signed the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination
Act of 2008 (GINA). Among other things, GINA amends the Fair Labor Standards
Act by increasing the civil money penalties that may be imposed for child
labor violations resulting in death or serious injury. The legislation raised
the maximum penalty to $50,000 for each violation resulting in the death
of or serious injury to working youth. In cases where the employer's violation
is repeated or willful, the maximum penalty was raised to $100,000.
February 11, 2008
The Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division published a Notice
of Proposed Rulemaking under the Family and Medical Leave Act. Interested
parties are encouraged to submit comments by 12:00 midnight, April 11, 2008.
The Federal Register Notice, instructions for submitting comments and related
documents are available at Wage and Hour's FMLA
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking website.
January 28, 2008
On January 28, 2008, President Bush signed into law H.R. 4986, the National
Defense Authorization Act for FY 2008 (NDAA). Among other things, section
585 of the NDAA amends the Family and
Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) to permit a “spouse, son, daughter,
parent, or next of kin” to take up to 26 workweeks of leave to care for
a “member of the Armed Forces, including a member of the National Guard
or Reserves, who is undergoing medical treatment, recuperation, or therapy,
is otherwise in outpatient status, or is otherwise on the temporary disability
retired list, for a serious injury or illness.” Additional information and
a copy of Title I of the FMLA, as amended, are available on the website.
2007
December 27, 2007
In a record-breaking year, WHD collected more than $220 million in back
wages for over 341,000 employees in fiscal year 2007. Back wage collections
exceeded the record levels collected in fiscal year 2003 by 3.8 percent.
The agency concluded 30,467 compliance actions and assessed over $10.3 million
in civil money penalties. 2007 Statistics
October 31, 2007
The Wage and Hour Division will host the Prevailing
Wage Conference 2008 on January 8-10 in New Orleans , Louisiana . The
conference will address issues associated with the administration and enforcement
of the Davis-Bacon Act, McNamara-O’Hara Service Contract Act, and Fair Labor
Standards Act. If you are interested in attending, please email your name,
title, organization, email address, and telephone number to pwc2008@dol.gov.
There is no fee for attending this conference, but space is limited. Upon
receipt of this information, we will advise you whether your request can
be accommodated.
July 3, 2007
A revised Federal minimum
wage poster, reflecting the recently enacted minimum wage increases,
is now available for viewing, downloading, and posting. Every employer of
employees subject to the Fair Labor Standard Act’s minimum wage provisions
must post, and keep posted, a notice explaining the Act in a conspicuous
place in all of their establishments so as to permit employees to readily
read it. Additional posters and compliance assistance materials will be
available in the coming weeks.
June 27, 2007
The Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division published a Report on the comments
received in response to the Request for Information on the Family and Medical
Leave Act (FMLA). The Federal Register Notices and related documents are
also available on Wage and Hour’s website.
June 14, 2007
The U.S. Department of Labor announced the cancellation of Industry Committee
No. 27, which was convened on May 10, 2007 and was scheduled to meet later
this month. The Committee was discharged following enactment of the U.S. Troop
Readiness, Veterans’ Care, Katrina Recovery, and Iraq Accountability
Appropriations Act of 2007, which amends the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
and removes the Labor Department’s authority to convene American Samoa Industry
Committees.
June 1, 2007
On May 25, President Bush signed a
spending bill that, among other things, amended the Fair Labor Standards Act
(FLSA) to increase the federal minimum wage in three steps: to $5.85 per hour
effective July 24, 2007 ; to $6.55 per hour effective July 24, 2008 ; and to $7.25 per hour
effective July 24, 2009 . A separate provision of the bill brings about phased
increases to the minimum wage in the CNMI and American
Samoa, with the goal of bringing the minimum
wage in those locations up to the general federal minimum wage over several
years. Additional materials will be available at this site in the coming weeks.
May 22, 2007
Effective June 1, 2007 a new health and welfare fringe benefit rate will
be implemented on all Service Contract Act Wage Determinations. The Wage
and Hour Division has issued an All Agency Memorandum (HTML, PDF) announcing this update.
May 8, 2007
The Overtime Calculator
elaws Advisor is an Internet-based, interactive learning tool designed
to assist workers and small businesses in understanding overtime principles
by calculating overtime payment for a sample pay period using certain primary
pay and additional pay methods. The Overtime Calculator is a
practical learning tool that provides examples of how overtime should be
computed under some-but not all-scenarios. It will calculate overtime for
a sample pay period, based on information submitted by the users, and will
not replace actual payroll computations. Press Release.
April 17, 2007
The Wage and Hour Division published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
(NPRM) and an Advance
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) to update the youth employment
regulations for the 21st Century. The current proposals strengthen youth
employment regulations to protect against workplace hazards, expand youth
workplace opportunities that have been judged safe and permissible, update
regulations to better reflect the modern workplace, and address recommendations
from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health to the hazardous
occupations orders. Interested parties are encouraged to submit comments
for both the NPRM and ANPRM on or before July 16, 2007 . The Federal Register
Notices, instructions and related documents are available at Wage
and Hour’s Youth Employment Comments Website.
April 04, 2007
The Wage and Hour Division will sponsor a series of free H-1B information
seminars across the country. These seminars will assist H-1B employers and
others in understanding and complying with the H-1B program requirements,
application procedures, and worker protections. Detailed information on
these outreach events is available on Wage and Hour’s H-1B outreach event webpage.
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