Vision Payroll

According to the US Department of Labor, in the week ending February 27, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 469,000, a decrease of 29,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 498,000. The 4-week moving average was 470,750, a decrease of 3,500 from the previous week’s revised average of 474,250.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.5% for the week ending February 20, a decrease of 0.1 percentage points from the prior week’s revised rate of 3.6%.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending February 20 was 4,500,000, a decrease of 134,000 from the preceding week’s revised level of 4,634,000. The 4-week moving average was 4,575,750, a decrease of 29,250 from the preceding week’s revised average of 4,605,000.

The fiscal year-to-date average of seasonally adjusted weekly insured unemployment, which corresponds to the appropriated AWIU trigger, was 5.186 million.

The US Department of Labor (DOL) recently issued Administrator signed Opinion Letter FLSA2009-26. Although Opinion Letters only apply to the exact set of facts and circumstances presented in each case, they are a valuable aid in understanding current interpretations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Because the letter was apparently never mailed after it was signed, the DOL under new Secretary Hilda L. Solis has decided to withdraw the letter for further consideration. Therefore, this letter may not be relied upon as a statement of agency policy. It is possible that a different conclusion may be reached when the Opinion Letter is reissued.

In this Opinion Letter, the DOL had stated that client service managers (CSMs) at an insurance agency were exempt administrative employees. The general qualifications for an exempt administrative employee are an employee:

1. Compensated on a salary or fee basis at a rate of not less than $455 per week . . . ;
2. Whose primary duty is the performance of office or non-manual work directly related to the management or general business operations of the employer or the employer’s customers; and
3. Whose primary duty includes the exercise of discretion and independent judgment with respect to matters of significance.

It was assumed for the purposes of this opinion letter that the first qualification was met. Since the work the CSMs performed was similar to work performed by employees “ordinarily considered to meet the duties requirements for the administrative exemption” and since “the CSMs primary duty includes the exercise of discretion and independent judgment with respect to matters of significance”, the CSMs were considered to have met the “requirements of the administrative exemption and are accordingly exempt from the minimum wage and overtime requirements of the FLSA.”

State laws may provide rules that are more beneficial to the employee and must be followed. The DOL may come to a different conclusion when it reissues the Opinion Letter after further consideration. Contact Vision Payroll if you have questions about this Opinion Letter.

The US Department of Labor (DOL) recently issued Administrator signed Opinion Letter FLSA2009-25. Although Opinion Letters only apply to the exact set of facts and circumstances presented in each case, they are a valuable aid in understanding current interpretations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Because the letter was apparently never mailed after it was signed, the DOL under new Secretary Hilda L. Solis has decided to withdraw the letter for further consideration. Therefore, this letter may not be relied upon as a statement of agency policy. It is possible that a different conclusion may be reached when the Opinion Letter is reissued.

In this Opinion Letter, the DOL had ruled that employers could take deductions from an exempt salaried employee based upon the number of work hours missed when an employee misses an entire day of work. The employee in question was a Registered Nurse (RN) who was paid a salary to be on call and available for surgery. She was paid whether or not she was actually called in to the hospital. At some times, the RN was not available to be called for a full day. As long as the employee was absent for at least one full day, a deduction from her salary was permissible.

State laws may provide rules that are more beneficial to the employee and must be followed. The DOL may come to a different conclusion when it reissues the Opinion Letter after further consideration. Contact Vision Payroll if you have questions about this Opinion Letter.

The US Department of Labor (DOL) recently issued Administrator signed Opinion Letter FLSA2009-24. Although Opinion Letters only apply to the exact set of facts and circumstances presented in each case, they are a valuable aid in understanding current interpretations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Because the letter was apparently never mailed after it was signed, the DOL under new Secretary Hilda L. Solis has decided to withdraw the letter for further consideration. Therefore, this letter may not be relied upon as a statement of agency policy. It is possible that a different conclusion may be reached when the Opinion Letter is reissued.

In this Opinion Letter, the DOL had opined that a proposed pay system complied with the fluctuating-workweek method of payment. Under the proposed method, the employer would calculate the regular rate of pay by dividing a non-exempt employee’s fixed salary by 40 hours, regardless of the number of hours actually worked in that week, and using that rate to determine any overtime premium or double-time premium to be paid.

State laws may provide rules that are more beneficial to the employee and must be followed. The DOL may come to a different conclusion when it reissues the Opinion Letter after further consideration. Contact Vision Payroll if you have questions about this Opinion Letter.

The US Department of Labor (DOL) recently issued Administrator signed Opinion Letter FLSA2009-23. Although Opinion Letters only apply to the exact set of facts and circumstances presented in each case, they are a valuable aid in understanding current interpretations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Because the letter was apparently never mailed after it was signed, the DOL under new Secretary Hilda L. Solis has decided to withdraw the letter for further consideration. Therefore, this letter may not be relied upon as a statement of agency policy. It is possible that a different conclusion may be reached when the Opinion Letter is reissued.

In this Opinion Letter, the DOL had redefined its definition of a tipped employee in situations in which an employee performs some duties related to a tip-producing occupation and some duties unrelated to a tip-producing occupation. Such employees may have dual jobs, such as a maintenance man in a hotel who also serves as a waiter and a single job with dual responsibilities such as “a waitress who spends part of her time cleaning and setting tables, toasting bread, making coffee and occasionally washing dishes or glasses.”

Different courts had issued conflicting rulings as to whether and to what extent unrelated duties could be performed in tip-producing occupations, how those duties were to be determined, and when the tip credit could be taken. The DOL had attempted to clarify in which situations the credit could be claimed. It had listed certain duties that it considered “core or supplemental for the appropriate tip-producing occupation.” It also wanted to clarify that some time spent performing unrelated duties may be exempt under a de minimis rule in the regulations.

State laws may provide rules that are more beneficial to the employee and must be followed. The DOL may come to a different conclusion when it reissues the Opinion Letter after further consideration. Contact Vision Payroll if you have questions about this Opinion Letter.

According to the US Department of Labor, in the week ending February 20, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 496,000, an increase of 22,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 474,000. The 4-week moving average was 473,750, an increase of 6,000 from the previous week’s revised average of 467,750.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.5% for the week ending February 13, unchanged from the prior week’s unrevised rate of 3.5%.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending February 13 was 4,617,000, an increase of 6,000 from the preceding week’s revised level of 4,611,000. The 4-week moving average was 4,600,750, an increase of 4,250 from the preceding week’s revised average of 4,596,500.

The fiscal year-to-date average for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment for all programs is 5.209 million.

The US Department of Labor (DOL) has announced that it has cited Robert Ferrari, Inc. for “child labor and minimum wage violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).”

According to the DOL, the investigation revealed both employment of individuals under the age of twelve and federal minimum wage violations. As a result, Ferrari was penalized $2,282 and $4,888, respectively. Additionally, a $700 penalty was assessed “for transportation and recordkeeping violations of the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Protection Act (MSPA).”

Due to the complexity of the laws involved and the penalties that may be assessed for violations thereof, Vision Payroll strongly recommends employers consult with competent labor law attorneys to ensure compliance.

The US Department of Labor (DOL) recently issued Administrator signed Opinion Letter FLSA2009-22. Although Opinion Letters only apply to the exact set of facts and circumstances presented in each case, they are a valuable aid in understanding current interpretations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Because the letter was apparently never mailed after it was signed, the DOL under new Secretary Hilda L. Solis has decided to withdraw the letter for further consideration. Therefore, this letter may not be relied upon as a statement of agency policy. It is possible that a different conclusion may be reached when the Opinion Letter is reissued.

In this Opinion Letter, the DOL confirmed its previously stated position “that where a state law requires a minimum wage less than the federal minimum wage and forbids a tip credit, the employer may nevertheless take a tip credit in the amount of the difference between state and federal law.” The Opinion Letter was specifically concerned with a Minnesota law that “purports to prohibit taking a credit for gratuities ‘towards the payment of the minimum wage set…by federal law.’”

State laws may provide rules that are more beneficial to the employee and must be followed. The DOL may come to a different conclusion when it reissues the Opinion Letter after further consideration. Contact Vision Payroll if you have questions about this Opinion Letter.

The US Department of Labor (DOL) recently issued Administrator signed Opinion Letter FLSA2009-21. Although Opinion Letters only apply to the exact set of facts and circumstances presented in each case, they are a valuable aid in understanding current interpretations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

In this Opinion Letter, the DOL stated that a company’s nondiscretionary safety bonus complies with the overtime requirements of the FLSA. Employees who meet certain requirements during a specified period receive a set amount for each regular hour worked. Employees who worked overtime during that period will receive one and one-half times the set amount for each overtime hour worked. “The bonus is applied uniformly across all hours worked, and an additional one-half times the bonus rate is paid for all overtime hours” so the plan complies with the FLSA.

State laws may provide rules that are more beneficial to the employee and must be followed. Contact Vision Payroll if you have questions about this Opinion Letter.

According to the US Department of Labor, in the week ending February 13, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 473,000, an increase of 31,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 442,000. The 4-week moving average was 467,500, a decrease of 1,500 from the previous week’s revised average of 469,000.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.5% for the week ending February 6, unchanged from the prior week’s unrevised rate of 3.5%.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending February 6 was 4,563,000, unchanged from the preceding week’s revised level of 4,563,000. The 4-week moving average was 4,585,750, a decrease of 24,000 from the preceding week’s revised average of 4,609,750.

The fiscal year-to-date average for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment for all programs is 5.240 million.