Vision Payroll

According to the US Department of Labor, in the week ending September 13, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 455,000, an increase of 10,000 from the previous week’s unrevised figure of 445,000. The 4-week moving average was 445,000, an increase of 5,000 from the previous week’s unrevised average of 440,000.

According to the US Department of Labor, in the week ending September 6, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 445,000, a decrease of 6,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 451,000. The 4-week moving average was 440,000, an increase of 250 from the previous week’s revised average of 439,750.

The unemployment rate rose from 5.7 to 6.1 percent in August, and nonfarm payroll employment continued to trend down (-84,000), the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. In August, employment fell in manufacturing and employment services, while mining and health care continued to add jobs. Average hourly earnings rose by 7 cents, or 0.4 percent, over the month.

The number of unemployed persons rose by 592,000 to 9.4 million in August, and the unemployment rate increased by 0.4 percentage point to 6.1 percent. Over the past 12 months, the number of unemployed persons has increased by 2.2 million and the unemployment rate has risen by 1.4 percentage points, with most of the increase occurring over the past 4 months.

In August, the unemployment rates for adult men (5.6 percent), adult women (5.3 percent), whites (5.4 percent), blacks (10.6 percent), and Hispanics (8.0 percent) rose, while the jobless rate for teenagers was little changed at 18.9 percent. The unemployment rate for Asians was 4.4 percent in August, not seasonally adjusted.

Among the unemployed, the number of persons who lost their last job rose by 417,000 to 4.8 million in August, with increases occurring among those on temporary layoff and those who do not expect to be recalled to work. Over the last 4 months, the number of unemployed job losers has increased by 810,000.

In August, the number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) rose by 163,000 to 1.8 million, an increase of 589,000 over the past 12 months. The newly unemployed—those who were jobless fewer than 5 weeks—increased by 400,000 over the month.

According to the US Department of Labor, in the week ending August 30, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 444,000, an increase of 15,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 429,000. The 4-week moving average was 438,000, a decrease of 3,250 from the previous week’s revised average of 441,250.

According to the US Department of Labor, in the week ending August 23, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 425,000, a decrease of 10,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 435,000. The 4-week moving average was 440,250, a decrease of 6,000 from the previous week’s revised average of 446,250.

According to the US Department of Labor, in the week ending August 16, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 432,000, an decrease of 13,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 445,000. The 4-week moving average was 445,750, an increase of 7,250 from the previous week’s revised average of 438,500.

According to the US Department of Labor, in the week ending August 9, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 450,000, a decrease of 10,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 460,000. The 4-week moving average was 440,500, an increase of 19,500 from the previous week’s revised average of 421,000.

The US Department of Labor recently issued non-Administrator signed Opinion Letter FLSA2008-10NA. 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). Unlike signed Opinion Letters, unsigned Opinion Letters do not “provide a potential good faith reliance defense for violations of the FLSA.” This Opinion Letter discusses whether service coordinators qualify for the learned professional exemption of the FLSA. Service coordinators act as a concierge for the program participants, by assessing their needs, facilitating independent living, intervening on their behalf if necessary, and documenting all of the above. Although a bachelor’s degree and several years experience is preferred, candidates may qualify if an RN or with an associate’s degree in health or human services and one year of experience. The Department of Labor concluded that “[b]ecause the academic requirements for service coordinators may be met with an associate’s degree, the position lacks the requirement of ‘knowledge of an advanced type…customarily acquired by a prolonged course of specialized intellectual instruction.’” Therefore, service coordinators do not qualify as exempt under 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.

The US Department of Labor recently issued non-Administrator signed Opinion Letter FLSA2008-9NA. 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). Unlike signed Opinion Letters, unsigned Opinion Letters do not “provide a potential good faith reliance defense for violations of the FLSA.” This Opinion Letter discusses whether “jailers” who lack the power to make arrests qualify as “law enforcement personnel” partially exempt from overtime requirements. Although jailers may lack the power to make arrests, they qualify as “security personnel in correctional institutions” and thus qualify for the partial overtime exemption. 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.

The US Department of Labor recently issued non-Administrator signed Opinion Letter FLSA2008-8NA. 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). Unlike signed Opinion Letters, unsigned Opinion Letters do not “provide a potential good faith reliance defense for violations of the FLSA.” This Opinion Letter discusses whether on-call time is compensable under the FLSA. A non-profit ambulance rescue service requires employees to be on-call from 6 am to 8 am and from 4 pm to 6 pm five days a week. The employee uses a pager while on-call and must respond to call with the ambulance within eight minutes. The question to be answered is whether the employee is “engaged to wait” (compensable) or “waiting to be engaged” (non-compensable). During the winter months, when there is an average of one call every four hour shift, the frequency of calls along with other factors mandated that the employees be compensated for their time. During the non-winter months, when calls were usually zero, one, or two per week, the on-call time would be non-compensable. 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.