A speak-up culture is hard to measure, and few numbers make compliance leaders more uneasy than their hotline report count. A spike can feel like a crisis. A quiet year can feel like a win. Both reactions can be wrong.…
Employment Law
A harassment investigation often starts at the least convenient moment. A complaint shows up in an email, a hallway conversation or a hotline report, and from that moment the clock is running. What HR does in the first few days,…
Misclassifying employees as independent contractors can leave employers facing significant wage-and-hour liability. DMV Protection LLC is a security service company that provides security personnel for clients. Except for the owner, everyone at DMV – from security guards to the director…
What if a benefits platform is the barrier preventing an employee from accessing benefits? As new tech tools become part of routine workplace processes, HR has to stay alert for compliance risks those technologies may introduce. Case in point: Pearson…
At what level of authority does a manager become exempt from overtime? A federal judge in Maine approved an $8.875 million settlement involving salaried department managers at Hannaford Supermarkets. The managers, who oversaw the bakery, deli, produce and meat departments,…
A rejected candidate asks why they never made it past the first round. An employee wants to know why they were passed over for promotion. A manager relies on an AI-generated performance summary that no one can explain. In each…
Employers sponsoring pre-approved 401(k) and other defined contribution plans can begin filing for individual determination letters starting Oct. 1, 2026, under the IRS's fourth remedial amendment cycle. The adoption deadline for Cycle 4 pre-approved plans is Sept. 30, 2028 –…
The Department of Labor (DOL) has issued a new opinion letter addressing tip-pooling rules for supervisors who also perform tipped work under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The issue: Whether the FLSA allows a restaurant supervisor who also bartends…
A restaurant chain has paid $618,666 in back wages to 779 employees and an additional $100,000 in penalties after the Department of Labor (DOL) found wage and child labor violations across 13 South Carolina locations. The DOL found several violations…
Paying employees a “monthly salary” doesn’t automatically shield employers from wage and hour compliance obligations required under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), as a recent six-figure settlement shows. A recent Department of Labor (DOL) investigation determined a Florida…
The Department of Labor (DOL) has issued a new opinion letter addressing when walking time during a meal period affects compensability under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The issue: Whether a 60-minute unpaid lunch, with six to 14 minutes…
Oregon's companionship services exemption is narrowing for home care agencies under Senate Bill 1518. SB 1518 freezes the state's definition of companionship services to the federal definition in effect Jan. 1, 2016, so future federal changes won't automatically expand the…
In June 2025, Rhode Island became the first state to pass a law requiring workplace protections for employees experiencing menopause. Now, two more jurisdictions – Illinois and Philadelphia – are following Rhode Island’s lead with laws that expand protections for…
Can exempt nonprofit staff "volunteer" after hours to do additional work for their employer? A new Department of Labor opinion letter, issued in response to a nonprofit that raises service dogs, says yes – if the volunteer duties aren’t the…
Effective Jan. 1, 2027, Washington's SB 5217 extends the Healthy Starts Act to employers of any size – dropping the current 15-employee threshold to one or more employees – and adds new compliance obligations for lactation and pregnancy accommodations. Lactation…
Trader Joe’s has agreed to pay $12.47 million to settle a proposed class action lawsuit alleging violations of California’s wage and hour laws. According to the complaint, Trader Joe’s: Rounded time punches, resulting in employees being underpaid Excluded “Thank You”…
