Institutions of Higher Education Can No Longer Establish or Maintain DEI Offices

Texas is one of several states that have implemented laws aimed at eliminating DEI offices and initiatives for publicly funded institutions.

Effective January 1, 2024, Texan institutions of higher education (e.g., the University of Texas) are no longer permitted to establish or maintain diversity, equity, and inclusion (“DEI”) offices or hire/assign employees (or officers or contractors) to perform any DEI-like job duties. Further, Texas institutions may not require applicants or employees to provide DEI statements or give preference to any applicants or employees on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin. And finally, the law requires these institutions to “adopt policies and procedures for appropriately disciplining, including by termination, an employee or contractor” who violates the law.Continue Reading 2025 Texas Labor and Employment Legal Updates

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (“EEOC”) Enforcement Guidance on Harassment in the Workplace

The EEOC’s Enforcement Guidance guidelines on harassment in the Workplace were issued on April 29, 2024. In the guidance, the EEOC presents a legal analysis of standards for harassment and employer liability applicable to claims of harassment under the EEO statutes enforced by the Commission. The guidance sets forth the EEOC’s position on its definition of “protected characteristics” and identifies workplace behaviors that rise to the level of harassment. These include prohibitions on work-related harassment based on race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions; sexual orientation; and gender identity), national origin, disability, genetic information, and age (40 or over).Continue Reading Labor and Employment 2025 Federal Legal Updates

Earlier today, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas granted summary judgment in favor of the state of Texas and a coalition of business organizations, striking down the Department of Labor’s regulations mandating significant increases to the salary basis for white-collar employees. As a result, the increases in salary implemented last July, as well as the increase that was to go into effect on January 1, have been nullified.Continue Reading Overtime Exemption Rules Requiring Salary Increases for White-Collar Employees Vacated By Texas Court

On April 23, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) published a set of final regulations dramatically increasing the salary level most executive, professional, and administrative employees must be paid to retain their overtime exempt status under the Fair Labor Standards Act. In most respects, and after considering 33,000 comments, the final regulations are similar to those proposed last September. The DOL has “dug-in” on many of the proposed regulations’ controversial terms. The changes are to the salary level test, only. The DOL did not modify the other two tests most workers must satisfy to be deemed exempt, i.e., the salary basis test and the duties test.Continue Reading New Overtime Exemption Rules Announced: What Employers Need to Know and Do

On January 9, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor issued final rules for employers to determine if a worker is an independent contractor or employee. Workers who do not meet the new criteria under the rule must be classified as employees and subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act  (“FLSA”) protections and requirements. If misclassified, these workers must be treated as employees and will be eligible for overtime pay, unless they otherwise satisfy the requirements to be considered exempt, and be subject to the minimum wage requirements under the FLSA. The employer would also need to comply with the recordkeeping requirements and maintain daily and weekly time records for the worker.Continue Reading To Be or Not to Be (An Independent Contractor): U.S. Department of Labor Issues Final Rules for Employers

On August 30, 2023, the U.S. Department of Labor announced its proposed new regulations on who can be treated as exempt from overtime pay. These proposals have been in the pipeline for nearly two years, with many in the business community anxious about what to expect. Some of that anxiety was somewhat undeserved, but some fears have been realized.Continue Reading DOL Proposes New White Collar Exemption Regulations – Legal Issues Abound!

The U.S. Department of Labor on Tuesday unveiled a six-step “economic realities” test that looks to narrow the ability of employers to classify workers as independent contractors. The changes have broad implications as to whether, under federal law; workers are entitled to minimum wage and overtime pay; employers must comply with recordkeeping requirements for such employees; and payroll taxes such as FICA, workers’ compensation, and unemployment must be paid with respect to these workers. The misclassification of workers as independent contractors also can have dire consequences for employers based on the potential assessment of liquidated (double) damages and attorney’s fees under the Fair Labor Standards Act, particularly where such claims are brought as collective actions. The Department suggests that 10-30% of employers in the private sector are, per the proposed rule, misclassifying employees as contractors.
Continue Reading Employees in Disguise: Proposed Rule Would Roll Back Trump-era Independent Contractor Rule

All too often, employers find this out the hard way—they get audited by the U.S. Department of Labor or they get sued, and vis-à-vis a class action, to boot. On June 13 and 14, during the Society of Human Resource Management’s (SHRM) Annual Conference in New Orleans, I’ll address a number of compliance issues and also discuss recent initiatives on the wage and hour front from inside The Beltway. Among the issues that we’ll  dive into are:
Continue Reading Wage and Hour Compliance: It’s Not as Simple as it May Look!

On September 22, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released its first-ever proposed rule outlining a test for when a worker is an employee or independent contractor under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

In its proposed rule, the DOL has created a new framework for the well-established “economic reality” independent contractor test. This test is used to determine whether the individual is truly in business for themselves (an independent contractor) or is economically dependent on their employer for work (an employee).
Continue Reading To Be or Not to Be (An Independent Contractor): DOL Seeks to Clarify Independent Contractor Test in Landmark Proposed Rule

On August 24th, the Department of Labor issued a Field Assistance Bulletin (“FAB”), available here, regarding “Employers’ obligation to exercise reasonable diligence in tracking teleworking employees’ hours of work.” While FABs are not legally binding authority, they provide guidance on the WHD’s enforcement positions and policies. This recent FAB is useful in suggesting best practices for those charged with ensuring that employees are paid for all hours worked—a task that has been made much more difficult by the current remote work environment.
Continue Reading Working Hard for The Money: Department of Labor Issues Guidance on Tracking and Paying for Remote Work Hours