The issue of the proper application of the highly compensated employee exemption under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), as it applies to employees paid on a “day-rate” basis in the oil and gas industry, has been a hotly debated issue in recent years, especially in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.
On July 13, 2018, the acting administrator for the United States Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) issued Field Assistance Bulletin (FAB) 2018-4 to assist field staff in determining when home care, nurse, or caregiver registries will be considered employers under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
President Obama has made increasing the federal minimum wage a priority for the administration due in no small part to sustained union efforts over the past few years—including “worker center” protests and campaigns aimed at the hospitality industry, such as “Fight for 15” and “Fast Food Forward” To this end, President Obama issued Executive Order 13658 on February 12, 2014, announcing an increase in the minimum wage rate to $10.10 per hour for workers on federal service and construction contracts….
