Wage & Hours

The Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) September 8, 2023 Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) increases the standard salary level for the white-collar exemption to the 35th percentile of the pay distribution of full-time, non-hourly workers in the South Census region and imposes automatic updates to the salary threshold every three years.  The automatic adjustments would use the most recent quarterly data from the Current Population Survey to determine the 35th percentile of the pay distribution for full-time non-hourly workers in the South Census region. 

The Department of Labor’s September 8, 2023 Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) increases the salary threshold for the white-collar FLSA exemption.  In the NPRM, the Department explains that the purpose of the salary level test is to serve as an initial screening tool.[1]  It then goes on to downplay the extent to which the new threshold will increase the fraction of white-collar workers who will fail the salary level test by stating “the number of salaried white-collar employes for whom salary would be determinative of their non-exempt status and who earn at least the long test salary level – 3.2 million – is nearly ten times smaller than the number of salaried white-collar workers for whom job duties would continue to be determinative of their exemption status…”[2] 

In this article Dr. Stephen Bronars quantifies the impact of the new $15 minimum wage for three contractor jobs that were identified by the White House in its announcement of the executive order. He shows that the impact of a $15 minimum wage for janitors, cafeteria attendants and nursing assistants varies substantially by metropolitan area.

Edgeworth Partners Dr. Stephen Bronars and Dr. Deborah Foster discuss the Department of Labor's recent proposal to increase the HCE salary threshold from $100,000 to $147,414. 

In anticipation of future civil class actions related to no-poach and wage-fixing agreements, Edgeworth Partners Dr. Stephen Bronars and Dr. Deborah Foster have published a two-part primer in Law360 on wage analyses that are frequently used in employment discrimination cases and will become increasingly relevant as labor issues cross over into the antitrust arena.

In anticipation of future civil class actions related to no-poach and wage-fixing agreements, Edgeworth Partners Dr. Stephen Bronars and Dr. Deborah Foster have published a two-part primer in Law360 on wage analyses that are frequently used in employment discrimination cases and will become increasingly relevant as labor issues cross over into the antitrust arena.

Mr. Michael Kheyfets, Dr. Deborah Foster and Dr. Nathan Woods discuss the 10 questions you should ask your experts who are working with your sensitive data. 

Drs. Bronars, Foster, and Woods discuss the Department of Labor’s (DOL) proposed salary test for the white collar exemption to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

Drs. Deborah K. Foster, Stephen G. Bronars, and Nathan D. Woods published the article “Approaches to Hourly Rates Under DOL White Collar Rules” in Law360.

This article by Dr. Nathan Woods is the third article in a three part series discussing the statistical analysis of class certification topics in wage-and-hour class and collective actions.

This article by Dr. Nathan Woods is the second article in a three part series discussing the statistical analysis of class certification topics in wage-and-hour class and collective actions.

This article by Dr. Nathan Woods is the first article in a three part series discussing the statistical analysis of class certification topics in wage-and-hour class and collective actions. 

Dr. Korenko published an article in Law360 that discusses the idea of fairness in executive compensation from an economic perspective.

California’s minimum wage increased by 25% to $20 per hour on April 1 for limited-service restaurants with at least 60 locations in the U.S. Little attention has been paid to a part of the law that will cause thousands of managers in these businesses to lose their exempt status and may increase wage and hour lawsuits against these businesses.

On April 1 the minimum wage in California increased by 25% to $20 per hour for limited-service restaurants with at least 60 locations in the U.S.

Farmers and ranchers who hire seasonal workers on H-2A visas will face prevailing wages in 2024 that are about 5.54% higher, on average, than in 2023.  This occurs after a large increase in H-2A wages between 2022 and 2023.  The H-2A visa program requires that visa workers, and domestic workers in corresponding employment, are paid at least the prevailing wage, or Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR).  AEWRs are determined by the US Department of Labor (DOL) and vary by region.  AEWRs will increase in every region between 2023 and 2024 with the largest increases in Hawaii (8.64%), Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina (7.39%), and Oregon and Washington (7.12%).

The NPRM claims the new salary threshold for the EAP exemption “will, in combination with the standard duties test, better define and delimit which employees are employed in a bona fide EAP capacity in a one-test system.”  However, the new salary threshold is set at the 35th percentile of the non-hourly pay distribution in the South region, which is $1,059 per week.  The non-hourly pay distribution includes many blue-collar workers and white-collar workers explicitly excluded from the FLSA (such as teachers), raising doubts as to whether an arbitrary threshold from this distribution has any ability to determine which EAP employees are bona fide.

The Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) NPRM provides estimates of the number of employees affected by the proposed salary test level increases, but projections are only as good as the data on which they are based.  In fact, there is no data currently collected that would enable an accurate and reliable estimate of the number of employees who are subject to the FLSA or how many employees are classified as exempt, much less an estimate of those that would be impacted by the proposed changes. 

The NPRM touts that an estimated 3.4 million employees will “gain overtime protection” under the proposed regulations.  As described in our post on October 25, it is unlikely that the new rule will increase compensation of the re-classified employees.

The Department of Labor claims that the increased salary test level will “give employees higher earnings in the form of transfers of income from employers to employees,” but that assertion is inconsistent with economic reasoning.  Even the economic studies cited in the NPRM cast doubt on that assumption. 

On September 8, 2023, a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) from the Department of Labor was published in the Federal Register titled “Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales, and Computer Employees.”

The Department of Labor’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding the white-collar exemption to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) includes an initial regulatory flexibility analysis that is required for all regulations that will have a material impact on small businesses.  In that analysis, the Department concludes that 1.3 million workers employed by between 179,700 and 1.3 million small businesses will be impacted by the substantial increase in the white-collar exemption salary threshold in the NPRM.  However, that analysis almost certainly understates the impact on small businesses.

Join expert labor economists from Edgeworth Economics and Kevin White, co-chair of the Hunton Andrews Kurth Labor and Employment team, on July 21 for this complimentary webinar addressing key legal issues arising in the COVID-19 world of which employers should be aware.

Edgeworth Partner Dr. Stephen Bronars will discuss the impact of wage and employment claims on the bankruptcy process, including the decision of a company to file a bankruptcy, and issues involved in bankrupty and restructuring. 

Edgeworth Partner Dr. Nathan Woods will discuss the types of data and analyses that will be critical for organizations to leverage in preparing for and responding to predictive scheduling laws.

Edgeworth Partner Dr. Nathan Woods will discuss the types of data and analyses that will be critical for organizations to leverage in preparing for and responding to predictive and flexible scheduling laws.

Edgeworth Economics Partner Dr. Nathan Woods will present on pay equity alongside Phelps Dunbar Partner Reed Russell at the Wage & Hour Defense Institute (WHDI)’s annual Spring Meeting, to be held May 4, 2018 in Nashville, TN.

Join Dr. Nathan Woods for a live webinar discussing the fast-approaching compliance deadlines following the DOL's final overtime exemption rule.

Join Edgeworth's Dr. Nathan Woods and fellow experts as they examine the economic impact of the DOL's overtime exemption rule in this live webinar.

In this two-hour live webcast, hosted by The Knowledge Group, Dr. Deborah Foster will serve on a panel of seasoned leaders and professionals who will help the audience understand the most important aspects of Wage and Hour Class Actions. 

Dr. Stephen Bronars will discuss the Final Rule on Overtime Exemption under FLSA during a panel session on wage and wage-related issues that can impact the viability of a business and impede a successful Plan of Reorganization. 

The Department of Labor has issued its much-anticipated Final Rule profoundly redefining white collar exemption under the FLSA. Dr. Nathan Woods will join a BLR webinar on the action plan employers need to set into motion now to ensure that compliance is met on December 1, 2016, the effective date of the DOL’s final rule. 

Edgeworth has been invited to speak on the DOL's Final Rule on Overtime Exemption under FLSA at the Annual Retail & Hospitality Executive Summit in Pebble Beach, CA on May 25, 2016, hosted by Kronos, a global leader in delivering workforce management solutions.

Dr. Deborah Foster cited by the California Court of Appeal in matter relating to improper rounding and regular rate of pay in California law.

An Edgeworth Economics team was retained by two California hospitals accused of violating California labor law by using a payroll system that automatically rounded employees’ hours up or down to the nearest quarter-hour. 

On June 8, 2016, Edgeworth Economics Partner Dr. Stephen Bronars was called to testify before the Senate Subcommittee on Immigration and the National Interest regarding the economic impact of the H-2B Temporary Foreign Worker Program on the wages of US workers.

Edgeworth Economics is pleased to announce that Dr. Stephen G. Bronars has joined the firm as a Partner in the Washington, D.C., office. 

Edgeworth Economics is pleased to announce that labor and employment expert Dr. Deborah Foster has joined the firm as a Partner in the Washington, D.C., office.

Edgeworth Economics is pleased to announce that Dr. Nathan Woods has joined the firm as a Partner in the Washington, D.C., office. Dr. Woods specializes in class action wage and hour disputes and employment discrimination matters at the state and federal levels. 

Edgeworth Partner, Dr. George Korenko, published an article in Law360 that discusses the economics behind executive compensation, including compensation values and fairness. 

Dr. John Johnson discussed the importance of statistical data analysis to economic issues of class certification in wages and hours litigation post Dukes and Brinker.