DOL Issues Final Rule Establishing Paid Sick Leave for Federal Contractors – Are You Ready? By Debbi Cohen

Last week, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published its Final Rule to implement Executive Order (E.O.) 13706, which was signed by President Obama on Labor Day 2015, establishing paid sick leave for Federal Contractors. In short, the Rule will apply to “covered contracts” – defined broadly and with limited exceptions in the Rule – which are newly solicited, awarded outside the solicitation process, renewed, extended, or amended on or after January 1, 2017, and it requires parties that enter into covered contracts with the Federal Government to provide “covered employees” – again, there are limited exclusions, including a temporary exclusion for employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement – with up to 7 days (56 hours) of paid sick leave annually.
Even for those Federal Contractors that already offer paid time off to their existing workforces, now would be a good time to review your policies and procedures to ensure they satisfy the requirements of the E.O. and Final Rule. In addition to specific requirements related to leave accrual rates, certification and use, there are carryover provisions and other stringent administrative obligations, recordkeeping, contract clause and notice requirements, and anti-retaliation prohibitions. For compliance assistance, consult counsel.

Debbi Cohen is Counsel to Benton Potter & Murdock, P.C.

Important Notice and Disclaimer

Important Notice and Disclaimer

The materials and information available at bpmlawyers.blogspot.com are provided for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing legal advice or soliciting legal business. Recipients of content from this site, clients or otherwise, should not act or refrain from acting on the basis of any content included in this Blog without seeking appropriate legal or other professional advice on the particular facts and circumstances at issue from an attorney licensed in the recipient’s state. The content of this Blog is general information and may not reflect current legal developments, verdicts or settlements. Benton Potter & Murdock expressly disclaims all liability with regard to actions taken or not taken based upon any or all of the contents of this Blog. Use of and access to this Web site/blog or any of the e-mail links contained within the site do not create an attorney-client relationship between (a) the authors, editors or Benton Potter & Murdock, and (b) the user or browser. The opinions expressed at or through this site/blog are the opinions of the authors of each specific post and may not reflect the opinions of the editors, Benton Potter & Murdock or any of its attorneys or clients. Unsolicited information sent to Benton Potter & Murdock by persons who are not already clients of the firm is not subject to any duty of confidentiality on the part of the firm.

Barbara L. Johnson to speak at 2016 Minority In-House Counsel Association Conference

Barbara L. Johnson, Counsel with Benton, Potter & Murdock has been invited to speak about Going Global: Developing International Expertise at the 2016 Minority In-House Counsel Association Conference. The Conference will be held on October 25-26 at the Metropolitan Club in Chicago, Illinois. This conference is designed to capture the variety and experience of minority in-house and corporate counsel. The conference will feature a luncheon presentation by Paula Boggs and N. Cornell Boggs, III, who will discuss “What Do I Need to Start Feeding My Kids Now to Make GCs Out of Them,” as well as presentations by other general counsel from around the country. Benton, Potter & Murdock is pleased to be a sponsor of the 2016 MIHCA Conference. If you are interested in attending or sponsoring this event, you may contact Robert. Johnson@MyMIHCA.org.

Ms. Johnson has more than 25 years of experience in representing employers in employment law matters and has tried more than 30 employment law cases. She is a member of the bars of the United States Supreme Court, the District of Columbia, Texas, and Michigan. She is admitted to practice before the: District Court for the District of Columbia; Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals; and Northern, Southern, Eastern and Western District of Texas. She is certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in Labor and Employment Law, and serves as President, National Employment Law Council, and Chair, the Employment Law Committee of the Business Law Section of the American Bar Association. She is a member of the: American Bar Association’s College of Labor & Employment Lawyers; Texas College of Labor & Employment Lawyers; National Bar Association; International Association of Defense Counsel; Defense Research Institute; and Litigation Counsel of America. She is listed in the International Who’s Who of Business Lawyers, and has been recognized by Washington DC Super Lawyers. Ms. Johnson can be reached at: blj@bpmlawyers.com; 571-356-9007.

Lawsuits Raise Eleventh Hour Challenges to DOL Final Rule On FLSA Overtime Regulations, by Debbi Cohen

With the Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) Final Rule updating the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) overtime regulations scheduled to take effect barely two months from now on December 1, two lawsuits have just been filed seeking to stop the Rule from being implemented as planned. Both lawsuits, one of which was filed by 21 primarily Republican led states, and the other of which was filed by a consortium of business groups including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers and the National Retail Federation, were filed in the same federal court in the Eastern District of Texas. While each group of plaintiffs makes legal arguments specific to its own circumstances, both groups essentially attack the wide-scale workforce restructuring compliance with the New Rule will require along with the potential for hardship they argue could result from new labor costs and decreased workforce flexibility, particularly for smaller employers or organizations with budgetary constraints.
Shortly after the lawsuits were filed, the DOL issued a statement in which Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez stated, “We are confident in the legality of all aspects of our final overtime rule.”

As discussed in a prior blog post, the Final Rule focuses primarily on updating the salary and compensation levels needed for Executive, Administrative and Professional (“white collar”) workers to be exempt. Key provisions of the Final Rule include:

1. It sets the standard salary level at the 40th percentile of earnings of full-time salaried workers in the lowest-wage Census Region, which is currently the South, at $913 per week or $47,476 annually for a full-year worker;

2. It sets the total annual compensation requirement for highly compensated employees (HCE) subject to a minimal duties test to the annual equivalent of the 90th percentile of full-time salaried workers nationally, which is currently $134,004; and

3. It establishes a mechanism for automatically updating the salary and compensation levels every three years to maintain the levels at the above percentiles and to ensure that they continue to provide useful and effective tests for exemption.

The Final Rule also amends the salary basis test to allow employers to use nondiscretionary bonuses and incentive payments (including commissions) to satisfy up to 10 percent of the new salary level.

Even though it is highly likely that the lawsuits were filed in Texas because the court there is viewed as both potentially favorable to the plaintiffs in these cases and known to move quickly, employers should not stop preparations they may have already begun, if any, to comply with the new regulations, as there has been no change as yet in the December 1 effective date of the Final Rule. For specific questions you may have regarding ongoing compliance efforts, consult counsel.

Debbi Cohen is Counsel to Benton Potter & Murdock, P.C.

Important Legal Notice and Disclaimer

Important Announcement from the National Association of Minority and Women Owned Law Firms (NAMWOLF)

Benton Potter & Murdock is a proud member of the National Association of Minority and Women Owned Law Firms (NAMWOLF). On September 21, 2016, NAMWOLF released the following landmark announcement:

NAMWOLF is pleased to announce that effective immediately, LGBT owned firms that are NGLCC-certified firms and meet our other law firm admission criteria are eligible to be member firms in our organization. Please review www.namwolf.org for more detailed information regarding our law firm admission criteria. We remain dedicated to assessing and maximizing opportunities for all our diverse member firms. For questions, please contact NAMWOLF's CEO, Joel Stern at joel_stern@namwolf.org.

Join Benton Potter & Murdock, and Atkinson-Baker Court Reporters on the National Mall for the Opening Ceremony of the National Museum of African American History and Culture

In conjunction with Atkinson-Baker Court Reporters, Benton Potter & Murdock will be gathering on the National Mall to enjoy the opening ceremony events for the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) on Saturday, September 24th, 2016. Please join us for the ceremonies.

For those of you planning on attending the Opening Ceremony of the NMAAHC on Sept 24th, Benton Potter & Murdock, along with Atkinson-Baker Court Reporters, will be meeting at Café du Parc* between 8:30-9:00 am and will venture forth into the National Mall at 9:30 am to find a good place from which to witness the ceremony. If you plan to join us, please shoot an email to John Murdock at jm(at)bpmlawyers.com or call 703.992.6950.

Please join us. All friends and family members are welcome - we hope to see you there!

*CAFE DU PARC (LOCATED IN THE WILLARD INTERCONTINENTAL HOTEL)
1401 Pennsylvania Avenue N.W. Washington, D.C. 20004

(Photos of the museum are Smithsonian Museum images.)

Benton, Potter & Murdock Participating in 2016 NAMWOLF Annual Meeting & Law Firm Expo – September 14-17, 2016, in Houston!

Benton, Potter & Murdock is very excited to be participating in the 2016 NAMWOLF Annual Meeting & Law Firm Expo in Houston, Texas September 14-17, 2016.

The NAMWOLF Annual Meeting & Law Firm Expo is a three-day conference providing unique opportunities to connect corporate counsel from Fortune 1000 companies and minority and women owned law firms. The conference features NAMWOLF’s signature event, the Law Firm Expo, which provides an opportunity for In-House Counsel to meet with the Nation’s top minority and women owned law firms in a relaxed networking environment.

Benton Potter & Murdock is proud to be part of this event. Join us next week at the Hilton Americas-Houston for your opportunity to meet with the top minority and women owned law firms in the country, as well as in-house counsel from some of the Nation’s leading corporations.