Martha Zackin

President Obama Directs DOL Secretary Perez to Revise Overtime Rules

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Today President Obama directed the Secretary of Labor to “begin the process of addressing overtime pay protections to help make sure millions of workers are paid a fair wage for a hard day’s work and rules are simplified for employers and workers alike.”  In particular, the President directed Secretary Perez to focus on the so-called “white collar” exemptions to the overtime regulations, which exempt bona fide executive, administrative, professional, and outside sales employees from the overtime requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

According to the press release announcing the initiative, the overtime (and minimum wage) rules that were originally passed in 1938 have been updated only twice in the last 40 years.  With inflation, many “exempt” workers earn below the poverty line.

No specific details were offered.  We will keep you posted as more details emerge, and as the rule-making progress inches along over the coming months.

 

Martha Zackin

EEOC Issues Report on Social Media in the Workplace

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Did you know that social media is part of today’s workplace but its use may raise employment discrimination concerns?  According to an EEOC press release issued on March 12, experts tell EEOC that use of social media by employers, applicants and employees may implicate the laws EEOC enforces.  Not to be sarcastic, but the only thing newsworthy about this press release is the fact that it wasn’t issued years ago.