The Employer’s Wage and Hour Advisor

On June 20, 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court decided the case of Encino Motorcars, LLC v. Navorro, which concerned the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) classification of service advisors working at automobile dealerships. While the High Court did not actually decide the classification issue, it sent a strong message to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) that it “has some explaining to do” before it reverses its position and changes its interpretation regarding FLSA exemptions.

On June 14, 2016, the Department of Labor (DOL), through its Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), announced a Final Rule implementing sweeping changes to the OFCCP’s sex discrimination regulations. The regulations, which apply to federal contractors and subcontractors, were initially promulgated to implement the anti-discrimination provisions of Executive Order 11246, and were last updated decades ago. In April 2014, however, President Obama signed Executive Order 13672, which amended the previous Executive Order and added protections against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. The Final Rule, which implements this amendment and otherwise significantly modifies the OFCCP’s existing anti-discrimination rules as discussed below, takes effect August 15, 2016.

In a recent opinion, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit broadened the conflict over whether employers may require employees to arbitrate their employment claims individually, instead of through class or collective actions. Specifically, in Lewis v. Epic Systems Corp., issued on May 26, 2016, the Seventh Circuit sided with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and held that collective action waivers violate the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and cannot be enforced.