WASHINGTON, DC – Last week, the U.S. Department of Labor took a range of actions to aid American workers and employers as our nation combats the coronavirus pandemic.

Reopening America’s Economy:

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) today announced the signing of an agreement with Bank of America N.A. that implements systemic changes enhancing the employer’s working environment by taking defined steps to accommodate the reasonable break time for nursing mothers’ requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). This agreement affords working mothers the support they need in the workplace when balancing professional and personal responsibilities.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) announced today that it is offering online seminars in September to provide compliance assistance on the legal requirements to pay prevailing wages on federal and federally funded contracts for contracting agencies, contractors, unions, workers and other stakeholders. The events are part of an ongoing effort to raise awareness among and improve compliance by employers with federal and federally funded contracts.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today published additional guidance for workers and employers on how the protections and requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), and the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) affect the workplace as workplaces reopen amid the coronavirus pandemic.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) today announced significant steps to streamline optional-use forms that workers can use to request and employers can use to coordinate leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division’s (WHD) Payroll Audit Independent Determination (PAID) Program continues to provide an avenue to get workers the wages they are owed, bring employers into compliance and accomplish both goals with an efficiency that saves taxpayers money, with more than $7 million in back wages found for more than 11,000 workers.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the launch of a public awareness campaign to remind workers that the Department’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) is committed to ensuring their workplace rights during the coronavirus pandemic and to ensure that employers know their responsibilities.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced an interim final rule providing regulations necessary to implement and administer the high-wage components of the Labor Value Content (LVC) requirements set forth in the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) and the treaty’s implementing statute.

WASHINGTON, DC – With school and summer activity schedules greatly altered as America continues to re-open in the wake of the coronavirus, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) today issued two Field Assistance Bulletins to clarify issues relevant to the pandemic’s effects on the workplace.

The bulletins issued today specifically address the following:

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) will hire 55 additional investigators and eight additional technicians to support its efforts to assist employers and ensure compliance with federal requirements.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced five new opinion letters that address compliance issues related to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). An opinion letter is an official, written opinion by the Department’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) on how a particular law applies in specific circumstances presented by the person or entity that requested the letter.

The opinion letters issued today are:

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today launched an interactive online tool to help workers determine if they qualify for paid sick leave or extended family and medical leave to cover time away from work for reasons related to the coronavirus.

WASHINGTON DC – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) today announced a final rule that allows employers to offer bonuses or other incentive-based pay to employees whose hours vary from week to week.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a final rule to provide greater simplicity and flexibility to retail industry employers.

Provisions in the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) allow employers in retail and service industries to exempt certain employees paid primarily on a commission basis from overtime.

VIENNA, VA – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maryland has ordered Creative Hairdressers Inc. – an operator of unisex hair salons in 15 states and the District of Columbia – to pay $1,149,965 in back wages to more than 7,500 employees.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor announced today the end of the temporary period of non-enforcement of paid leave protections under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA).

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced that the department’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) is hiring 45 additional investigators to conduct investigations to determine employers’ compliance with applicable federal labor laws.

New recruits will join a busy and productive team, including 45 new investigators and 15 Wage and Hour Technicians the hired earlier this year.

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the U.S. Department of Labor announced more guidance to provide information to workers and employers about how each will be able to take advantage of the protections and relief offered by the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), which went into effect April 1, 2020.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced new action regarding how American workers and employers will benefit from the protections and relief offered by the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act and Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act, both part of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). The department’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) posted a temporary rule issuing regulations pursuant to this new law, effective today, April 1, 2020.

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) published more guidance to provide information to employees and employers about how each will be able to take advantage of the protections and relief offered by the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) when it goes into effect on April 1, 2020.