Wage & Hour Counsel : Wage & Hour Lawyer & Attorney : Littler Mendelson Law Firm : Employment Law, Labor Relations

On August 31, 2010, just in time for Labor Day, New York Governor David Paterson signed into law the “Domestic Workers Bill of Rights” (“Bill of Rights”), which grants certain employment protections to household domestic workers such as nannies, caregivers and housekeepers. The Bill of Rights, which takes effect on November 29, 2010, is the first of its kind in the nation and amends New York Labor Law, in addition to other statutes, to entitle domestic workers to receive overtime pay, one day of rest per week or overtime pay when they work on their day of rest, and three days of paid time off after one year of employment. To learn more about the law and its implications for employers, please continue reading Littler's ASAP, "New York Enacts Bill of Rights for Domestic Workers," by Stephen A. Fuchs.

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On May 12, 2010, Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle signed into law two pieces of legislation regarding the misclassification of employees. Senate Bill 672, which will become effective January 1, 2011, requires the Department of Workforce Development (DWD) to establish a system ensuring the proper classification of workers under unemployment insurance, worker’s compensation and labor standards laws. Specifically, the DWD is required to educate employers, employees and the public about the proper classification of persons performing services for an employer; receive and investigate complaints alleging misclassification; conduct investigations on its own initiative; inform other state or local agencies of misclassification of employees; and appoint attorneys to conduct hearings and issue decisions as appeal tribunals.

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Legislation introduced in both the House and Senate would impose new record-keeping requirements on employers that hire independent contractors, and impose stricter penalties for misclassification. Introduced by Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA) and Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), the Employee Misclassification Prevention Act (H.R. 5107, S. 3254) would amend the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to require employers to keep records on and notify workers of their employment or independent contractor classification and their right to challenge that classification. For more information on the legislation and its implications for employers, continue reading at Littler's D.C. Employment Law Update blog.

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The federal Department of Labor (DOL) recently announced its intent to revise the regulations governing the recordkeeping requirements imposed on employers by the Fair Labor Standards Act. Specifically, the DOL’s Wage and Hour Division intends to propose revised regulations that would require employers to disclose how many hours were worked in a pay period, how pay has been computed, what deductions are being made, and whether proper time and one-half overtime pay has been included for overtime hours worked for each pay period.

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