December 12, 2017
Speakers on the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) at this week’s Virginia Employment Commission’s (VEC) 2017 Employer Conference made it very clear to the assembled employer representatives that DOL (the Federal Department of Labor) is conducting “unannounced” audits to ensure compliance with FLSA. The focus of the audits is on:
- Classification of employees as “exempt” vs “non-exempt” to insure compliance with not only the wage requirement ($23,600 per year), but also the supervisory requirement. The standard to qualify as being “exempt” from overtime is that at least two employees be be under the individual’s supervision and the individual must have a level of authority to make significant business decisions. More detail is available here.
- Misclassification of individuals as “contractors.” This is particularly prevalent when “clinical” staff are difficult to recruit! Details are available here.
DOL responds to complaints and conducts topic specific audits – we have known for awhile that the recent conversation about the salary requirements to allow exempt status (which is temporarily on hold) had prompted DOL site inspections. We have now been told they are in Virginia!