Justin Barnes

2 months ago | jdsupra.com | Justin Barnes |Brian Lewis |Laura Mitchell

Takeaways President Trump has rescinded President Biden’s 2021 executive order increasing the minimum wage for employees of federal contractors. The minimum wage is now $13.30 per hour for federal contractors covered by President Obama’s 2014 executive order, which remains in effect. Trump’s action does not formally revoke a Department of Labor rule implementing Biden’s wage mandate. However, there is no longer a basis for enforcing the rule.

Feb 27, 2025 | jdsupra.com | Justin Barnes |Eric R. Magnus |John McCall |John Mccall

Takeaways The new bill is broader than the FLSA and, if passed, would apply to all businesses. The bill proposes a reporting requirement for all Georgia businesses. If the Georgia bill is passed, there may be greater incentive for employees to bring overtime claims under the FLSA. If the bill becomes law, there may be a tax incentive to switch some salaried employees to an hourly rate.

Jan 30, 2025 | jdsupra.com | Justin Barnes |Jeffrey W. Brecher

The Trump Administration has asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit to postpone oral argument in a lawsuit challenging President Joe Biden’s 2024 independent contractor rule. The U.S. Department of Justice filed a motion to pause oral argument in a legal challenge brought by trucking companies in order to give the incoming leadership at the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) a chance to review the case and determine its next steps in the litigation.

Jan 16, 2025 | jdsupra.com | Justin Barnes |Jeffrey W. Brecher

Takeaways Employers need only establish that an exemption applies through a “preponderance of evidence,” not the higher “clear and convincing evidence” standard. An outlier decision by the Fourth Circuit is reversed, easing the burden of proof for employers in Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia. While this case involved application of the FLSA’s outside sales exemption, the reasoning applies to all statutory exemptions.

Jan 15, 2025 | jdsupra.com | Justin Barnes |Laura Mitchell

The Supreme Court on Monday, Jan. 13, 2025, declined to take up a decision addressing the president’s authority under the Procurement Act to issue a minimum wage mandate for employees working on federal government contracts. The denial of the petition for certiorari keeps a circuit split intact, and leaves federal contractors to navigate the wage mandate’s uncertain legal status while complying with the latest minimum wage hike to $17.75 per hour, which took effect Jan. 1.