On January 5, 2026, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) released six new opinion letters, four under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and two under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). WHD is framing the opinion-letter program as a compliance tool: a way to apply federal labor statutes to concrete workplace fact patterns, and to promote consistency in enforcement. A quick caution up front: opinion letters are fact-specific, and courts are not re

Florida employers are leaning into artificial intelligence for scheduling, pricing, HR screening, and even management decisions. That makes business sense, but it also raises a quieter question: at what point does AI change jobs so much that a previously “exempt” employee becomes overtime-eligible under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)? The law has not changed. The duties tests for the executive and administrative exemptions are the same. What is changing is what people ac

On September 30, 2025, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) issued four new opinion letters under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the Family and Medical Leave Act. Two of these opinions, FLSA2025-03 (tip pooling for oyster shuckers)  and FLSA2025-05 (joint employer liability) , carry particular weight for restaurants, hospitality groups, and businesses that operate multiple related entities. Tip Pooling and “Front-of-House” Oyster Shuckers (FLSA

Florida’s minimum wage will rise to $14.00 per hour on September 30, 2025 , under the 2020 constitutional amendment that requires annual...

A fast-moving national trend Several jurisdictions now treat the intentional non-payment of wages as a criminal offense. Connecticut...

On July 24, 2025, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) officially relaunched the Payroll Audit Independent...

Why late or partial paychecks can still expose employers to real liability Florida doesn’t have a statute requiring the immediate payment...

FLSA Travel Time, Variable Pay, and Industry Risk in Florida For businesses operating in construction, mobile services, and other...

The One Big Beautiful Bill, which was very recently signed into law, contains a headline-grabbing provision for working Americans:...

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) has pulled back a powerful settlement lever. In Field Assistance Bulletin...