New Proposed Recordkeeping Requirements Under the FLSA Require Employers to Conduct Classification Analyses that Must be Disclosed to Employees
By Kathleen M. Connelly, Esq.
The US Department of Labor (USDOL), Wage and Hour Division, is considering a proposed amendment to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) recordkeeping requirements that would require covered employers to notify workers of their rights under the FLSA and provide information relating to hours worked and the computation of wages.
In addition, any employer seeking to classify any employees as "exempt" from the FLSA coverage (and thus not eligible for overtime) will be required to perform a classification analysis justifying the reasons for the exempt classification; to disclose that analysis to the affected worker; and to retain the analysis and make it available to the USDOL upon request.
According to the Fact Sheet distributed by the USDOL, updating the FLSA's recordkeeping requirements to promote transparency "is expected to encourage greater levels of compliance by employers, to enhance awareness among workers of their status as employee or independent contractors and employee rights and entitlements to minimum wages and overtime pay."
Needless to say, should these amendments be adopted employers can expect a new wave of FLSA litigation by employees alleging that they were misclassified as exempt employees or otherwise subject to other wage and hour violations.
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