Question: A new hire was given a $5,000 sign-on bonus but has been a no-show for numerous days, and we haven’t been able to contact them. Can we withhold and/or deduct from this employee’s final paycheck to recoup some of the sign-on bonus?

The U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals (the federal appeals court covering Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas) recently issued an opinion warning employers of the dangers of allowing employees to work off the clock. Forewarned is forearmed. Read on.<

Employers are looking to save time and money and are turning to artificial intelligence (AI) to make employment practices more efficient. In early 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued guidance to help employers navigate the use of AI. The takeaway is that eliminating humans from critical employment processes could result in a violation of federal employment laws. Read on to learn ways to avoid federal wage and hour claims when using AI.

In Texas v. DOL, a federal district judge granted summary judgment (dismissal without a trial) for the state of Texas and various trade groups and blocked the Biden administration’s overtime rule on a nationwide basis.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit in New Orleans (which covers employers in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas) recently upheld a district court’s decision that two highly compensated IT engineers were not properly paid on a salary basis and, therefore, not exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act’s (FLSA) overtime requirements. The 5th Circuit’s opinion reiterates that no matter how much money an employee earns, a guaranteed weekly salary must be paid in accordance with the FLSA’s specific rules and regulations to maintain most exemptions from the overtime pay requirements.

I am sometimes asked what lawyers really do for a living? My answer—to hope for the best, plan for the worst. The worst was definitely not planned for in a recent case from Harris County.

Hospitality employers take note: The Department of Labor’s (DOL) tip rule has been struck down. The tip credit is a provision of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) that allows employers to pay tipped employees a lower direct wage as long as their tips make up the difference to reach the minimum wage. However, the tip credit has been a source of confusion and litigation for many hospitality employers, which have faced conflicting and changing rules from the DOL on how to apply it.