In today’s news and commentary, the DOL dismisses its appeal of a Biden-era overtime expansion rule, EEOC sues the New York Times for discrimination against a white male employee, and New Jersey’s Department of Labor and Workforce Development finalizes rules that may require employers and courts to classify gig workers as employees.
On Tuesday the DOL agreed to drop its Fifth Circuit appeal regarding a rule that would have expanded overtime pay to millions of Americans. The rule would have raised the salary threshold to receive overtime pay for executive, administrative, or professional employees from $35,568 to $58,656. Two Texas district judges had vacated the rule in 2024 before it went into effect, on the grounds that it exceeded the agency’s authority under FLSA. As James reported this week, the DC Circuit recently agreed to pause litigation until the end of June. Two days later, the DOL abandoned its litigation entirely.
Meanwhile, EEOC filed employment discrimination charges against the New York Times in the Southern District of New York. It charges the Times with discriminating against a long-term white male employee after he did not receive a promotion to Deputy Real Estate Editor last year. EEOC claims that the Times chose a less qualified “multiracial female candidate” based on personal attributes rather than aptitude for the position. The complaint points to the paper’s 2021 diversity initiative as proof of a discriminatory hiring process, as well as Slack...
QUEENSLAND— A nurse in Australia has been formally reprimanded after admitting he submitted forged documents to Qantas (QF) in an attempt to secure a refund for a non-refundable airline ticket. Th...