As a follow up from Wednesday’s post regarding Wage and Hour Visits, we wanted to make sure everyone had access to a publication from our friends at Fisher and Phillips.
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Wage and Hour Investigations Ongoing
In the past few days we’ve heard several reports from Georgia, Alabama, and the mid-south of Wage and hour investigations. It has been a few years since we’ve seen widespread investigations in the region but it seems like we’ll be seeing a lot more of them this year once again.
The typical investigation can be either announced by a letter or email or unannounced where they just show up. They will normally want to see payroll records for the past couple of years. There is an emphasis on child labor so they will want birthdays of all under 18 yr old employees. If you’re not comfortable sharing some information have a discussion with the inspector about why you’re not comfortable and see if there’s another way to get to the answer they’re looking for. Most of these inspectors are reasonable and the requests are relatively generic. Read the situation and act accordingly. Call me if you need more clarification here.
Make sure you have your posters on the wall. The main ones they will be looking for is the Minimum Wage Poster and anything related to the Migrant and Seasonal Worker Protection Act (MSPA)and H-2A. The MSPA poster applies to workers who leave their permanent residence and come to work for you temporarily. The H-2A poster should only be on the wall if you have H-2A workers.
The other thing that is normally checked out is any housing you provide. This applies to both MSPA and H-2A workers. If you provide housing for either of these groups, it would be a good idea to inspect your housing now. It doesn’t matter what shape your housing was in at the beginning of the season, the condition today is what you could be held accountable for. Look at this check list and go to your housing and go through the check list soon.
Let us know if you get an investigation so we can continue to track the activities of the agency this season.
Give us a call if you have questions.
Dusty
Overtime Rule Overturned – (Probably not the end)
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas has rendered the entire Overtime Rule published earlier this year invalid. The court held that the substantial minimum salary threshold effectively rendered the duties test redundant, effectively transforming the determination of employee exemptions into a “Salary Only Test.” Furthermore, the court found that the provision adjusting the minimum salary every three years violated the notice-and-comment requirement mandated by the Administrative Procedures Act.
Consequently, the minimum salary has been restored to the level of $35,568, which prevailed prior to July 1, 2023. The Department of Labor (DoL) retains the option to appeal the decision, but many anticipate that the defense of the rule will be abandoned in light of the recent election results.
More to follow.
One Labor Item to Watch Between Now and the End of the Year
As we’ve reported and discussed at multiple meetings, the Department of Labor has updated the requirements for an employee to be considered exempt from overtime. The transition was in two parts with the first becoming effective in July and the second on January 1, 2025. The second part of this will need to be watched over the next few weeks.
There are two tests that employee must meet in order to be deemed exempt from overtime. The first is a “Duties Test”. This really hasn’t changed much over the years. You can find a number of jobs that can be exempt from overtime on this page. That link takes you to Fact Sheet 17A. These are the most common exemptions but there are a lot which I won’t get into today. Most gin employees that are salaried fit in one or more of these fact sheet descriptions. If you think an employee is exempt from overtime MAKE SURE YOU KNOW WHICH FACT SHEET AND JOB APPLIES.
Continue readingPassing of Moss Perrow
Earlier today, we lost a true gentleman and friend of this industry. Mr. Moss Perrow passed away at the age of 94
Moss was one of those guys that would never turn you down if you needed help. He was always a help and guide for me when I first started here in the 90’s. He put the industry ahead of personal interests often. While never an officer of the association, he was perennially on the board and advocated for others to rise to positions in the organization.
Moss was looked to as a leader by not just those in the state but in the region and nationally as well. When he spoke, you had no choice but to listen. I miss my conversations with Mr. Moss and I know he would keep up with what was going on in the industry well after he had retired from working at the gin.
Moss will be laid to rest on Monday, October 28 at 11 AM. The family will receive friends from 4-6 PM on Sunday at the Dukes Harley Funeral Home in Orangeburg, SC.
A link to a full obituary will be added to this post as soon as we get it.
We’ll all miss you Mr. Moss.
Full Obituary: https://www.dukesharleyfuneralhome.com/obituary/moss-perrow-sr
NCC and the USDA a 4-Bale Module Averaging Pilot Project
In partnership with the National Cotton Council (NCC), USDA is piloting a program for the 2024-2025 cotton crop that will allow bales to be shipped in four-bale groupings that use averaged quality data. These groupings of four bales or multiples of four bales will carry the same official USDA classing data for all eight quality factors in an effort to make the flow of cotton into the marketplace more efficient.
The program is completely voluntary and can be tried on one or multiple modules at any time during the season. For more information, stakeholders can view a list of technical frequently asked questions or reach out to any one of the 10 regional cotton classing officesor to the Cotton Grading Division leadership of Robert Seals, Jr., Director, Robert.Seals@usda.gov or Byron Cole, Deputy Director, Byron.Cole@usda.gov.
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