Who Needs Congress?: The Labor Department’s Rulemaking and Sub-Regulatory Efforts

Cincinnati Lawyers Chapter

Speaker:

• Paul DeCamp, Former Administrator, U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division, George W. Bush Administration, Principal, Jackson Lewis P.C. (Washington, D.C. Region)

Speaker: 

• Paul DeCamp, Former Administrator, U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division, George W. Bush Administration, Principal, Jackson Lewis P.C. (Washington, D.C. Region)

As Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division of the United States Department of Labor under President George W. Bush, Paul DeCamp was the chief federal officer responsible for interpreting the enforcing federal wage and hour laws. Prior to serving as Administrator, Mr. DeCamp was Senior Policy Advisor in the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment Standards Administration, where he focused on issuing opinion letters interpreting the Fair Labor Standards Act, and before that was in private practice. Mr. Decamp is currently a Principal in the Washington, D.C. Region office of Jackson Lewis P.C.
 
Congress has blocked most of the President Barack Obama’s efforts to obtain significant changes to federal employment statutes. Instead of mounting a sustained effort to counter congressional opposition, President Obama has sought to enact his employment law agenda through executive action, with the United States Department’s Wage and Hour Division in particular having undertaken several significant regulatory efforts in the final years of the Obama Administration. Most notably, the Wage and Hour Division will soon be issuing its final rule regarding significant changes to the salary basis test applicable to most employees who are exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act’s overtime requirements. The regulatory change is expected to be the largest-ever percentage increase in the salary threshold for exemptions since the Fair Labor Standards Act was passed in 1938, with the salary threshold expected to increase by at least 100%. The change will impact millions of employees nationwide, and it will significantly impact how employers handle telecommuting and other out-of-office work. But this is not the only example of the Obama Wage and Hour Division’s regulatory border-pushing. In recent years the division has virtually gutted the companionship exemption, issued a significant Administrator’s Interpretation regarding independent contractors, and made arguments in a tip credit case that, if adopted, would require the restaurant industry to make significant and costly changes to its daily operations. Having previously served as Administrator of the United States Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division, Mr. DeCamp brings unique insight into these issues.

Please join us from 12:00 noon until 1:15 p.m. on Tuesday, May 24, 2016 for this panel discussion.  The cost of lunch and attendance is $15.00.  Members and non-members alike are always welcome.  Please RSVP by Monday, May 23, at noon to Matthew R. Byrne at [email protected].  Pay at the door or in advance by cash or check (payable to “The Federalist Society”).  We look forward to seeing you at the event.