Jackson Lewis P.C. • jacksonlewis.com 2022 Wage & Hour Develop ments: A Year in Review 1
2022
WAGE & HOUR DEVELOPMENTS: A YEAR IN REVIEW
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION 3
FEDERAL LEGISLATION 3
U.S. SUPREME COURT CASES 4
OTHER NOTABLE FEDERAL
COURT CASES 5
DOL AGENCY DEVELOPMENTS 19
STATE UPDATES 26
California 26
District of Columbia 28
Georgia 28
Hawaii 29
Illinois 29
Massachusetts 31
Michigan 32
Nebraska 33
Nevada 33
New York 33
Ohio 35
Oregon 36
Pennsylvania 36
Puerto Rico 39
Rhode Island 40
South Carolina 41
Virginia 41
Washington 42
West Virginia 45
MINIMUM WAGE INCREASES 46
MINIMUM SALARIES FOR THE
“WHITE COLLAR” EXEMPTIONS 46
Jackson Lewis P.C. • jacksonlewis.com 2022 Wage & Hour Develop ments: A Year in Review 3
INTRODUCTION
2022 saw continued wage and hour policy chan ges at
the federal level. A nal rule addressing independent
contractor status issued by the Trump Administration
(which some argued made it easier to classif y individuals
as independent contractors) was withdrawn by the
U.S. Department of Labor (DO L) under the Biden
Administration before it became effective in March
2022. But a federal court revived and reinstated the
Trump nal rule holding the Biden Administration’s
withdrawal invalid. The DOL then responded by issu ing a
new proposed independe nt contractor rule, and a nal
rule is expected to be issued in 2023.
Meanwhile, employers waited with bated breath for the
DOL to propose a new rule increasing the sa lary level
for employees subject to the “white collar ” overtime
exemptions — those for executive, administrative, and
professional (EAP) employees. The current salar y level
for the standard exemptions stands at $35,56 8 and,
for “highly compensated” em ployees, $107,432. During
2022, the DOL repeatedly stated a rule was in the works
for months, and even held “town halls” to obtain in put
from the public and affected stakeholders. B ut 2022
has come and gone without a new ru le. With ination at
its highest level in years, some pundits are speculating
the new rule will include a large minimum salary level
increase. However, the DOL may be concerned about
implementing too drastic a chang e, in light of the 2016
federal court ruling invalidating a previously proposed
signicant increase. The De partment also may be
concerned about avoiding the “major questions”
doctrine, revived by the U.S. Supreme Court l ast term,
which limits the power of agencies to regulate areas that
signicantly impact the economy without clear authority
from Congress.
Through all of this, the Biden Administration struggled to
achieve approval of its nominee to head the Wage and
Hour Division (WH D) of the DOL. After narrowly making it
out of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pen sions
Committee, the rst nomi nee, David Weil, was rejected
by the full Senate in late March 2022. The administration
responded in August 2022 by nominating Jessica
Looman, who had been the acting administrator of the
WHD since June 2021 . Looman’s nomination has yet to be
addressed by the full Senate as the new year begins . Stay
tuned for further DOL develop ments in early 2023.
With the COVID-19 pandem ic easing, employees returned
the workplace, but often only for three or four days per
week. Courts began to address so me of the wage and hour
issues that arose from the pandemic, such a s whether
testing, screening, and vaccination time a re compensable
as “integral” to the employee job performan ce.
At the state level, more states and local jurisdictions
enacted pay transparency statutes and regulations,
requiring employers to disclose salar y information in
greater detail in job advertisements and posti ngs. Some
states require the disclosure for any job posted in the
United States if the job could be perform ed remotely in
the jurisdiction.
In the 2022 Year in Review report, we review some of
the signicant wage and hour developments at both the
federal and state level, as well as identify all the new state
minimum wage rates. While the federal minimum wage
has not changed since Ju ly 2009, the number of states
and local jurisdictions increasing minimum wage rate
continues to expand. Notably, in 2022, Hawaii enacted
a tiered minimum wage increase that eventually will
max out at $18.00 per ho ur (in 2028) – the rst state to
ofcially enact a statutory increase to this level – whil e
Massachusetts and Washington joined the $15-per-hour
club as of January 1, 2023. Al so, as of January 1, Seattle
has become the city with the hi ghest minimum wage rate
at $18.69 per hour (for large employers).
FEDERAL LEGISLATION
As 2022 ended, Congress passed, and President Joe
Biden signed, the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections
for Nursing Mothers Act (PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act).
The PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act expands existing
employer obligations under the Fair Labo r Standards Act
(FLSA) to provide an employee with reasonable break
time to express breast milk for the employee’s nursing
child for one year after the child’s birth. The e mployer
obligation to provide a place to express milk shielde d
from view and intrusion from coworkers and the public
(other than a bathroom) continues. Except for changes
to available remedies, the amendment to the FLSA took
effect on December 29, 2022 . The changes to remedies
will take effect on April 28, 2023.
