U.S. Department of Labor Important Office of the Solicitor Briefs Update - June 2021

New Brief Subscription Newsletter You are subscribed to Important Briefs for the U.S. Department of Labor Office of the Solicitor. This page has recently been updated. The following new briefs have been posted to the DOL/SOL Website: Division of Fair Labor Standards: Walsh v. Katsilometes, Response Brief Description: The district court correctly determined that the Secretary established a prima facie case for enforcement, and Katsilometes did not show that the subpoena is overbroad or unduly burdensome. Walsh v. Wellfleet Communications, et al., Response Brief Description: The district court granted judgment for the Secretary and awarded over $1.4 million in damages to the affected workers. Defendants operated a call center business and treated the workers as independent contractors and failed to pay them the FLSA-required minimum wage. In our brief, we argue that the district court was correct in all of the following respects: Defendants' workers were employees under the FLSA, not independent contractors, and a provision in the Internal Revenue Code designating "direct sellers" as non-employees has no bearing for purposes of the FLSA; Defendants' violations were willful and thus the three-year statute of limitations applies; Defendants are foreclosed from pursuing a good faith defense in light of the willfulness of their violations and they failed to carry the burden of showing good faith in any event; we showed by a just and reasonable inference that the workers worked 30-hour workweeks and calculating back wages due on that basis was proper; and there is no appellate jurisdiction over the district court's order denying Defendants' motion to set aside the judgment, and the motion was properly denied in any event. Kreb v. Department of Labor, Response Brief Description: The ALJ's decision was supported by substantial evidence, and Kreb did not show that the ALJ abused his discretion in denying Kreb's motion for sanctions or purportedly limiting testimony concerning the Baldwin System. Division of Plan Benefits Security: Wit et al v. United Behavioral Health, Amicus Brief Description: Plaintiffs have Article III and statutory standing to challenge their denial of benefits due to the application of medical necessity guidelines that are inconsistent with ERISA plan terms. Bafford v. Northrop Grumman Corp. , Amicus Brief Description: The panel held that the plan administrator of Northrop Grumman's pension plan did not act as a fiduciary when it sent erroneous benefit estimates to plaintiffs through a third-party service provider. Relying on a DOL interpretive bulletin, 29 C.F.R. 2509.75-8 (D-2), the panel reasoned that the service provider performed a non-fiduciary ministerial function in calculating the estimates, and that both the service provider and the plan administrator were immunized from fiduciary liability. The Department's amicus brief argues that the panel erred in holding that the plan administrator was not acting as a fiduciary simply because it relied on a ministerial agent. To view the complete list of SOL Briefs posted online, go to: https://www.dol.gov/agencies/sol/briefs. Briefs posted prior to January 1st 2014 are presented in both HTML and PDF formats. Effective January 1st 2014, only Section 508 compliant PDF version of the briefs are available. This message may contain information that is privileged or otherwise exempt from disclosure under applicable law. Do not disclose without consulting the Office of the Solicitor. If you think you received this e-mail in error, please notify the sender immediately. Questions? Contact Us   STAY CONNECTED:   SUBSCRIBER SERVICES: Manage Preferences  |  Unsubscribe  |  Help Got this as a forward? Sign up to receive our future emails. This email was sent to stevenmagallanes520.nims@blogger.com using GovDelivery Communications Cloud on behalf of: United States Department of Labor · 200 Constitution Ave NW · Washington, DC 20210 · 1-866-4-USA-DOL (1-866-487-2365)