The Library

As 2019 comes to a close and the promise of a brand new year is before us, so are the U.S. Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) newest rules on overtime.  As we recently addressed here, the DOL released its final rule addressing the new salary thresholds employers are required to pay in order to satisfy the “salaried basis” requirement for the “white collar” overtime exemptions.  These thresholds become effective January 1, 2020.  This article focuses on another overtime rule the DOL recently finalized clarifying which benefits should be included in workers’ “regular rate of pay” used to calculate overtime premiums. Under […]

Originally published on valawyersweekly.com on December 16, 2019.

What seemed like a small garnishment matter in Roanoke City General District Court could have had drastic implications to Virginia’s restaurant industry, but Gentry Locke was able to successfully defend a national restaurant chain from having to garnish its employee’s tips. The facts started out in a typical fashion: the Restaurant received a garnishment summons for one of its tipped employees and responded to the summons, indicating that the employee did not earn enough wages to be garnished. As is the required minimum, and standard in Virginia, the tipped employee made $2.13/hour, well below the statutory limits on garnishment. The […]

Virginia law regarding prompt payment under the Fee Schedule seems simple enough. In essence, the workers’ compensation carrier/employer has 45 days after receipt of a medical bill itemization to: Contest the bill; Deny the bill; Notify the healthcare provider that the bill is considered incomplete. If the employer/carrier does not contest, deny, or consider the bill incomplete, it must pay the healthcare provider in full within 60 days after receipt of the medical bill itemization. (§65.2-601(A) and (B)). In those instances where the employer/carrier issues a notification to the healthcare provider, then notification must include the following information: “The reasons […]

This article, co-authored by Kirk M. Sosebee and Alicha M. Grubb, appeared in the Spring 2019 issue of the VBA Journal. Click here to read the formatted publication version in PDF. Attorneys’ Fees in Virginia Attorneys’ fees are a topic near and dear to lawyers’ hearts. After all, what could be more important than getting paid for the work we do? And what could be better than forcing the other party to pay our fees? In construction cases, as in all litigation, attorneys should keep the prospect of attorneys’ fees in mind, and should pay close attention to recent developments […]