Hot Topics in Total Rewards

Tuesday, May 7, 2019

Last week, the Department of Labor (DOL) responded to the district court decision striking down the final regulations expanding the ability for a group of unrelated employers to form an organization in order to offer health care to its members. The DOL’s statement setting forth policy positions regarding association health plans (AHPs) indicated its intent to fight the district court decision, and offered interim relief for those employers who have obtained health coverage from AHPs relying on the DOL’s final regulations. The DOL noted that the agency is committed to taking all appropriate action within its legal authority to minimize undue consequences on employees and their families. Thus, employers participating in insured AHPs can generally maintain that coverage through the end of the plan year or, if later, the contract term. During this time, the DOL will not pursue enforcement actions involving AHP in reliance of the DOL’s final rules.

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Source: The National Law Review

https://www.natlawreview.com/article/dol-offers-interim-relief-employers-association-health-plans 

5.3.19

The EEOC just announced that, in order to comply with a recent shocking court order, most employers will need to turn over compensation information from both 2017 and 2018 when they submit their Component 2 pay data with their EEO-1 submission on September 30, 2019. While there is still a chance that an appeals court could put the pay data/hours worked reporting requirement on hold once again, or that a newly reconstituted EEOC Commission might modify the regulations, you should start taking action immediately under the assumption that all of this information will need to be disclosed by the recently announced due date. Meanwhile, the May 31, 2019 deadline for the traditional demographic data (now called “Component 1” data) remains firmly in place.

How Did We Get Here?

Employers felt a tectonic shift in early March, when a federal court in Washington, D.C. revived the Obama-era requirement that calls for employers to turn over compensation information in the EEO-1 Report along with general demographic data. The judge’s March 4 order required the pay data collection to commence immediately, but when the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) unveiled its 2019 reporting system on March 18, there was no method by which employers could have included such information even if they wanted.

In response, the court ordered the EEOC to begin collecting the pay data by September 30, 2019. And the judge took it one step further: she agreed with those advocacy organizations bringing the original lawsuit and ruled that employers should be on the hook for turning over two years’ worth of pay data. After all, the original plan from the Obama-era EEOC called for this information to be collected starting several years ago, and the judge believed the agency erred by putting a halt to this collection effort. So she gave the EEOC the option of either collecting pay data from both 2017 and 2018 information by the September 30 deadline, or collecting 2019 pay data during the 2020 reporting period, and asked the agency to choose an option by Friday, May 3.

EEOC Picks Its Poison: Double Data To Disclosed In 2019

In an announcement both posted on the agency’s website and released in the Federal Register, the EEOC announced that EEO-1 filers should begin preparing to submit their pay data for calendar year 2017, in addition to data for calendar year 2018, by the September 30, 2019 deadline. It also said that it expects to begin collecting this data by mid-July, which comports with its earlier announcement that the collection portal would be open for business and in a position to accept compensation information on July 15, 2019.

The agency also reminded employers that general demographic information for 2018 is still due by May 31, 2019, and that recent events have not impacted the existing due date for the standard EEO-1 Report.

What’s Next?

You can expect a few things to happen in the near future. First and foremost, in order to be in a position to comply with the new requirements, the EEOC has already announced that it will offer a series of training sessions and provide detailed information to employers so you understand your obligations in advance of the September 30 due date. Be on the lookout for those in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, you can expect employer organizations to launch independent legal challenges against the new requirements now that the dust has settled and the obligations are set in stone. No doubt that these organizations will point out that the September 30 deadline for 2017 and 2018 information will present a difficulty for employers given that it is just a day before the 2019 data collection payroll period begins.

Finally, it would not be surprising if the federal government also filed an appeal against the judge’s ruling that resurrected the pay data reporting requirement in the first place. While we would assume that the independent employer organizations and the federal government would ask for an indefinite delay in reporting while any appeal is pending, you cannot count on the fact that such a stay would be granted. Instead, you should operate under the assumption that you will soon be responsible for turning over a mountain of pay data – indeed, twice as big as you might have thought – by September 30.

What Should You Do?

For EEO-1 filers (those businesses with at least 100 employees), we can’t stress this enough: you should assume that you will need to turn over both 2017 and 2018 pay data and hours worked by the September 30, 2019 deadline. You should begin by determining how your W-2 pay data will be split into the 12 pay bands required for each of the 10 EEO-1 categories. And you need to determine how you will report your hours worked, which is also a significant undertaking, where the data is likely tracked separately from the pay data W-2 information.

You should also make it a priority to review current pay systems and identify and address any areas of pay disparity. It is critical to take steps now to minimize increased scrutiny that may soon come your way. Ideally, you would work with counsel to conduct this initial review under the protection of the attorney-client privilege while you are assessing your workforce and the proper grouping for your employee population.

By conducting your own audit of pay practices, you will be able to determine whether any pay gaps exist that might catch the eye of the federal government if or when you are forced to turn over this information. You may have time to determine whether any disparities that may exist can be justified by legitimate and non-discriminatory explanations, or whether you will need to take corrective action to address troublesome pay gaps. Due to the increased complications caused by varying state legislative developments, we strongly encourage you to get your attorney involved in this analysis early in the process.

We will continue to assess the situation and provide necessary updates, so you should ensure you are subscribed to Fisher Phillips’ alert system to gather the most up-to-date information. If you have questions, please contact your Fisher Phillips attorney or any attorney in our Pay Equity Practice Group or our Affirmative Action and Federal Contract Compliance Practice Group.

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Source: Fisher Phillips

https://www.fisherphillips.com/resources-alerts-double-duty-you-will-soon-have-to?click_source=sitepilot06!4723!YmlsbC5icmV3ZXJAY2xlYW5jdXR0ZWsuY29t

Thursday, April 25, 2019

As we previously reported here, on April 3, 2019, the White House Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) filed a brief with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia proposing a September 30, 2019 deadline for the EEOC to complete collection of the required 2018 EEO-1 pay data forms. The brief was filed in response to a March 4, 2019 court order lifting a 2017 stay of pay data collection, which had been implemented to allow for further review of the burdens associated with pay data collection.

On April 25, 2019, in a ruling from the bench, a federal judge approved the September 30, 2019 deadline.  This means that employers with 100 or more employees (and federal contractors with 50 or more employees) will be required to report their employees’ 2018 W-2 compensation information and hours worked by September 30, 2019.  The goal of the collection is to reduce pay gaps based on sex, race, and ethnicity.  Remember, the deadline to submit all other EEO-1 data, such as race and gender information, remains May 31, 2019.

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Source: The National Law Review

https://www.natlawreview.com/article/federal-court-confirms-september-30-2019-deadline-employers-to-submit-eeo-1-pay-data

AUTHOR

Valerie Bolden-Barrett

PUBLISHED

April 26, 2019

Dive Brief:

• Keller Williams Realty took the top spot on Indeed’s 2019 list of 100 top-rated companies for work-life balance; In-N-Out Burger and Capitol One followed.
• Top companies used various strategies to create work-life balance, Indeed said, including allowing employees to set their own schedules; paying above-average wages; consistently accommodating work, school and other life responsibilities; offering alternative childcare options; offering remote work options; providing on-site medical and fitness centers; and allowing workers to swap shifts electronically.
• According to the job board, employees might appear to be productive by putting in demanding hours, but a balanced work style makes them happier, healthier, more productive and less likely to quit. Indeed said it used its 100 million ratings and reviews to create its list.

Dive Insight:

As Indeed pointed out, employees with a strong work-life balance​ are said to be twice as happy, productive and loyal to their employers than workers who struggled with trying to find balance, according to a 2018 study by Robert Half. And the onus is increasingly on employers; of the 2,800 employees in the survey, 39% said employers were responsible for creating work-life balance. 

But not all employment experts think work-life balance is achievable or even exists. Although work-life balance was cited along with salary and job location as a top employee motivator, the lines between work and non-work hours have blurred now that technology allows people to multitask nearly 24/7. Lisa Sterling, ​Ceridian's chief people and culture officer, told HR Dive in a 2018 interview: "You've got to get to a point at which work and life integrate, and you figure out organizationally and individually how to make those two things work together."  

One common thread among the Indeed winners is flexibility. Increasingly, workers desire it within their work lives, study after study has shown. Flexibility allows for that work-life integration, allowing employees to make the choices and take the leave they need when they need it, so long as the work gets done. To adopt flexible work, employers have traditionally focused on providing remote work, telecommuting and job-sharing options.

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Source: HR Dive

https://www.hrdive.com/news/keller-williams-in-n-out-burger-top-work-life-balance-list/553311/

AUTHOR

Jennifer Carsen

PUBLISHED

April 18, 2019

Dive Brief:

• Nearly 70% percent of employees spend an hour or less considering their benefits at enrollment time, according to a new survey of 1,500 full-time U.S. employees by Colonial Life. 
• Employees who rush through their benefits choices are 23% less likely to understand their benefits moderately or very well, the survey found. They are also 55% more likely to leave their jobs in the coming year, 32% more likely to feel dissatisfied in their jobs and 18% less likely to feel cared about by their employer, it continued.
• Women and single or divorced employees tend to take less time considering their benefits, as are employees at companies with fewer than 250 employees and employees without children, according to the report. 

Dive Insight:

Unfortunately, it's not surprising that employees tend not to understand their health benefits very well, as they don't spend a lot of time reviewing their options. According to a 2018 Unum poll, employees spend 30 minutes or less reading open enrollment materials. The haste could be due to emotional discomfort — about one-fifth of respondents reported that signing up for benefits resulted in stress, confusion and anxiety. 

So, what's the solution? As tempting as it may be to inundate employees with all the information you think they might need, it's important not to bombard them, Brenda J. Mullins, vice president of human resources and chief people officer at Aflac, said in an opinion piece for HR Dive. Discrete, "bite-sized" communications spread out over time are far more effective than an avalanche during open enrollment.

Additionally, varied strategies can help you reach a wider range of employees more effectively. Some employees, for example, prefer town hall meetings, while others do well with online quizzes and contests. A benefits advisor can help an employer design communication strategies and schedules that are a good fit for its particular workforce.

But employers shouldn't make the mistake of thinking that benefits confusion, discomfort, or haste means that benefits aren't important to their employees. According to 80% of respondents in a 2018 online survey conducted by the American Institute of CPAs, a job with benefits is preferable to the same job with more pay and no benefits. This was true even though only 28% of respondents were very confident that they were fully using their benefits.

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Source: HR Dive

https://www.hrdive.com/news/survey-hasty-benefits-decisions-damage-employee-morale/552755/

AUTHOR

Valerie Bolden-Barrett

PUBLISHED

April 18, 2019

Dive Brief:

• The labor market's continuous job growth during the past eight years has been "extremely positive," according to ADP's State of the Workplace Report: Pay, Promotions and Retention report. But there also was a lag in wage growth during the same period and a disparity between women and men's wages and managers and non-managers' wages. Citing the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the report said that 2018's job growth averaged 200,000 jobs a month.  
• On national wages, the report found that the average hourly wage is $29.03 per hour. For managers, who make up 16% of the workforce, the report said that the average wage was $47 an hour. Non-managers are 84% of the workforce and earn on average $25 an hour, according to the report. Women comprise 47% of the workforce and earn on average $25 an hour, while men are 53% of the workforce and earn an average $32 an hour, it continued. 
• Employers promote 8.9% of their workers on average, according to ADP, and they offer those employees an average wage increase of 17.4%. The report also found the average worker's age to be 41.7 years, the average tenure was 5.6 years and the average monthly turnover rate was 3.2%.

Dive Insight:

ADP's findings indicate that job growth has been steady, as the latest BLS numbers showed earlier this month. However, as positive as job growth is for the overall economy, for employers in a tight labor market facing talent shortages, recruiting for new positions may well remain a challenge. 

Sourcing and hiring may be especially challenging for employers that continue to decline to adjust wages to account for real wage stagnancy. At the start of the year, 19 states had raised their minimum wages to benefit largely low-wage earners. And a few high-profile employers, like Target, Chick-fil-A, Bank of America and Disney, have raised their minimum wage either in response to union demands or to proactively reduce turnover and stay competitive in an employee-driven labor market. 

Meanwhile, the pay disparity that continues between women and men could remain in place for another 217 years without direct action, some have predicted. In response, HR managers can review compensation practices, flag any disparities, study market rates and conduct periodic compensation audits.

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Source: HR Dive

https://www.hrdive.com/news/adp-gender-managerial-pay-gaps-persist/552682/

Staff Writer

Apr 05, 2019 | 12:11 PM EST 

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We take a look at Castlight Health’s latest report on the state of employee benefits personalization and how AI will drive the future of benefits management.

Employers are seeking to make more data-driven employee benefits decisions. That’s according to Castlight Health’s latest report,  Employer Perspectives of Personalization in Digital Health, which found that employers strongly believe that personalization has the ability to significantly impact employers and employees.

As consumers become more accustomed to personalization everywhere – right from their Netflix recommendations to ATM kiosks, they have come to expect the same level of personalization in the workplace as well. And employee benefits are no exception.

What’s Keeping Employers from Personalizing Their Benefits Offerings?

While artificial intelligence (AI) and data analytics have transformed several business functions rapidly, organizations are at a data disadvantage when it comes to their benefits offerings. Maeve O’Meara, Executive Vice President of Product and Customer Experience at Castlight believes that employers typically work with limited data-sources which keeps them from unleashing the true power of benefits personalization.

“Our survey of employers with the National Business Group on Health (NBGH) found that most organizations are eager to take advantage of the technological advances that enable benefits personalization. But, an employer’s ability to personalize benefits and recommend them to employees is only as good as the data they use to inform those recommendations,” says Maeve. “Our report found that employers today are leveraging some data, such as medical claims and biometrics screenings, to drive personalization -- but powerful data sources remain largely untapped. Delivering on the promise of benefits personalization requires employers to collect additional data from disparate sources such as third-party apps, user preferences, and user behavior, as well as the ability to synthesize that data into timely, granular recommendations.”

The report that focuses on large employers, found that a majority of employers (71 percent) offer little or no personalization to employees when it comes to matching the right benefits/resources to employees’ needs. When asked how they would grade their organization’s current benefits personalization efforts, none of the employers awarded themselves an A grade. “Our survey of the nation’s largest employers found that they widely recognize the power of personalization to positively impact employees, but most believe they are not tapping into its full potential. As well as quantifying that gap, the survey highlighted several opportunities to improve benefits programs through personalization,” says Maeve.

How AI Can Help Drive Benefits Personalization

With high-deductible health plans (HDHP), open enrollment, and 401(k)s benefits offerings still being viewed as complicated and difficult to understand by employees, employers need to deploy the right tools to offer personalization. In the candidate-driven jobs landscape today, personalized benefits offerings are a part of employers’ overall competitive advantage. “With employers facing increasing pressure to attract and retain talent, offering a personalized, engaging, and consumer-grade benefits experience is a key competitive advantage. We have seen from other industries -- from entertainment to shopping -- that technology-driven, personalized services drive deeper consumer engagement and satisfaction than the one-size-fits-all status quo. The same is true in health benefits: by connecting employees with the right benefits and resources for them as an individual, we see greater employee engagement with -- and satisfaction in – benefits,” opines Maeve.

The report classifies personalization data sources into Mature (eligibility file and claims data), Crossover (health risk assessments and biometric screenings), and Nascent (in-app questions, third-party apps, and search data/history). AI-powered benefits solutions that draw on all three data-sources are crucial to delivering a personalized benefits experience. With the right data sets, AI can help employees make educated benefits choices that are relevant to them and their individual needs. Once organizations have a unified view of all data, AI can provide personalized nudges to inspire better benefits utilization.

Conclusion

All indicators point to AI driving the future of benefits administration. “It’s clear employers recognize the promise of digital health benefits, as they continue to invest in solutions that empower employees to access care, manage conditions, and stay healthy. Now, employers are seeking ways to drive greater value in their existing digital health investments.

“One of the key levers to do so is through benefits personalization. Our recent report identified three innovations employers can take advantage of to improve benefit personalization going forward: increased data liquidity creates the opportunity to incorporate broader data sources; advances in machine learning enable more granular segmentation in communicating with employees, and applying personalization across disparate programs enables employees to understand and connect with the right resource at the right time,” says Maeve.

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Source: HR Technologist

https://www.hrtechnologist.com/articles/benefits-administration/why-ai-is-the-future-of-benefits-personalization/

AUTHOR

Lisa Burden

PUBLISHED

March 28, 2019

Dive Brief:

• Cash rewards might not be the most effective way to get employees to participate and complete employer wellness programs, according to a study by Brigham Young University.
• Researchers say they studied an employer that provided awards such as cash bonuses added to paychecks, gift cards or a tangible reward of equal value to employees who completed six-week wellness challenges, BYU reported. Although 60% of the participants choose cash rewards, people who selected gift cards were 25% more likely to complete a wellness challenge, BYU said. 
• Researchers speculated that gift cards may be more motivational because they represent the "optimal balance between hedonic value (fun, enjoyment) and fungibility," the study's authors told BYU. The study does not recommend that organizations only offer gift cards as incentives, the report said.

Dive Insight:

According to a 2018 study by Wrike, all but 6% of American workers reported being stressed at work, and one-fourth of the respondents to the survey said they will burn out within the next year if they continue to feel so stressed. Stress and burnout can lead to high turnover, and poor sleep — a common side effect of stress — has shown to cause workers to make more mistakes.   

With this in mind, it's not shocking that wellness is a serious consideration for employees and candidates. According to a recent survey, 73% of workers weigh whether an employer offers well-being programs when deciding whether to accept a job offer. In the same survey, about one-quarter of respondents said they favored incentives that reward healthy behavior. Academic case studies from Stanford University and the University of Michigan have also shown the popularity of wellness programs among workers. 

Even with strong employee demand for wellness programs, employers might look to personalized programs and incentives to encourage full participation. Personalized wellness programs or non-cash incentives like paid time off would motivate 80% of employees to participate, according to the Wellbeing Wake-Up Report by Welltok.

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Source: HR Dive

https://www.hrdive.com/news/gift-cards-more-effective-than-cash-at-motivating-employees-study-finds/551318/

The simple pension plan that started in 1636 took centuries to evolve into free snacks and ping-pong tables.

BY LYDIA DISHMAN 

• 03.22.19
• 9:00 AM
• WORKPLACE EVOLUTION

The promise of opportunities to bring your dog to work or to take a break between meetings by playing ping-pong or hopping aboard a Peloton treadmill has become somewhat common in workplaces across the country. Even coworking spaces like Luminary which are filled with freelancers and startup founders, offer perks like free wine.

With unemployment hovering at historic lows, employers are beefing up their benefits and perks to attract candidates who aren’t necessarily actively looking for work but could be persuaded to make the leap for the right package. A survey from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) revealed that the vast majority (92%) of employees said benefits are important to their overall job satisfaction. Nearly a third (29%) of employees reported that their overall benefits package was a top reason to look for a position outside of their current organization and 32% of employees who said they wouldn’t look cited their overall benefits package as a top reason as well.

From the standard benefits like health insurance and 401K to premium perks like student loan repayment and maternity concierge services, employees have come to expect benefits as part of their overall compensation from their employers. But it wasn’t always this way.

1636: THE FIRST PENSION PLAN

The very first benefit recorded for workers happened during colonial times. In 1636, Plymouth (now part of Massachusetts) began paying a pension to colonists who were disabled during the fight for independence. The nascent government in 1789 passed a federal pension plan that would pay benefits to veterans of the Revolutionary War. The first private pension plan wouldn’t appear until 1875 when American Express offered employees who retired from the company 50% of the salary they earned in their final decade with them (but not to exceed $500).

1797: THE BIRTH OF PROFIT SHARING

As the country grew, so did the need for skilled workers in manufacturing, which meant that individual employers needed a way to attract talent and keep them loyal. So in 1797, Albert Gallatin, the Secretary of the Treasury under Presidents Jefferson and Madison, who also happened to be a glassworks mogul, crafted the nation’s first profit-sharing plan for his employees.

The profit-sharing plans we know today continued to evolve in the 1800s, when the likes of General Foods and Pillsbury gave part of their profits to employees as a bonus. Companies used profit sharing during World War II to give their workers additional compensation without having to raise their wages.

1877: THE FIRST EMPLOYEE HEALTH PLAN

Healthcare as a benefit didn’t appear until 1877 when the Granite Cutters Union started the first plan for workers who got sick or injured on the job. However, retailer Montgomery Ward was the first to adopt a group accident and sickness policy for its employees, around 1910.

1940S: PAID VACATION, AND EMPLOYEE ASSISTANCE

Flash-forwarding to the mid-1940s, Kodak and Dupont established alcohol recovery programs, which were the precursors to the modern Employee Assistance Program. And by 1940, vacation coverage for hourly employees had grown to 50%. A 1943 report submitted to then Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins revealed that nearly 8 million workers, or 60% of those under union agreements, were entitled to paid vacation, up from just 2 million in 1940.

1980S, ’90S, AND BEYOND: PAID PARENTAL LEAVE, STOCK OPTIONS, AND MORE

IBM started the first elder-care program in 1987 and in 1991 Starbucks became the first private employer to offer stock options to eligible full- and part-time employees.

From here benefits and perks expand to include many of the ones we are familiar with now. And the menu just keeps growing. In 1996, the SHRM tracked 60 perks and benefits. In 2018 that number had swelled to over 300.

Among them, paid parental leave has been both a hot-button issue for equity between men and women in the workplace as well as a tool employers have used to lure talent–particularly in tech jobs. And paid leave for caregivers is becoming a more urgent need as gen Xers who are mostly in middle management and executive positions toggle between caring for children and elder and sick family members.

Employers looking to build loyal teams have taken a less practical approach to benefits in recent years. Instead, they’ve built company cultures around group wellness, unlimited vacation policies, and even more esoteric perks such as pet cloning.

The bottom line is that benefits and perks affect the bottom line. The most recent Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows that in 2015, employers factored in 31.3% of their payroll for benefits as compared to 20 years prior, when 71.4% was earmarked for salaries, and only 28.6% went to benefits.

A 2017 SHRM survey found that organizations leveraging benefits to recruit and retain employees are nearly twice as likely to have more satisfied employees and to report better business performance. As a previous Fast Company report revealed, companies that invested in benefits beyond healthcare and vacation saw a boost in retention rates–and an increase in diversity. As Patricia Clarke, chief talent officer at Havas, told us, “It’s an investment in these people to continue to grow and be amazing contributors.”

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Source: Fast Company

https://www.fastcompany.com/90320349/your-employee-benefits-were-400-years-in-the-making

AUTHOR

Ryan Golden@RyanTGolden

PUBLISHED

March 18, 2019

Dive Brief:

• Employee participation in an employer's optional volunteer program is not considered hours worked under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) — even if the employer awards a bonus to certain participating employees — provided the program is charitable and voluntary, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) said in an opinion letter Thursday.
• The letter answered questions about an employer's optional community service program in which workers perform activities either sponsored by the employer or chosen by employee. The employer doesn't require employees to participate in the program, DOL said, nor does it control their participation. As part of the program, the employer "rewards the group of employees with the greatest community impact with a monetary reward." Workers also are compensated for time spent volunteering during work hours or when they're required to be on the employer's premises.
• DOL also said the FLSA permits an employer to use an employee's time spent volunteering as a factor when calculating a bonus without needing to treat volunteer time as hours worked, so long as the volunteering is optional and doesn't have an adverse impact on the employee's working conditions or employment prospects. On a separate point, the agency approved the employer's use of a mobile device app to track participating employees' volunteering time for the purpose of determining which team would win the monetary award. But were the employer to use the app to direct or control worker's volunteer activities, time spent following such instructions would count as hours worked under FLSA, the agency noted.

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Dive Insight:

Employers might need to exercise caution when launching volunteer programs. DOL makes clear that the FLSA does not permit employees to volunteer services to for-profit employers but, at the same, time the agency stated in its March 14 letter that "Congress did not intend for FLSA 'to discourage or impede volunteer activities,'" and also cited previous agency opinion letters in explaining that an employer "may notify employees of volunteer activities and ask for assistance with them as long as there are 'no ramifications if an employee chooses not to participate.'"

Volunteerism has been linked to larger corporate initiatives to improve brand image as part of corporate social responsibility efforts. By offering paid volunteer hours or otherwise encouraging employee-led projects in local communities, employers may be able to create team-building opportunities and improve engagement. Many have joined in on the trend and encouraged volunteerism through such programs, as did Starbuckswhen it launched a pilot program in 2018 allowing select employees to split their time working at a community organization while still getting paid.

DOL's wage and hour opinion letters can serve as a partial defense for other employers in the event of litigation — provided employers rely on the letters in good faith — but that defense can be an imperfect one due in part to the letters' fact-specific nature, experts previously told HR Dive.

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Source: HR Dive

https://www.hrdive.com/news/employee-volunteer-time-isnt-compensable-dol-says/550615/