Paul DeCamp

A past Administrator of the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) Wage and Hour Division, attorney Paul DeCamp represents employers in complex wage and hour class and mass actions and government investigations. He also pushes back when agencies overstep, including obtaining one of the first post-Chevron appellate decisions vacating a federal regulation.

He has also spent nearly 30 years counseling employers to prepare for scrutiny of their pay practices.

Paul draws on his experience in private practice and as the former chief federal officer, appointed by the President of the United States, responsible for interpreting and enforcing the nation’s wage and hour laws, to give clients a 360-degree view of their challenges, quantify their risk, and create plans and solutions that align with their business objectives. He is a go-to advisor for his clients’ most pressing wage and hour issues.

Paul uses his strategic insight into wage and hour public policy and government agency enforcement practices to help employers understand how plaintiffs’ counsel and regulators perceive their pay practices. He has defended large private employers and government contractors in federal court cases concerning pay practices for exempt, non-exempt, and tipped employees, as well as independent contractors. Paul’s creative and forceful arguments have blocked class certification attempts and led the DOL to revise its interpretation of Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) provisions. When responding to an investigation, his strong relationships with key DOL personnel and other federal and state agencies give clients the advantage of further consideration and review of their matter.

Clients also rely on Paul’s day-to-day advice on wage and hour matters ranging from discrete questions involving a single employee to nationwide evaluations affecting thousands of workers. Additionally, he assists clients with pay practice audits and corporate transaction due diligence.

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Paul is co-chair of Epstein Becker Green’s Wage and Hour practice group; a member of the firm’s Employment, Labor & Workforce Management Steering Committee; and a member of the firm’s Agency Action Challenges Team. He is also co-editor of, and a contributing writer to, the firm’s Wage and Hour Defense Blog.

In addition, Paul is a frequent speaker and thought leader who has testified before Congress several times both while serving at the DOL and in private practice. 

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Insider Strategies for Wage and Hour Compliance Success: Paul discusses his experience as the former head of the Wage and Hour Division under President George W. Bush and provides an insider’s view of government enforcement priorities, compliance pitfalls, and the complexities employers face when disputes arise.

• The Treatment of Tipped Workers Under the Fair Labor Standards Act: Hearing Before the Subcomm. on Workforce Protections of the H. Comm. on Education & the Workforce, 118th Cong. (2024)
• Bad for Business: DOL’s Proposed Overtime Rule: Hearing Before the Subcomm. on Workforce Protections of the H. Comm. on Education & the Workforce, 118th Cong. (2023)
• Essential but Undervalued: Examining Workplace Protections for Domestic Workers: Hearing Before the Subcomm. on Workforce Protections of the H. Comm. on Education and Labor, 117th Cong. (2022)
• Farmworkers, Domestic Workers, and Tipped Wage Under the Fair Labor Standards Act: Hearing Before the Subcomm. on Workforce Protections of the H. Comm. on Education and Labor, 117th Cong. (2021)
• Combatting Wage Theft: The Critical Role of Wage and Hour Enforcement: Hearing Before the Subcomm. on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies of the H. Comm. on Appropriations, 116th Cong. (2019)
• Improving the Federal Wage and Hour Regulatory Structure: Hearing Before the Subcomm. on Workforce Protections of the H. Comm. on Education and the Workforce, 113th Cong. (2014)
• The Misclassification of Workers as Independent Contractors: What Policies and Practices Best Protect Workers?: Joint Hearing Before the Subcomm. on Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions and the Subcomm. on Workforce Protections of the H. Comm. on Education and Labor, 110th Cong. 9-35 (2007)
• Adequacy of Labor Law Enforcement in New Orleans: Hearing Before the Subcomm. on Domestic Policy of the H. Comm. on Oversight and Government Reform, 110th Cong. (2007)

• Law360, “Employment Practice Group of the Year” (2024)
• The Best Lawyers in America^©, Employment Law—Management (2019 to 2025); Litigation—Labor and Employment (2017 to 2025)
• Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business: District of Columbia—Labor & Employment, "Leader in Their Field" (2018 to 2023); Virginia—Labor & Employment, "Leader in Their Field" (2011 to 2017)

According to a source, “[Paul] is without a doubt the smartest attorney I have ever worked with. He has an encyclopedic knowledge of his practice area and, moreover, is practical in his advice." Another source says that Paul “combines a deep knowledge of the law and has a real understanding of the economics that drive our business. He has a great work ethic, and is extremely efficient with his time." And another source adds, “He is an excellent lawyer, especially on wage and hour."

• The Legal 500 United States, Labor and Employment Disputes (Including Collective Actions): Defense (2018 to 2024); Workplace and Employment Counseling (2018 to 2021)
• Washington, DC, Super Lawyers, Employment Litigation: Defense and Employment & Labor: Employer (2014 to 2024)
• Washingtonian Magazine, “Top Lawyers,” Employment Defense (2020, 2022)
• Virginia Super Lawyers, Employment Litigation: Defense and Employment & Labor (2013 to 2017)
• Virginia Rising Stars, Employment Litigation: Defense and Employment & Labor (2010 to 2011)
• Secretary of Labor Exceptional Achievement Awards, Recipient of three awards (2007 to 2008)

Education

• Columbia University School of Law (J.D., 1995)
  • Notes Editor, Columbia Law Review
  • Director and Student Editor, First-Year Moot Court Program
  • Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar
• Harvard College (A.B., magna cum laude, 1992)
  • John Harvard Academic Scholar
  • Harvard College Academic Scholar
  • National Merit Scholar
  • President, Quad Sound Studios, a student-run on-campus recording studio

Professional & Community Involvement

• American Employment Law Council
• Law360 Employment Editorial Advisory Board (2021)
• Law360 Wage & Hour Advisory Board (2022, 2023, 2024)