Wage & Hour

  • August 11, 2025

    Posner Accuser Wants Roberts To Pick Judges For Wage Case

    The pro se plaintiff seeking to revive wage claims against retired Seventh Circuit Judge Richard A. Posner has filed an opposed motion asking the circuit's chief judge to request U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts assign out-of-circuit judges to preside over the case, arguing the circuit judges cannot be impartial.

  • August 11, 2025

    Fisher Phillips Adds Back Kahana Feld Labor Atty In Calif.

    Fisher Phillips is expanding its West Coast team, announcing Monday a Kahana Feld LLP labor and employment ace is returning to the firm as a partner its Orange County office in Irvine, California.

  • August 08, 2025

    Truck Driver Seeks Class Cert. In Time Card Rounding Row

    A California federal court must grant class certification to truck drivers at a construction materials company that allegedly underpaid workers by rounding on time cards, a former employee argued, saying the workers did not receive accurate wage statements.

  • August 08, 2025

    NY Forecast: Judge Weighs NLRB Injunction Bid At Nonprofit

    This week, a New York federal judge will consider whether to order a homeless shelter operator to bargain with a Service Employees International Union affiliate over allegations that the nonprofit refused to bargain with the union and threatened workers over their union activity. Here, Law360 looks at this and other cases on the docket in New York.

  • August 08, 2025

    9th Circ. Won't Review Collective Action Ruling In Wage Case

    The Ninth Circuit said Friday it won't weigh a panel's decision that Cracker Barrel servers from only the state where a wage suit originated should be kept in a collective action, and turned down the restaurant chain's bid to reevaluate the first step of the certification process.

  • August 08, 2025

    Papa John's No-Poach Deal Barely Clears Initial Hurdle

    A Kentucky federal judge expressed lingering concerns despite giving initial approval to a $5 million settlement for claims from Papa John's employees over its past use of no-poach provisions in its franchise agreements after rejecting a previous approval bid.

  • August 08, 2025

    Calif. Forecast: Amazon-NLRB Fight Heads To 9th Circ.

    In the coming week, attorneys should keep an eye out for Ninth Circuit oral arguments in Amazon's challenge to the constitutionality of the National Labor Relations Board's structure. Here's a look at that case and other labor and employment matters coming up in California.

  • August 08, 2025

    X Says Former Employee Was Fired For Misconduct

    A former X employee was fired after writing on Slack about a "kill command" that could have turned off the website, according to the social media company, telling a California federal court that his Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act suit can't stand.

  • August 08, 2025

    NY Firm Falcon Rappaport Adds Employment Partner

    New York business law firm Falcon Rappaport & Berkman LLP has hired an attorney from Tannenbaum Helpern Syracuse & Hirschtritt LLP as a partner in its labor and employment practice group, the firm announced.

  • August 08, 2025

    Black Officer's Lower Pay Ruled Not Based On Discrimination

    The pay disparity between a Black female corrections lieutenant and two white male lieutenants was rooted in civil service pay rules and job differences, not gender and race-based discrimination, an Alabama federal judge ruled.

  • August 07, 2025

    Connecticut Litigation Highlights In The 1st Half Of 2025

    Two separate royalty disputes — one $90 million, the other $4 million — involving two giants in the alcoholic beverages market are among the top corporate cases that crossed Connecticut court dockets in the first half of 2025.

  • August 07, 2025

    Worker Says Property Firm Fired Her Over Medical Diagnosis

    A property management firm has been sued in Georgia federal court by a former employee who alleged she was discriminated against and eventually fired after being diagnosed with ovarian fibroids requiring a hysterectomy and hernia repair.

  • August 07, 2025

    Healthcare Consulting Co. Agrees To Pay $16M In OT Dispute

    A healthcare consulting company agreed to pay $16 million in a lawsuit accusing it of misclassifying care coordinators as overtime-exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act, about 200 workers said in a settlement approval bid filed in New Mexico federal court Thursday.

  • August 07, 2025

    7th Circ.'s Collective Cert. Standard Strikes Balance, Attys Say

    A new framework the Seventh Circuit laid out for certifying collective actions in wage and hour litigation has attorneys for both employers and workers at first blush feeling relieved, as the panel majority put forward a flexible approach that gives lower courts discretion.

  • August 07, 2025

    Unpaid Lottery.com VP OT-Exempt Under FLSA, 5th Circ. Says

    A Texas federal court correctly found that a Lottery.com IT executive was a highly paid exempt employee under the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Fifth Circuit ruled, rejecting the worker's arguments that he had lost his exempt status when he stopped getting paid.

  • August 07, 2025

    Mass. High Court Affirms $1M Pension Loss For OT Fraud

    The forfeiture of $1 million in pension and health benefits following a Massachusetts state trooper's conviction in an overtime fraud scheme is not so grossly disproportionate to the offense that it violates the state constitution's prohibition on excessive fines, Massachusetts' highest court concluded on Thursday.

  • August 07, 2025

    Gig Staffing Cos. Profit By Misclassifying Workers, Court Told

    A slew of staffing companies including Instawork misclassify the workers they hire as independent contractors, a nonprofit organization that advocates for workers' rights said in a suit removed to Ohio federal court, accusing the investors backing the companies of racketeering.

  • August 06, 2025

    NY Judge Confirms Tips Awards In Hotel, Union Arbitration

    A New York City hotel must fork over $60,000 in back pay to its food and beverage attendants after its bartenders decreased the attendants' share of tips nearly 15 years ago, a federal judge ruled, confirming a series of arbitration awards over the hotel's protests.

  • August 06, 2025

    Accounting Firm Must Face Ex-Credit Union CEO's Firing Suit

    The largest accounting firm in Connecticut, Whittlesey PC, must face the former CEO of Sound Federal Credit Union's claim that he was fired for following the firm's advice on when to calendar gains from a $1.2 million property sale, a Connecticut trial court judge has ruled.

  • August 06, 2025

    American Snags Win In Flight Attendant's Wage Suit In NY

    American Airlines' compensation method splitting flight attendants' pay in two didn't violate New York Labor Law's wage statement and late-payment requirements, a federal judge ruled, finding that a flight attendant didn't show the pay plan caused him harm.

  • August 06, 2025

    7th Circ. Adopts Flexible Standard For Collective Actions

    The Seventh Circuit in a discrimination case against Eli Lilly & Co. laid out a new standard for certifying collective actions, joining the Fifth and Sixth circuits in departing from a two-step analysis courts had used for decades but taking a more middle-of-the-road approach.

  • August 06, 2025

    Steakhouse Can't Shake Certified Class In Conn. Wage Suit

    A class of tipped servers accusing a steakhouse at the Foxwoods Resort Casino of unpaid wages will stay in place, a Connecticut state judge ruled, saying that the employer overplayed a court's earlier decision finding that the workers didn't perform nonservice tasks.

  • August 06, 2025

    LA Seeks To Nix Attys In Ex-Cop's Military Leave Bias Suit

    Attorneys for a former Los Angeles Police Department lieutenant improperly obtained and tried to use a privileged email between a city attorney and a current LAPD lieutenant in a military bias suit, the city said, urging a California federal court to disqualify them from the case.

  • August 05, 2025

    Judge Says Colo. Corrections Dept. Must Face OT Pay Claims

    A Colorado federal judge on Tuesday rejected the state Department of Corrections' bid for summary judgment in a proposed collective action accusing the agency of neglecting to pay criminal investigators for hours spent on call.

  • August 05, 2025

    Thousands Of Coaches Noticed For NCAA Wage Suit

    Attorneys spearheading an antitrust class action in California federal court targeting NCAA rules that allegedly suppressed wages of "volunteer coaches" are casting a wide net to publicize their case, sending notices to thousands of current and former coaches informing them they may stand to profit.

Expert Analysis

  • How To Create A California-Compliant Piece-Rate Pay Policy

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    Piece-rate compensation can encourage worker efficiency and productivity, but California has special rules for employers that use this type of pay plan, so careful execution and clear communication with employees is essential for maintaining compliance, says Ashley Paynter at Riley Safer.

  • 3 Employer Considerations In Light Of DOL Proposed OT Rule

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    A recently unveiled rule from the U.S. Department of Labor would increase the salary threshold for Fair Labor Standards Act overtime exemptions, and while the planned changes are not the law just yet, employers should start thinking about the best ways to position their organizations for compliance in the future, say Brodie Erwin and Sarah Spangenburg at Kilpatrick.

  • Prevailing Wage Rules Complicate Inflation Act Tax Incentives

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    Nicole Elliott and Timothy Taylor at Holland & Knight discuss the intersection between tax and labor newly created by the Inflation Reduction Act, and focus on aspects of recent U.S. Department of Labor and U.S. Department of the Treasury rules that may catch tax-incentive seekers off guard.

  • Calif., Wash. Rest Break Waivers: What Carriers Must Know

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    The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's recent invitation for petitions to waive its rules on meal and rest breaks for commercial drivers in California and Washington is an unusual move, and the agency's own guidance seems to acknowledge that its plan may face legal challenges, says Jessica Scott at Wheeler Trigg.

  • Eye On Compliance: Women's Soccer Puts Equal Pay In Focus

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    As the U.S. Women's National Team returns from World Cup, employers can honor the fighting spirit of the athletes — which won them a historic gender pay equality settlement in 2022 — by reviewing federal equal pay compliance requirements and committing to a level playing field for all genders, says Christina Heischmidt at Wilson Elser.

  • How New Illinois Child Influencer Law Affects Advertisers

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    Although Illinois' recently amended child labor law puts the burden on vloggers to ensure minors under the age of 16 featured in online videos are properly compensated, lack of compliance could reflect negatively on advertisers by association, say Monique Bhargava and Edward Fultz at Reed Smith.

  • Lessons On Using 'Advice Of Counsel' Defense In FLSA Suits

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    Several Fair Labor Standards Act cases illustrate the dangers inherent in employers trying to use the advice-of-counsel defense as a shield against liability while attempting to guard attorney-client privilege over relevant communications, says Mark Tabakman at Fox Rothschild.

  • DC Circ. Ruling Puts Issue Class Cert. Under Microscope

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    The D.C. Circuit's recent Harris v. Medical Transportation Management decision, which pushed back against lax application of Rule 23(c)(4) to certify issue classes as an end-run around the predominance requirement, provides potentially persuasive fodder for seeking to limit the scope of issue classes in other circuits, say attorneys at Skadden.

  • Ensuring Child Labor Law Compliance Amid Growing Scrutiny

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    Amid increased attention on child labor law violations, employers should review their policies and practices with respect to the employment of minors, particularly underage migrants who do not have any parents in the U.S., say Felicia O'Connor and Morgan McDonald at Foley & Lardner.

  • Employer Best Practices For Pay Transparency Compliance

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    With conflicting pay transparency and disclosure laws appearing across the country, employers must carefully develop different strategies for discussing compensation with employees, applicants, and off-site workers, disclosing salaries in job ads, and staying abreast of new state and local compliance requirements, says Joy Rosenquist at Littler Mendelson.

  • Calif. Cos. May Have To Reimburse More Remote Work Costs

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    After a California appeals court's recent decision in Thai v. IBM, countless California employers will be required to pay work-related costs incurred by their employees who were sent home during the pandemic, and this could be just the beginning of a reckoning, say Sonya Goodwin at Sauer & Wagner.

  • Water Cooler Talk: 'The Bear' Serves Up Advice For Managers

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    Tracey Diamond and Evan Gibbs at Troutman Pepper chat with Ernst & Young’s Laura Yehuda about Hulu's "The Bear" and the best practices managers can glean from the show's portrayal of workplace challenges, including those faced by young, female managers.

  • Calif. Employers Note: Industrial Welfare Commission Is Back

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    An appropriations bill recently passed in California instructs the Industrial Welfare Commission to reconvene for the first time in 19 years, opening a door for the regulatory body to significantly affect employer operations by strengthening standards for meal and rest breaks, scheduling, record-keeping, and more, say Denisha McKenzie and John Keeney at CDF Labor Law.