Wage & Hour

  • May 01, 2024

    7th Circ. Backs Dismissal Of Ill. City Worker's Equal Pay Suit

    The Seventh Circuit declined to give an Illinois city diversity officer a second chance at her sex bias suit that claimed she was terminated after complaining that male co-workers were paid more for lighter workloads, ruling she didn't adequately back up her allegations.

  • May 01, 2024

    Texas Oil Field Supply Co. Wants OT Suit Arbitrated

    An ex-worker for a Texas oil field equipment supply company signed a valid agreement to arbitrate any employment disputes, the company said in asking a federal judge to send his unpaid overtime claims into arbitration.

  • April 30, 2024

    Foreign Farmworker Protection Rule Could Frustrate Hiring

    A new U.S. Department of Labor regulation boosting labor protections for H-2A visa workers has industry experts worried that it could frustrate a common practice of sharing employees within the agricultural industry, and pose hiring challenges for farmers and ranchers.

  • April 30, 2024

    Kroger, Albertsons Say FTC Distorts Markets In Merger Case

    Kroger and Albertsons told an Oregon federal court to reject a pending merger challenge by the Federal Trade Commission and a group of states, saying it distorts the competitive landscape for the grocery and labor markets.

  • April 30, 2024

    Staffing Firm Can't Send Misclassification Case To Arbitration

    A worker didn't enter an arbitration agreement with the oil and gas production company it accused of misclassifying him as an independent contractor and therefore an intervenor staffing company can't push the suit out of court, a New Mexico federal judge ruled.

  • April 30, 2024

    Wash. Job Applicant's Pay Transparency Suit Tossed For Now

    A Washington federal judge tossed a job applicant's state pay transparency suit against a rent-to-own retailer, ruling the job-seeker didn't prove how the company's failure to include pay information in a job listing negatively affected him.

  • April 30, 2024

    10th Circ. Says Biden Can Raise Contractors' Minimum Wage

    President Joe Biden's minimum hourly wage increase for federal contractors to $15 is intertwined with furthering the economy and is therefore supported by the Procurement Act, a split Tenth Circuit panel ruled Tuesday, agreeing with a Colorado federal court to keep the wage bump.

  • April 30, 2024

    DOL Fines Texas Nonprofit For Underpaying Disabled Workers

    A nonprofit in Texas paid more than $52,000 in back wages for denying 134 workers with disabilities the subminimum wage rate, the U.S. Department of Labor announced Tuesday.

  • April 30, 2024

    Money Can't Buy Unfair End To IHOP Tips Suit, Judge Says

    A New York federal judge rejected a proposed $100,000 settlement between IHOP franchises and an ex-waiter accusing them of paying servers' overtime wages with tips, saying several nonmonetary terms seem unfair and that "money can buy a lot of things, but not a license to violate the law." 

  • April 30, 2024

    DOL Asks 7th Circ. To Expand Unpaid Travel Time Ruling

    The U.S. Department of Labor urged the Seventh Circuit to affirm a lower court's ruling that a staffing firm must pay tradespeople for travel time between overnight jobs during normal working hours, and asked the court to extend the ruling to apply to travel outside regular work hours.

  • April 30, 2024

    How Fee-Shifting Clauses Can Sink An Arbitration Pact

    Arbitration agreements workers must sign as a job requirement may be found unenforceable if they include a fee-shifting provision that could make the out-of-court process so costly that they chill enforcement of employment laws, attorneys told Law360.

  • April 29, 2024

    3 Tips For Navigating DOL's New OT Rule

    Employers should audit their compensation data and get ahead of morale challenges to prepare for complying with the U.S. Department of Labor's just-released final rule on overtime-exempt professionals. Here, Law360 offers tips for employers to manage workforce changes related to the new regulation.

  • April 29, 2024

    Business Groups Rally Against Independent Contractor Rule

    The U.S. Department of Labor's rule determining whether workers are employees or independent contractors is confusing and lacks reason, a slew of business groups told a Texas federal court, backing the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other entities' bid to nix the rule.

  • April 29, 2024

    Restaurateurs Say DOL Drew Tipped Work 'Line' Unfairly

    The U.S. Department of Labor and two restaurant groups told the Fifth Circuit on Monday that they agreed the department's rule regulating what's tipped and nontipped work "is fundamentally a line-drawing problem," but disagreed on whether that "line" had been drawn appropriately under federal statutes.

  • April 29, 2024

    Ex-Manager Accuses Hallmark Of Retaliation For Wage Claims

    A former manager said he was illegally let go for speaking up about Hallmark's alleged violations of a minimum wage ordinance, telling a California state court Monday that the greeting card giant terminated him for supposedly saying an expletive when profanity use is "embedded in Hallmark's culture."

  • April 29, 2024

    NYC Medical College Asks Court to Toss Unpaid OT Suit

    A Bronx, New York, medical college urged a federal judge to throw out a former research coordinator's proposed class and collective action alleging he and his co-workers worked 45- to 50-hour weeks without overtime wages, saying the ex-worker didn't point to specific weeks in which he failed to receive overtime.

  • April 29, 2024

    Wells Fargo Didn't Pay For Out-Of-Shift Work, Suit Says

    Wells Fargo has for years enforced a companywide policy that denies overtime pay to workers tasked with opening and closing its branches, according to a lawsuit filed by a former employee at one of the bank's Atlanta-area locations.

  • April 29, 2024

    Calif. Judge OKs $1M Deal In Strawberry Pickers' Wage Suit

    A California federal court gave the first sign-off to a $1 million deal that would end hundreds of strawberry pickers' claims that they were forced to work at unsafe speeds for allegedly little pay.

  • April 29, 2024

    DOL Issues Guidance On Using AI In The Workplace

    The U.S. Department of Labor issued guidance Monday on how employers can carefully use artificial intelligence, saying a lack of human eyes could create a domino effect and lead to violations of federal wage and leave laws.

  • April 29, 2024

    Ga. Judge Won't Approve $37K Settlement In FLSA Suit

    A Georgia federal judge has refused to approve a settlement between a corporate office furnisher and a former employee who says he was fired after complaining about being stiffed for hundreds of hours of compensable work, finding two provisions in the deal make it impossible to approve.

  • April 29, 2024

    DOL Wants Quick Win In Pa. Care Co. Wage Suit

    The U.S. Department of Labor urged a Pennsylvania federal judge on Monday to grant it a pretrial win in its case accusing a private healthcare agency of failing to pay in-home caregivers overtime and minimum wages, saying the workers are protected by federal wage law.

  • April 29, 2024

    Anthem Seeks Early Win, Decertification In OT Suit

    Insurance company Anthem asked a Georgia federal judge to grant it a quick win in an unpaid overtime suit and to decertify a class of nurses, saying it had properly classified the nurses as overtime-exempt and that they fit multiple exemptions to federal overtime laws.

  • April 29, 2024

    Pizza Delivery Drivers' Expense Dispute Reopened

    A suit accusing a pizza company of under-reimbursing drivers that took a trip to the Sixth Circuit will be back on track in Michigan federal court after a federal judge granted the parties' bid to reopen the case.

  • April 29, 2024

    Ohio Call Center Worker Says Energy Co. Stiffed OT Wages

    Dominion Energy Ohio required its call center workers to do between 10 and 40 minutes of pre-shift work without paying them for it, according to a new proposed collective action filed in Ohio federal court.

  • April 29, 2024

    Fla. Furniture Manufacturer Pays $101K For OT Violations

    An outdoor furniture manufacturer in Florida paid nearly $101,000 in back wages, damages and fines for denying workers their overtime rates, the U.S. Department of Labor announced Monday.

Expert Analysis

  • 9th Circ. Class Cert. Move Illustrates Individual Claim Issues

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    The Ninth Circuit's recent class certification decision in Bowerman v. Field Asset Services illustrates the challenges presented when a defendant argues that not all putative class members have been injured or that damages must be determined on a claimant-by-claimant basis, says Robert Fuller at Robinson Bradshaw.

  • What Proposed Contractor Rule May Mean For Wage Litigation

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    The Biden administration's proposed independent contractor rule could have major implications for wage and hour litigation, but comparing it to the Trump administration's rule could help employers prepare for the next phase of employee classification disputes, say Jessica Scott and Frederick Yarger at Wheeler Trigg.

  • A Calif. Employer's Guide To Telework Expense Obligations

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    As the COVID-19 pandemic recedes and California employers face an increase in workplace reimbursement lawsuits from remote employees, it’s imperative to know what expenses must be covered — and how repayment should be administered — under state law, says Eric Fox at Gordon & Rees.

  • High Court FLSA Case Threatens OT Pay Landscape

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    The U.S. Supreme Court will soon decide in Helix Energy Solutions v. Hewitt whether a high-paid oil rig worker is entitled to overtime compensation under the Fair Labor Standards Act, and its eventual opinion could bring a new class of employees within the purview of the law’s requirements, say Melissa Legault and Wade Erwin at Squire Patton.

  • Calif. Pay Stub Ruling Spotlights Overtime, Bonus Compliance

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    Though a California appellate court's recent ruling provides a simple answer to how employers must list true-up overtime wages on pay stubs, it also underscores the importance of reviewing compliance requirements for wage statements where bonuses or other factors affect regular rates, says Paul Lynd at ArentFox Schiff.

  • 11th Circ. Clarifies FLSA Administrative Exemption

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    The Eleventh Circuit's recent decision in Fowler v. OSP Prevention Group about administrative employee determination under the Fair Labor Standards Act highlights the importance for employers to critically consider all required factors for an FLSA exemption, say Sarah Guo and Larry Perlman at Foley & Lardner.

  • Why Gig Platforms Should Be On Alert

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    The Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general have set their sights on the gig economy and practices they view as deceptive and unfair, which will open gig platforms to more scrutiny — and past cases against gig-economy giants including Uber and Instacart are cautionary tales to keep in mind, say attorneys at Venable.

  • More Employment Regs May See 'Major Questions' Challenges

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent use of the major questions doctrine to strike down regulation has already been cited in lower court cases challenging U.S. Department of Labor authority to implement wage and hour changes, and could provide a potent tool to litigants seeking to restrain federal workplace and labor regulations, say Jeffrey Brecher and Courtney Malveaux at Jackson Lewis.

  • What Employers Should Do To Prepare For Natural Disasters

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    As hurricane season picks up steam and extreme weather events become more erratic and uncertain in every region of the U.S., employers must put emergency action plans in place that address everything from compensation issues to leave requests, says Sally Culley at Rumberger Kirk.

  • Wage Theft Bill Would Increase Risk, Severity Of FLSA Claims

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    A recently introduced bill would amend the Fair Labor Standards Act in extreme ways that go well beyond the commonsense idea that people should be paid the wages they have earned, thereby sharply increasing the threat of claims against employers, with implications for arbitration, collective bargaining and more, say Christopher Pardo and Beth Sherwood at Hunton.

  • Gig Companies May Have To Live With The ABC Test In Calif.

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    Two recent cert denials by the U.S. Supreme Court has left California's ABC test for employment classification intact, and if gig companies' recent efforts to exempt certain workers from the test fail, they may be less eager to pursue similar challenges in California and beyond, says Ronald Zambrano at West Coast Employment Lawyers.

  • Cos. Face FMLA Quagmire Given New Mental Health Focus

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    The Seventh Circuit’s recent decision in Ziccarelli v. Dart, clarifying that merely discouraging an employee from exercising Family and Medical Leave Act rights may constitute unlawful interference, paired with new U.S. Department of Labor's mental health guidance, present unique challenges for employers, say Matthew Tyrrell and Adam Maxwell at Schoenberg Finkel.

  • How New Seattle Wage Law Will Affect Gig Economy Cos.

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    As state and local legislatures around the country consider additional labor protections for app-based workers, Seattle's new minimum wage for delivery drivers offers an example of how record-keeping and compliance requirements are changing for gig economy businesses, say Catharine Morisset and Lisa Nagele-Piazza at Fisher Phillips.