Wage & Hour

  • July 29, 2025

    Top Gov't Contract Policies Of 2025: Midyear Report

    The Trump administration made several prominent policy moves affecting contractors this year, including rescinding Biden-era policies related to pay equity and DEI, and pushing to overhaul the Federal Acquisition Regulation. Here, Law360 examines significant policy changes from the first half of 2025 that will affect government contractors.

  • July 28, 2025

    Ex-Munchkin GC Sues Over 'War On Families' At Baby Co.

    Munchkin Inc.'s former general counsel says he was fired for trying to sound the alarm about the baby products brand's "war on families" and culture of discrimination against working mothers and families, in a $10 million suit filed in California state court on Friday.

  • July 28, 2025

    Cashier Says Cannabis Bakery Didn't Pay Overtime, Took Tips

    A former cashier for an Illinois bakery that makes and sells cannabis products sued the bakery Monday, alleging it failed to pay proper overtime wages and distributed tips to managers in violation of state and federal law.

  • July 28, 2025

    Ship Repair Workers Snag Final OK For $6.3M Wage Deal

    A San Diego ship repair company will shell out an additional $4.5 million to settle a lawsuit accusing it of violating state and federal wage and hour laws in addition to $1.5 million already paid, a California federal judge said.

  • July 28, 2025

    DOL Seeks Small Biz Input On Pooled Retirement Plans

    The U.S. Department of Labor asked small businesses for feedback Monday on whether there should be more conflict-of-interest guardrails on pooled employer retirement plans, and what barriers prevent employers from trusting the newly structured benefit vehicles.

  • July 28, 2025

    DOL's Job Corps Closure Was Unlawful, DC Judge Rules

    A D.C. federal court granted a group of students' request for a preliminary injunction against the U.S. Department of Labor for its decision to close 99 Job Corps centers, saying the department's move was unlawful and "unprecedented."

  • July 28, 2025

    Rising Star: Shegerian & Associates' John David

    John David of Shegerian & Associates helped a former bank branch manager secure a $14 million jury verdict in her sex discrimination lawsuit and led a consultant to victory in his disability bias case, earning him a spot among the employment law practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.

  • July 28, 2025

    Store Managers Say Shoe Co.'s OT Violations Were Common

    A shoe retailer had a common policy of requiring store managers to work outside their shifts, two former employees of the company said, urging a North Carolina federal court to greenlight a collective in their overtime suit.

  • July 25, 2025

    NY Forecast: Judge To Weigh Dismissal Of Nurses' OT Suit

    This week, a federal magistrate judge will consider a nursing home company's attempt to toss a proposed collective action brought by nurses who claim they were not paid overtime required by federal law, and a competing motion by the nurses to conditionally certify the collective action. Here, Law360 looks at this and other cases on the docket in New York.

  • July 25, 2025

    As NY COVID Leave Ends, Work And Leave Issues Persist

    New York state's COVID-19 leave expires this month, but while COVID-specific laws have been phased out, the pandemic has left a lasting legacy by making remote work de rigueur and changing how employers and policymakers think about paid leave, attorneys say.

  • July 25, 2025

    DOL To Stop Enforcing Obama-Era Home Care Workers Rule

    The U.S. Department of Labor will not enforce an Obama-era rule concerning whether certain domestic and care workers are entitled to Fair Labor Standards Act wage protections while the department is in the process of rescinding the rule, according to a field assistance bulletin issued Friday.

  • July 25, 2025

    Trump Directs NLRB And DOL To 'Clarify' Athletes' Status

    President Donald Trump has directed the U.S. Department of Labor and the National Labor Relations Board to "clarify" the status of college athletes as part of a broader push to halt changes to collegiate athletics following the courts' end to certain restrictions on compensating players.

  • July 25, 2025

    Fighters Push Sports Agency For Docs In UFC Wage Dispute

    Fighters engaged in an ongoing battle over wages with UFC are asking a Nevada federal court to force a sports talent agency to turn over documents they say will shed light on their antitrust claims and help build their case.

  • July 25, 2025

    Honda Must Face Suit Over OT Pay Affected By Kronos Hack

    A Honda manufacturer must continue to face claims that it failed to properly pay its employees overtime wages following a ransomware attack, an Ohio federal judge has ruled, finding disputes remain in a consolidated putative class action, including regarding the Fair Labor Standards Act.

  • July 25, 2025

    Los Angeles Seeks Early Win In Military Leave Bias Suit

    The city of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Police Department urged a California federal court Friday to grant them an early win in a proposed class action alleging the city didn't grant equal sick and vacation time to service members and wouldn't promote them because of their service obligations.

  • July 25, 2025

    Calif. Forecast: Meta Challenges Hiring Bias Class Claims

    In the coming week, attorneys should keep an eye out for arguments on Facebook owner Meta's challenge to the scope of proposed classes in a citizenship discrimination suit. Here's a look at that case and other labor and employment matters coming up in California.

  • July 24, 2025

    Phillips 66's $12.5M Class Wage Deal Gets 1st OK In Calif.

    A class of about 1,750 current and former Phillips 66 employees working at its San Francisco and Los Angeles refineries received preliminary approval by a California federal judge Thursday of a $12.5 million settlement resolving allegations they weren't given breaks or compensated for donning and doffing personal protective equipment off-the-clock.

  • July 24, 2025

    Encore Series, Philadelphia Orchestra End Antitrust Spat

    Encore Series, formerly the Philly Pops, and the Philadelphia Orchestra ended their two-year-old litigation centered on allegations of anticompetitive conduct and breach of contract over live symphony concerts in the Philadelphia metropolitan area, according to a notice Thursday in federal court. 

  • July 24, 2025

    Raytheon Must Face Ex-Worker's Trimmed Severance Fight

    A Massachusetts federal judge agreed to trim claims against Raytheon in a former employee's dispute over severance benefits, concluding claims of benefits retaliation failed to state a claim but that wrongful denial of benefits and fiduciary breach claims could proceed to discovery.

  • July 24, 2025

    How 4 Days Of Work Has Improved Thousands Of Lives

    Now is the time for employers to finally embrace the four-day workweek and many have adopted a successful model for doing so, says the author of a new book on the subject. Juliet Schor, who has studied 10,000 workers at hundreds of companies, spoke with Law360 about her findings.

  • July 24, 2025

    Talent Exec Says Firm Took OnlyFans Clients, Ousted Her

    A Massachusetts talent management agency is facing a lawsuit in state court alleging it convinced a smaller competitor to bring her clients, including multiple OnlyFans performers, to the firm, then sidelined her and later broke an agreement to continue paying her commissions after she quit in frustration over her treatment.

  • July 24, 2025

    DOL Relaunches Employer Self-Audit FLSA Program

    The U.S. Department of Labor relaunched an employer self-audit program Thursday that supports employers that seek to resolve potential wage violations and avoid litigation — an initiative from the first Trump administration that was popular among employers.

  • July 24, 2025

    EEOC Acting Chair Introduces New Leadership Team

    The acting chair of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said Thursday that she had made three appointments to leadership roles at the agency.

  • July 24, 2025

    Seyfarth Shaw Employment Atty Jumps To Akerman In LA

    Akerman LLP is boosting its employment team, bringing in a Seyfarth Shaw LLP class action litigator as a partner in its Los Angeles office.

  • July 23, 2025

    Budtenders Settle Tip Dispute With Cannabis Store Chain

    New Mexico budtenders are asking a federal judge to grant final approval on a $225,000 deal that would end a proposed class action accusing their employer of unlawfully taking tips meant for them and donating them to a charity.

Expert Analysis

  • An Overview Of Calif. Berman Hearings For Wage Disputes

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    While California's Berman hearings are pro-employee procedures that are accessible, informal and affordable mechanisms for parties filing a claim to recover unpaid wages, there are some disadvantages to the process such as delays, says David Cheng at FordHarrison.

  • No Blank Space In Case Law On Handling FMLA Abuse

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    Daniel Schwartz at Shipman & Goodwin discusses real-world case law that guides employers on how to handle suspected Family and Medical Leave Act abuse, specifically in instances where employees attended or performed in a concert while on leave — with Taylor Swift’s ongoing Eras Tour as a hypothetical backdrop.

  • Water Cooler Talk: Bias Lessons From 'Partner Track'

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    Tracey Diamond and Evan Gibbs at Troutman Pepper chat with CyberRisk Alliance's Ying Wong, about how Netflix's show "Partner Track" tackles conscious and unconscious bias at law firms, and offer some key observations for employers and their human resources departments on avoiding these biases.

  • History Supports 2nd Circ. View Of FAA Transport Exemption

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    In the circuit split over when transport workers are exempt from the Federal Arbitration Act, sparked by the 2022 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Southwest Airlines v. Saxon, the Second Circuit reached a more faithful interpretation — one supported by historical litigation and legislative context, though perhaps arrived at via the wrong route, say Joshua Wesneski and Crystal Weeks at Weil.

  • Employers Need Clarity On FLSA Joint Employer Liability

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    A judicial patchwork of multifactor tests to determine joint employment liability has led to unpredictable results, and only congressional action or enactment of a uniform standard to which courts will consistently defer can give employers the clarity needed to structure their relationships with workers, say attorneys at Seyfarth.

  • Calif. Independent Contractor Lessons From Grubhub Suit

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    California courts have been creating little in the way of clarity when it comes to the employment status of gig workers — and a recent federal court decision in Lawson v. Grubhub illustrates how status may change with the winds of litigation, offering four takeaways for businesses that rely on delivery drivers, say Esra Hudson and Marah Bragdon at Manatt.

  • Labor Collusion Loss Will Shape DOJ's Case Strategy

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    Following the U.S. Department of Justice’s recent loss in United States v. Manahe, tallying its trial score record to 0-3 in labor-related antitrust cases over the past year, defendants can expect that the DOJ will try to exclude defense evidence and argue for more favorable jury instructions, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Staffing Company Considerations Amid PAGA Uncertainty

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    The impending California Supreme Court decision in Adolph v. Uber is expected to affect staffing companies, specifically how the proliferation of nonindividual Private Attorneys General Act claims are handled when the individual claim is compelled to arbitration, say Sarah Kroll-Rosenbaum and Harrison Thorne at Akerman.

  • Eye On Compliance: Joint Employment

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    Madonna Herman at Wilson Elser breaks down the key job conditions that led to a recent National Labor Relations Board finding of joint employment, and explains the similar standard established under California case law — providing a guide for companies that want to minimize liability when relying on temporary and contract workers.

  • How Unions Could Stem Possible Wave Of Calif. PAGA Claims

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    Should the California Supreme Court hold in Adolph v. Uber that the nonindividual portions of Private Attorneys General Act claims survive even after individual claims go to arbitration, employers and unions could both leverage the holding in Oswald v. Murray to stifle the resurgence in representative suits, say attorneys at Greenberg Traurig.

  • Tips For Defending Employee Plaintiff Depositions

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    A plaintiff cannot win their employment case through a good deposition, but they can certainly lose it with a bad one, so an attorney should take steps to make sure the plaintiff does as little damage as possible to their claim, says Preston Satchell at LexisNexis.

  • Predictions On Salary Levels In Proposed DOL Overtime Rule

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    In May, the U.S. Department of Labor is expected to propose new salary thresholds for overtime exemptions for both executive, administrative and professional employees and highly compensated earners under the Fair Labor Standards Act, and based on methodologies used in recent DOL rules, it will likely increase both thresholds, says Stephen Bronars at Edgeworth.

  • Water Cooler Talk: Whistleblowing Insights From 'Dahmer'

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    Tracey Diamond and Evan Gibbs at Troutman Pepper chat with DS Smith's Josh Burnette about how the show "Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story" provides an extreme example of the perils of ignoring repeat complaints — a lesson employers could apply in the whistleblower context.