Wage & Hour

  • June 13, 2025

    Trucking Co. To Pay $480K To End Unpaid OT Suit

    A trucking company agreed to pay $480,000 to resolve drivers' collective action alleging they were paid on a "per-ton" basis that ignored any hours they put in over 40 per week, a filing in Kentucky federal court said.

  • June 13, 2025

    Calif. Forecast: Court Weighs Blocking Trump Bargaining EO

    In the coming week, attorneys should watch for a potential ruling in an attempt by six unions to temporarily block President Donald Trump's executive order that would prohibit collective bargaining agreements at certain federal agencies. Here's a look at that case and other labor and employment matters on deck in California.

  • June 13, 2025

    Chili's Worker Says Bankruptcy Does Not Doom Wage Suit

    A former Chili's employee's wage and hour lawsuit against the chain's parent company should stay in play, the worker told a California federal court, saying his failure to list the case in his individual bankruptcy proceedings does not mean his case has to be thrown out.

  • June 13, 2025

    NJ Law Firm Accused Of Retaliation Over Maternity Leave

    New Jersey law firm Ragan & Ragan PC is facing a discrimination suit filed by its former collections manager in state court, alleging that the firm and its name partner engaged in a "calculated and malicious campaign of retaliation" against her for taking maternity leave.

  • June 13, 2025

    Ex-Labor Secretary Perez, Now At Mayer Brown, Looks Back

    After joining Mayer Brown last month, former Labor Secretary Tom Perez talked with Law360 Pulse about his latest career move, his efforts to help expand and enforce hate crime laws, and his work for President Joe Biden to promote the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

  • June 12, 2025

    Ex-UPS Workers Urge 9th Circ. To Revive State Law Claims

    An attorney for some former United Parcel Service workers urged a Ninth Circuit panel Thursday to undo a decision barring them from proceeding with some state employment claims because the workers memorialized them on union grievance forms, telling the panel the claims aren't preempted by federal law.

  • June 12, 2025

    Minimum Wage Efforts Reach A Crossroads

    Efforts to increase minimum wage by industry or by doing away with subminimum tipped wages are coming up against an economy in flux and the proliferation of automation and artificial intelligence — placing low-wage workers in a precarious position despite these gains, attorneys say.

  • June 12, 2025

    Shoe Co. Fails To Pay Overtime, Store Managers Say

    A shoe retailer requires store managers to put in work outside of the store handling staffing and operations matters on top of the 40 hours of work they put in each week at the store, a proposed collective action filed in North Carolina federal court said.

  • June 12, 2025

    Grievance Backlog Not Only Exxon's Fault, NLRB Judge Says

    A National Labor Relations Board judge cleared Exxon Mobil of claims that it mishandled a hefty backlog of grievances, but found the company ducked its obligation to bargain before ending manager fill-in pay for some workers and changing its performance assessments.

  • June 12, 2025

    Unifi Aviation Sued For Firing Ga. Worker After FMLA Approval

    The largest aviation ground handling service in North America has been sued in Georgia federal court by a woman who alleges she was pressured to speak with a male manager about her reproductive issues after requesting medical leave, then fired once that leave was approved.

  • June 12, 2025

    9th Circ. Says Calif. Workers Can Intervene In $10M CVS Deal

    Two workers can intervene in a case that reached a $10 million proposed settlement to end wage claims against CVS, a divided Ninth Circuit panel said, ruling that the duo asked to weigh in on time and have a significant interest in some claims the deal solves.

  • June 12, 2025

    Labor Group Backs Minn. Misclassification Law At 8th Circ.

    The Eighth Circuit should affirm an order declining to temporarily block a Minnesota law from taking effect that slaps steep fines on companies that misclassify employees as independent contractors, a labor organization said, because workers' wages will continue to be eroded without the statute.

  • June 12, 2025

    Navistar To Pay $450K To End Unpaid OT Suit

    Commercial vehicle manufacturer Navistar Inc. will pay $450,000 to resolve a former employee's collective action accusing it of failing to incorporate bonus payments in overtime pay calculations, thus causing workers' wages to fall, a filing in Illinois federal court said.

  • June 12, 2025

    Ogletree Launches Workforce Analytics Group

    Ogletree Deakins Nash Smoak & Stewart PC has launched a new practice group that will focus on using data-driven tools to advise employers on various workforce compliance and risk assessment matters.

  • June 12, 2025

    Home Health Co. Wants Aide's Travel Time Suit Tossed

    An aide's proposed class action alleging she should have been compensated for the time she spent traveling between clients' homes should be thrown out, a home health company told an Ohio federal court, saying she failed to show that the commute was related to her primary duties.

  • June 11, 2025

    Cleaning Workers Get Collective Status In Unpaid OT Suit

    Two porters put forward enough information to show they and other cleaners and janitors working for a building services company were subject to the same policies that resulted in them being shorted on wages to proceed as a collective, a New York federal judge said Wednesday.

  • June 11, 2025

    Vedder Price Boosts IP, Exec Compensation Teams In NY

    Vedder Price PC has bulked up its New York office with the addition of an intellectual property attorney from Vinson & Elkins LLP and an executive compensation and employee benefits pro from Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP.

  • June 11, 2025

    Houston Plumbing Contractor To Pay $102K In DOL OT Probe

    A Houston plumbing contractor will have to shell out $102,000 in back wages and damages to 31 service technicians and apprentice helpers it considered overtime-exempt, the U.S. Department of Labor said.

  • June 11, 2025

    DOL, EEOC Noms To Go Before Senate Panel

    President Donald Trump's nominees for key roles in the U.S. Department of Labor and U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission will stand before a Senate committee next week, the panel said Wednesday.

  • June 11, 2025

    Worker Says Foodtown Underpaid Him, Permitted Assault

    Supermarket chain Foodtown failed to pay workers overtime wages or provide them with meal periods, and it allowed a franchise owner to choke and hit a general manager, a proposed collective action filed in New York federal court said.

  • June 11, 2025

    Drywall Contractor To Pay $824K To End DOL Wage Probe

    A Las Vegas drywall contractor will pay more than $824,000 to resolve a U.S. Department of Labor investigation into allegations that it failed to pay overtime wages to piece-rate and hourly paid employees, the department said.

  • June 10, 2025

    Pa. University Seeks Toss Of Sergeant's Retaliation Claims

    The University of Scranton wants a Pennsylvania federal judge to dismiss retaliation and disability bias allegations from a police sergeant who alleged he was fired because he had cancer, telling the district court that the worker hadn't put up enough facts to support some of his claims.

  • June 10, 2025

    Janitor's Wage Claims Must Head To Arbitration, Judge Says

    A janitor in California must arbitrate her claims that a cleaning services company owed minimum wages and didn't give rest breaks, a federal magistrate judge ruled Tuesday, finding a grievance process in an unsigned collective bargaining agreement still covers the worker's claims.

  • June 10, 2025

    DC Bill Seen As Latest Setback For Ending Tip Credit

    A recent Council of the District of Columbia decision to delay phasing out the local tipped minimum wage demonstrates apprehension about eliminating the tip credit, employer-side observers said, while worker advocates said they are still seeing progress on the issue.

  • June 10, 2025

    T-Mobile Worker Can't Upend Arbitration Order In OT Suit

    A T-Mobile technician cannot keep his unpaid overtime lawsuit in court, a Washington federal judge ruled Tuesday, saying he failed to show that he was duped into signing a delegation clause that mandated issues surrounding the arbitrability of his claims be decided outside court.

Expert Analysis

  • Every Dog Has Its Sick Day: Inside NYC's Pet Leave Bill

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    In what would be a first-of-its-kind law for a major metropolitan area, a recent proposal would amend New York City's Earned Safe and Sick Time Act to include animal care as an accepted use of sick leave — and employers may not think it's the cat's meow, say attorneys at Morrison Cohen.

  • 7th Circ. Travel Time Ruling Has Far-Reaching Implications

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    In a case of first impression, the Seventh Circuit’s recent holding in Walters v. Professional Labor Group will have significant implications for employers that must now provide travel time compensation for employees on overnight assignments away from home, says Anthony Sbardellati at Akerman.

  • 7 Ways To Prepare For An I-9 Audit Or Immigration Raid

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    Because immigration enforcement is likely to surge under the upcoming Trump administration, employers should take steps to ensure their staff is trained in employment eligibility verification requirements and what to do in the event of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement I-9 audit or workplace raid, say attorneys at Littler.

  • Args In 2 High Court Cases May Foretell Clarity For Employers

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    Mary Anna Brand at Maynard Nexsen examines possible employment implications of two cases argued before the Supreme Court this fall, including a higher bar for justifying employees as overtime exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act, and earlier grants of prevailing party status for employee-plaintiffs seeking attorney fees.

  • Disentangling Various Forms Of Workplace Discrimination

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    Pay inequity can be missed where it exists and misidentified due to incorrect statistics, leaving individuals to face multiple facets of discrimination connected by a common root cause, meaning correct identification and measurement is crucial, says Daniel Levy at Advanced Analytical.

  • Calif. Ruling May Shield Public Employers From Labor Claims

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    In Stone v. Alameda Health System, the California Supreme Court recently exempted a county hospital from state-mandated rest breaks and the Private Attorneys General Act, granting government employers a robust new bulwark against other labor statutes by undermining an established doctrine for determining if a law applies to public entities, say attorneys at Hunton.

  • Key Requirements In New Maryland Pay Transparency Laws

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    Although several jurisdictions now require pay transparency in job advertisements, Maryland's new law is among the broadest in the country, both in terms of what is required and the scope of its applicability, says Sarah Belger at Quarles & Brady.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: November Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses six federal court decisions that touch on Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and when individual inquiries are needed to prove economic loss.

  • Federal Salary History Ban's Reach Is Limited

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    Though a newly effective Office of Personnel Management rule takes important steps by banning federal employers from considering job applicants' nonfederal salary histories, the rule's narrow applicability and overconfidence in the existing system's fairness will likely not end persistent pay inequities, says Margaret House at Kalijarvi Chuzi.

  • Tips For Employers As Courts Shift On Paid Leave Bias Suits

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    After several federal courts recently cited the U.S. Supreme Court's Muldrow decision — which held that job transfers could be discriminatory — in ruling that paid administrative leave may also constitute an adverse employment action, employers should carefully consider several points before suspending workers, says Tucker Camp at Foley & Lardner.

  • Employer Lessons From Mass. 'Bonus Not Wages' Ruling

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    In Nunez v. Syncsort, a Massachusetts state appeals court recently held that a terminated employee’s retention bonus did not count as wages under the state’s Wage Act, illustrating the nuanced ways “wages” are defined by state statutes and courts, say attorneys at Segal McCambridge.

  • Employment Verification Poses Unique Risks For Staffing Cos.

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    All employers face employee verification issues, but a survey of recent settlements with the U.S. Department of Justice's Immigrant and Employee Rights Section suggests that staffing companies' unique circumstances raise the chances they will be investigated and face substantial fines, says Eileen Scofield at Alston & Bird.

  • Amazon Holiday Pay Case Underscores Overtime Challenges

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    The recent Hamilton v. Amazon.com Services LLC decision in the Colorado Supreme Court underscores why employers must always consult applicable state law and regulations — in addition to federal law — when determining how to properly pay employees who work more than 40 hours in a workweek, says James Looby at Vedder Price.