Wage & Hour

  • April 15, 2025

    McDonald's, Dunkin' Franchisees Resolve Child Labor Claims

    The owners of Dunkin' and McDonald's franchises in Massachusetts have reached settlements over allegations they violated the state's child labor laws, while a Subway franchise operator has been fined, according to a Tuesday press release.

  • April 15, 2025

    Hospital Co. Strikes $525K Deal To End Wage Suit

    A system of hospitals and medical facilities agreed to pay $525,000 to resolve a collective action accusing it of deducting pay from workers' paychecks for meal periods they rarely were able to take, an Arizona federal court filing said.

  • April 14, 2025

    Justice Dept. Lands 1st Wage-Fixing Jury Trial Conviction

    A Nevada federal jury on Monday convicted a nursing executive on wage-fixing charges, the first antitrust charge to succeed before a jury in a string of U.S. Department of Justice prosecutions targeting antitrust violations in labor markets.

  • April 14, 2025

    8th Circ. Backs DOL's $255K Win In Misclassification Suit

    The Eighth Circuit declined Monday to upend a nearly $255,000 verdict in favor of the U.S. Department of Labor in its lawsuit accusing a nonemergency medical transportation company of misclassifying drivers as independent contractors, saying the company failed to show the scope of the trial was improper.

  • April 14, 2025

    Akerman Calls Back Labor And Employment Atty As Partner

    Management-side firm Akerman LLP added a partner to its labor and employment practice group in Chicago who is returning to the firm after seven years and called going back "a homecoming."

  • April 14, 2025

    Musk's X Sued Over Wash. Worker Severance Pay, Bonuses

    About 150 former Twitter workers in Washington have sued X Corp., saying that since Elon Musk took over and slashed its workforce, the social media platform has illegally refused to engage in arbitration over claims from laid-off workers who say they have been stiffed on promised severance pay and bonuses.

  • April 14, 2025

    DC Medical Drivers Get Partial Win In Wage Suit

    A class of drivers alleging a medical transportation services company didn't pay full wages succeeded on its claim that the firm is a general contractor to other companies that directly employed the drivers, but failed to show the firm was the workers' joint employer, a D.C. federal judge ruled.

  • April 14, 2025

    NCAA Wins Redacted Document Spat In Volunteer Coach Suit

    A group of plaintiffs suing the NCAA over suppressed wages for volunteer coaches lost its bid to force the organization to turn over an unredacted version of a particular document, with a Monday ruling asserting the information is protected by attorney-client privilege.

  • April 14, 2025

    Greenblatt Pierce Wins DuPont Wage Case Fee Spat With Atty

    Philadelphia firm Greenblatt Pierce Funt & Flores LLC has been awarded fees in a case against a former member who took over an employment class action against DuPont, with a city judge ruling that it was entitled to a piece of the settlement's fee for the work it put into the case.

  • April 14, 2025

    Ex-Reed Smith Atty Gets Review Of NJ Bias Damages Limit

    The New Jersey state appeals court has said it will consider a former Reed Smith LLP labor and employment lawyer's appeal of a ruling that damages in her gender discrimination suit against the firm can only go as far back as the start date of a New Jersey equal pay law.

  • April 14, 2025

    Judge Blocks $1.3M Deal In Background Checks Row

    A $1.3 million deal between workers and a logistics company they accused of not telling almost 30,000 job applicants they were undergoing background checks won't go forward because the children's charity that would receive unclaimed funds has no link to the workers, a California federal judge ruled.

  • April 11, 2025

    Dallas Jury Clears Omni Hotels Of Gender-Based Pay Bias

    A Dallas federal court jury on Friday cleared Omni Hotels Management Corp. of gender discrimination accusations in Omni's second go at defending against the suit before a jury, handing Omni a clean victory after the Fifth Circuit ordered a new trial.

  • April 11, 2025

    As Dems Seek To Raise Wage Floor, Others Float Abolishing It

    While Democrats in Congress try again to raise the federal minimum wage for the first time in more than 15 years, some libertarian policy observers call for doing away with the federal wage floor altogether, an argument they say makes more sense than ever before.

  • April 11, 2025

    Ex-Exec Alleges Rampant Sex Harassment At Car Auction Co.

    A female former human resources chief at an online vehicle auction company was fired for speaking up against male executives' unchecked sexual misconduct and reporting that women in leadership received less compensation than men, according to a complaint filed in Texas state court.

  • April 11, 2025

    Okla. Trucking Co. Accused Of Misclassifying Drivers

    A trucking company incorrectly classifies delivery drivers as independent contractors even though it controls "every aspect" of its drivers' work, according to a proposed class and collective action filed in Oklahoma federal court.

  • April 11, 2025

    Calif. Forecast: Tesla Seeks To Split Up WARN Suit

    In the coming week, attorneys should watch for a potential ruling on a motion to send a worker's individual WARN Act claims against Tesla to arbitration and stay or dismiss nonindividual claims the worker is bringing. Here's a look at that case and other labor and employment matters on deck in the Golden State.

  • April 11, 2025

    Ex-BofA Worker Seeks Class Status Over Unpaid PTO

    Bank of America applies the same nationwide policy of not paying unused vacation time when employees part ways with the company, a former lending officer said, urging a California federal court to grant her case class certification.

  • April 11, 2025

    Plumbing Co.'s Wage Talk Ban Was Illegal, NLRB Judge Says

    A plumbing company in Utah threatened to fire employees for talking about compensation and terminated a worker in violation of federal labor law, a National Labor Relations Board judge ruled, finding the owner of the business can't bar employees from discussing pay with one another.

  • April 11, 2025

    EPA Workers Allege Discrimination Over Indefinite Leave

    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency employees dedicated to working on issues facing poor and minority communities exposed to disproportionate pollution say in a new complaint that the EPA is discriminating against them by forcing them into indefinite leave.

  • April 11, 2025

    Arbitration Pacts Doom Domino's Drivers' Wage Collective

    A proposed collective action accusing Domino's Pizza of refusing to properly reimburse drivers for delivery expenses cannot proceed, the company told a Michigan federal court, saying there are no identifiable drivers to take up the case who aren't subject to an arbitration agreement.

  • April 10, 2025

    Omni Hotel Underpaid Woman Due To Bias, Dallas Jury Hears

    Counsel for a woman accusing Omni Hotels Management Corp. of gender discrimination told a federal jury in Dallas on Thursday that the company paid her less than her three male predecessors, capping off the woman's second attempt at getting a verdict to stick after the Fifth Circuit ordered a new trial.

  • April 10, 2025

    3rd Circ. Judge At 'Crossroads' In H-2A Farmworker Row

    A Third Circuit judge suggested Thursday that the outcome of a case alleging that a Garden State farm violated provisions of a temporary guest worker program hinges on whether it's an immigration matter or a labor dispute, a determination that should be made before the panel can view it through a post-Jarkesy lens.

  • April 10, 2025

    Amazon Can Withhold Flex Driver Names In Tip Case For Now

    A Washington federal judge won't force Amazon to hand over the personal information of more than 150,000 delivery drivers to proposed class action members who claim they were all shortchanged on tips, saying the named plaintiffs haven't yet shown the data is relevant.

  • April 10, 2025

    Congressional Bill Would Amend FMLA To Bar Clawbacks

    Employers would be forbidden to recover health insurance costs from workers who use the federal Family and Medical Leave Act and then choose not to return to work under a bill introduced in Congress. 

  • April 10, 2025

    CSX Accused Of Punishing Workers For FMLA Leave

    Railroad giant CSX Transportation Inc. discourages and punishes its employees who miss work under the Family and Medical Leave Act through an attendance point system and scare tactics, according to a federal lawsuit filed by a conductor in North Carolina.

Expert Analysis

  • AI In Accounting Raises OT Exemption Questions

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    A recent surge in the use of artificial intelligence in accounting work calls into question whether professionals in the industry can argue they are no longer overtime exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act, highlighting how technology could test the limits of the law for a variety of professions, say Bradford Kelley at Littler and Stephen Malone at Peloton Interactive.

  • Eye On Compliance: Employee Social Media Privacy In NY

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    A New York law that recently took effect restricts employers' ability to access the personal social media accounts of employees and job applicants, signifying an increasing awareness of the need to balance employers' interests with worker privacy and free speech rights, says Madjeen Garcon-Bonneau at Wilson Elser.

  • Draft Pay Equity Rule May Pose Contractor Compliance Snags

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    The Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council's recently proposed rule that would prohibit government contractors from requesting certain job applicants' salary history seems simple on the surface, but achieving compliance will be a nuanced affair for many contractors who must also adhere to state and local pay transparency laws, say attorneys at Hogan Lovells.

  • Where 9th Circ. Lowe's Ruling Leaves PAGA Jurisprudence

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    Leah Kennedy and Carolyn Wheeler at Katz Banks discuss the legal landscape and controlling precedent around the Private Attorneys General Act that led to the Ninth Circuit's Johnson v. Lowe's decision last month on individual PAGA wage claims, and explore the open questions that it leaves.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: March Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses four notable circuit court decisions on topics from consumer fraud to employment — and provides key takeaways for counsel on issues including coercive communications with putative class members and Article III standing at the class certification stage.

  • Spartan Arbitration Tactics Against Well-Funded Opponents

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    Like the ancient Spartans who held off a numerically superior Persian army at the Battle of Thermopylae, trial attorneys and clients faced with arbitration against an opponent with a bigger war chest can take a strategic approach to create a pass to victory, say Kostas Katsiris and Benjamin Argyle at Venable.

  • EEOC Case Reminds That Men Can Also Claim Pay Bias

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    The Maryland State Highway Administration recently settled U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission claims that a male employee was paid less than his female colleagues, highlighting why employers should not focus on a particular protected class when it comes to assessing pay bias risk, say Barbara Grandjean and Audrey Merkel at Husch Blackwell.

  • 2026 World Cup: Companies Face Labor Challenges And More

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    Companies sponsoring or otherwise involved with the 2026 FIFA World Cup — hosted jointly by the U.S., Canada and Mexico — should be proactive in preparing to navigate many legal considerations in immigration, labor management and multijurisdictional workforces surrounding the event, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Avoiding Jurisdictional Risks From Execs' Remote Work

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    Following a California federal court's recent decision in Evans v. Cardlytics — where the case was remanded to state court because the company’s executives worked remotely in California — there are several steps employers can take to ensure they will not be exposed to unfavored jurisdictions, says Eric Fox at Quarles & Brady.

  • Eye On Compliance: Workplace March Madness Pools

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    With March Madness set to begin in a few weeks, employers should recognize that workplace sports betting is technically illegal, keeping federal and state gambling laws in mind when determining whether they will permit ever-popular bracket pools, says Laura Stutz at Wilson Elser.

  • Handbook Hot Topics: Workplace AI Risks

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    As generative artificial intelligence tools penetrate workplaces, employers should incorporate sound AI policies and procedures in their handbooks in order to mitigate liability risks, maintain control of the technology, and protect their brands, says Laura Corvo at White and Williams.

  • Water Cooler Talk: Investigation Lessons In 'Minority Report'

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    Tracey Diamond and Evan Gibbs at Troutman Pepper discuss how themes in Steven Spielberg's Science Fiction masterpiece "Minority Report" — including prediction, prevention and the fallibility of systems — can have real-life implications in workplace investigations.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: February Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses five notable circuit court decisions on topics from property taxes to veteran's rights — and provides key takeaways for counsel on issues including class representative intervention, wage-and-hour dispute evidence and ascertainability requirements.