Wage & Hour

  • May 03, 2024

    NY Forecast: Judge Weighs Class Cert. In Tax Prep OT Case

    In the coming week, a federal magistrate judge will consider whether to grant class certification to New York income tax preparers who claim they were denied overtime pay due to their employer's practice of paying them on commissions. Here, Law360 explores this and other cases on the docket in New York.

  • May 03, 2024

    Ex-Spirit Flight Attendant Drops FMLA Suit

    A Florida federal judge on Friday dismissed a lawsuit a former flight attendant lodged against Spirit Airlines accusing it of firing her after she complained that its medical leave policies ran afoul of the Family and Medical Leave Act.

  • May 03, 2024

    Arbitration Exemption Doesn't Cover Cos., Conn. Judge Rules

    Two food distributors who created corporate entities while working for a food service business must arbitrate claims they were misclassified as independent contractors because a Federal Arbitration Act carveout doesn't apply to businesses, a Connecticut federal judge has ruled.

  • May 03, 2024

    Calif. Forecast: Justices To Hear PAGA Intervenor Args

    In the coming week, attorneys should watch for oral arguments before the California Supreme Court on the issue of the right of workers bringing a case under the state's Private Attorneys General Act to intervene in a separate matter. Here's a look at that case and other labor and employment matters coming up in the Golden State.

  • May 03, 2024

    Calif. Appeals Court Revives Joint Employment Claims

    A California state appeals court in a rehearing declined to sustain demurrers a lower court had granted to several companies that argued they could not be sued as joint employers in a worker's wage and hour lawsuit, finding the worker's claim had enough evidence to take shape.

  • May 03, 2024

    Group Home Co. To Pay $191K Deal To End DOL Wage Suit

    An operator of group homes for people with disabilities will shell out approximately $191,000 to end a U.S. Department of Labor suit claiming it failed to pay workers minimum wage and overtime, as a Michigan federal judge signed off on the deal Friday. 

  • May 03, 2024

    Workers Seek to Block Bimbo Bakeries' Quick Appeal

    Delivery drivers asked a Vermont federal judge not to grant Bimbo Bakeries' bid to appeal a decision that their collective can span three states, saying it's too early to get the Second Circuit's opinion because the collective members haven't even opted into the misclassification suit yet.

  • May 03, 2024

    Mass. Wage-Hour Debates To Intensify In Courts, On Ballots

    Massachusetts is a hot spot for wage and hour issues, with state courts approaching decisions in gig worker battles and voters potentially weighing in this fall on proposed statewide measures regarding app-based drivers and the tipped minimum wage. Here, Law360 explores three key issues to watch.

  • May 02, 2024

    Sysco Unit To Provide Back Pay To End DOL Hiring Bias Probe

    A subsidiary of restaurant food distributor Sysco Corp. will pay over $133,000 in back pay to resolve the U.S. Department of Labor's allegations that it discriminated against women by failing to hire qualified female applicants to fill open warehouse positions in Palmetto, Florida, the agency said Thursday.

  • May 02, 2024

    DaVita Says Nurses Trying Go Around Wage Rulings

    Nationwide kidney care service provider DaVita Inc. has urged a Colorado federal judge to reject a bid by nurses and technicians to merge their wage class action with another suit, arguing Wednesday the plaintiffs are seeking to "circumvent" earlier rulings limiting the case's reach.

  • May 02, 2024

    Poultry Cos. To Pay $5.1M Settling OT, Child Labor Violations

    A network of California poultry processors will pay over $5 million to settle a U.S. Department of Labor lawsuit in federal court after an agency investigation found the processors employed children to debone poultry and failed to pay over 475 workers overtime.

  • May 02, 2024

    Drivers' Calif. Wage Class Action Tossed For Taking Too Long

    A California state court rightly tossed a class action by two drivers accusing a transportation company of wage violations, a state appeals panel ruled, backing the lower court's finding that the case likely would not have been able to proceed to trial within five years of the complaint being filed.

  • May 02, 2024

    Full 11th Circ. Won't Look At Golf Workers Volunteer Decision

    The full Eleventh Circuit won't weigh in on a panel's ruling that a Florida county wasn't three golf course attendants' employer, denying on Thursday the workers' bid for rehearing.

  • May 02, 2024

    How Wage Cases Are Changing Federal Arbitration

    Over the past month, the scope of a federal exemption to arbitration has evolved as appellate courts have refined an important access point for workers to pursue their claims in court. Here, Law360 looks at several cases that have recently made waves in federal arbitration.

  • May 02, 2024

    Seyfarth Litigator Pairs Up With Solo Atty At Atlanta Firm

    A former Seyfarth Shaw LLP partner has joined a solo practitioner's employment law firm in Atlanta with the goal of handling plaintiffs employment litigation and trade secret and noncompete matters while capitalizing on the use of generative artificial intelligence.

  • May 02, 2024

    NC Dems Propose Axing At-Will Work In Workers Rights Bill

    North Carolina Democrats have proposed broad legislation to bolster protections for employees in the Tar Heel State — from abolishing at-will employment to repealing the ban on collective bargaining for public employees and shoring up safeguards for contract workers.

  • May 02, 2024

    Md. Home Care Co. Pays $539K After DOL Probe

    A Maryland home care company that provides adult rehabilitation services paid nearly $539,000 in back wages and damages for denying 37 direct support staff their full wages, the U.S. Department of Labor announced.

  • May 02, 2024

    DOL Fights Bid To Halt Prevailing Wage Rule

    A group of construction groups didn't show how a final rule regulating prevailing wages hurts them, and halting the rule wouldn't be in the public's interest, the U.S. Department of Labor told a Texas federal court.

  • May 02, 2024

    Nurse Hits Mich. Hospital With Meal Break OT Suit

    A Michigan hospital has been automatically deducting a 30-minute meal break from nurses and technicians' shifts though they were frequently unable to take the full break uninterrupted, violating overtime laws, a former nurse claimed in a federal suit.

  • May 01, 2024

    NJ, NY Law Firms Dominate Class Action Filings Since 2021

    Class actions have been steadily increasing over the past decade, with two firms from New Jersey and New York filing the most suits over the past three years, according to a new Lex Machina report surveying the class action field.

  • May 01, 2024

    Judge Mulls New Trial For Uber Drivers' Misclassification Suit

    A Pennsylvania federal judge on Wednesday seemed poised to start a second trial to determine whether drivers of Uber's high-end ride-share option are independent contractors or employees after a jury deadlocked on the issue in March.

  • May 01, 2024

    Construction Workers Get $940K Default Win In Wage Suit

    A New York federal judge adopted a magistrate judge's recommendation Wednesday to enter a more than $940,000 default win against a contracting company because it didn't respond to a lawsuit by construction workers, finding no issues with the detailed report.

  • May 01, 2024

    Oil Drilling Workers Urge High Court Not To Review PPE Suit

    The Third Circuit's view that time putting on and taking off personal protective equipment becomes compensable if the gear is integral and indispensable to employees' work actually aligns with a Second Circuit's standard, oil rig workers told the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday.

  • May 01, 2024

    La. Home Care Cos. Pay $422K For Wage Violations

    Five home care providers in Louisiana paid more than $422,000 for denying workers their full wages, the U.S. Department of Labor announced Wednesday.

  • May 01, 2024

    DOL's OT Rule Doesn't Touch Trucker Exemption

    Certain interstate truck drivers remain exempt from overtime under federal labor law, even as the U.S. Department of Labor has issued a new final rule addressing overtime exemptions for other workers. Here, Law360 explores the motor carrier exemption.

Expert Analysis

  • State Law Compliance Considerations For Remote Job Posts

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    In light of the increasing prevalence of state and local laws mandating a salary range on job listings, employers should provide pay transparency when looking for remote workers in order to avoid potential penalties and litigation, says Eric Fox at Gordon & Rees.

  • Employers Should Note Post-Midterms State Law Changes

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    State ballot measures in the recent midterm elections could require employers to update policies related to drug use, wages, collective bargaining and benefit plans that offer access to abortion care — a reminder of the challenges in complying with the ever-changing patchwork of state workplace laws, say attorneys at Jackson Lewis.

  • PAGA Claims Are A Gamble As Calif. Justices Mull Uber Case

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    The California Supreme Court's pending Private Attorneys General Act decision in Adolph v. Uber will have significant repercussions for both employers and employees, potentially forcing employers to question whether there is any benefit to arbitrating individual PAGA claims, says Jonathan Andrews at Signature Resolution.

  • Why Companies Lose In Gig Worker Class Cert. Cases

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    The recent class certification of gig workers in Roman v. Jan-Pro Franchising in California and Bedoya v. American Eagle Express in New Jersey shows that companies who rely on uniform contracts and policies with independent contractors expose themselves to liability in a judicial climate that increasingly favors workers, say Joan Fife and Kevin Simpson at Winston & Strawn.

  • DOL Proposal Invokes ABC Test For Contractor Classification

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    The U.S. Department of Labor recently issued a proposed rule for determining whether workers are independent contractors or employees, that, if adopted, would effectively implement California's so-called ABC test for classification and substantially rewrite the employment playbook nationwide, says Ronald Zambrano at West Coast Employment Lawyers.

  • Labor Rules Will Unlock IRA Tax Credits' Full Value

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    Companies that make sure to follow the Inflation Reduction Act's unique labor rules will be in the best position to unlock the law's tremendous tax incentives aimed at promoting renewable energy, lowering greenhouse gas emissions and encouraging carbon sequestration, say Nicole Elliott and Timothy Taylor at Holland & Knight.

  • What To Know About New Wave Of Calif. Employment Laws

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    Attorneys at Reed Smith share insights on employment and benefits laws recently enacted in California that are certain to affect employers in the year ahead — including new bereavement and medical leave requirements, expanded reproductive health care protections, a minimum wage increase, and updated pay transparency rules.

  • Enforcing Cost-Splitting Employment Arbitration Provisions

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    While recent appellate decisions and executive action have increased scrutiny of employment arbitration agreements, with careful agreement drafting and negotiation employers can still craft enforceable provisions requiring employees to split arbitration costs, says Christopher Deubert at Constangy Brooks.

  • Beware Rise In Lawsuits Under NY Manual Worker Pay Rule

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    Although the New York rule that manual workers must be paid weekly has existed for some time, there has been a significant increase in the number of lawsuits against employers after the 2019 ruling in Vega v. CM & Associates, making correct classification of employees paramount, say Heather Sager and Krista Gay at Perkins Coie.

  • Unpacking FLSA Domestic Service Worker Wage Exemptions

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    Nancy Barnes and Anthony McNamara at Thompson Hine explain the nuances of domestic service worker compensation under the Fair Labor Standards Act and the applicable exemptions to its minimum wage and overtime requirements.

  • Tips On Complying With Calif.'s New Pay Transparency Law

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    California's new pay transparency law takes effect on Jan. 1, which means that employers must take action now to ensure that they are prepared to comply with an extensive pay reporting scheme that is among the most complex and detailed in the nation, say Maria Stearns and Joanna Blake at Rutan & Tucker.

  • Strategies For Approaching New NY Pay Transparency Laws

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    Pay transparency laws are proliferating in New York and across the country, resulting in a patchwork that can be challenging for employers to navigate, but considering seven key questions can help with cross-jurisdictional compliance, says Kelly Cardin at Ogletree.

  • Navigating The OT Debates In High Court Rig Worker Case

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    While recent U.S. Supreme Court oral arguments in Helix Energy v. Hewitt focused on whether an oil rig worker could qualify for the Fair Labor Standards Act’s highly compensated employee overtime exemption, the most interesting issue raised could spark new challenges to previously unquestioned overtime regulations, says Glenn Grindlinger at Fox Rothschild.