Wage & Hour

  • October 17, 2025

    Calif. Forecast: 9th Circ. To Hear Court Exec. Race Bias Args

    In the coming week, attorneys should keep an eye out for Ninth Circuit oral arguments in a former California state court executive officer's race discrimination case. Here's a look at that case and other labor and employment matters coming up in that state.

  • October 17, 2025

    Fired K-9 Officer Drops Bias Suit Against Mich. Hospital

    A former K-9 security officer for a Michigan hospital agreed to drop her claims that she was fired after disclosing that she was in a same-sex relationship and asking for back pay earned while caring for the dog, according to a Friday order.

  • October 17, 2025

    Mercedes-Benz, Staffing Firm Settle OT Dispute

    A billable worker told a Georgia federal court that she reached a tentative settlement with Mercedes-Benz and a staffing agency she accused of flouting the Fair Labor Standards Act by failing to pay her overtime.

  • October 16, 2025

    La Colombe Workers' $450K Wage Deal Gets Final OK

    La Colombe's hourly paid production workers have received final approval of a $450,000 settlement with the coffee chain, which was accused of failing to pay them for time spent donning and doffing protective equipment before and after their shifts, according to an order by a Pennsylvania federal judge.

  • October 16, 2025

    Wage Reporting Laws Are Useful Deterrents To Pay Inequality

    Equal pay data reporting laws are part of the broader embrace of pay transparency, and though their utility lies in forcing employers to audit their pay practices, the data is imperfect, attorneys said.

  • October 16, 2025

    X, Musk Settle Former Executives' Severance Suit

    Three former Twitter executives have settled their lawsuit claiming they were deprived of millions of dollars in severance benefits following Elon Musk's takeover of the social media company, according to a filing Thursday in California federal court.

  • October 16, 2025

    LA Beats Ex-Police Lt.'s Military Leave Bias Suit Before Trial

    The city of Los Angeles on Thursday beat a proposed class action alleging its police department didn't grant equal sick and vacation time to service members and passed them over for promotions because of their service obligations, weeks before jury trial was set to commence in California federal court. 

  • October 16, 2025

    NY Health System Hit With Time Rounding, Meal Break Suit

    A health system in New York has been automatically deducting meal breaks and rounding hours on workers' time sheets, cheating them out of wages, according to a proposed class and collective action filed in federal court.

  • October 16, 2025

    Texas Law Firm Partially Misclassified Paralegal, Judge Rules

    A former paralegal for a Texas law firm was an independent contractor for the first four years at the firm, but an employee for the remaining two, a federal judge ruled while denying her bid to snag a win on her overtime and minimum wage claims.

  • October 16, 2025

    3rd Circ. Says FLSA Doesn't Limit Class Member Settlements

    The Fair Labor Standards Act tackles only who can litigate claims and is silent on whether settlement class members who have not opted into a collective can release their claims under the federal law, the Third Circuit found Thursday.

  • October 16, 2025

    3rd Circ. Denies DOL's Bid For 2nd Look At H-2A Fine Powers

    The full Third Circuit won't weigh whether the U.S. Department of Labor had the authority to use in-house administrative proceedings to impose more than $580,000 in fines on a New Jersey farm for what the department said were violations of the H-2A visa program.

  • October 15, 2025

    Alaska Airlines Seeks To Ground Pilot Sick Leave Accrual Suit

    A former Alaska Airlines pilot's suit claiming that he should have accrued vacation and sick time while on long-term military assignments cannot stand because the company doesn't provide such a benefit to other types of leave, the airline told a Washington federal court.

  • October 15, 2025

    Calif. Stay-Or-Pay Ban Creates Wage Suit Pathway

    California’s new ban on stay-or-pay provisions in employment contracts brings the issue of debt repayment under wage and hour law, a change attorneys expect will largely end the use of such arrangements or lead to civil suits under a new monetary penalty.

  • October 15, 2025

    Wash. Judge Rejects Consulting Co.'s $295K Deal In OT Suit

    A Washington federal judge refused to approve a $295,000 settlement in a proposed collective action accusing a consulting company of not paying workers overtime, finding no "bona fide dispute" existed over whether the company was required to pay overtime rates and that the deal would improperly waive workers' rights.

  • October 15, 2025

    Mortgage Co. Can't Nix Worker's Racist Nickname Allegations

    A New York federal judge narrowed but refused to toss a bias suit from a Black mortgage company worker who said his white boss repeatedly called him a nickname using a racial slur, ruling a reasonable jury could find he'd endured an unlawfully hostile work environment.

  • October 15, 2025

    Nursing Entities Stiffed Workers On OT, Suit Claims

    Two subsidiaries of an operator of nursing facilities automatically deducted unpaid meal breaks that certified nursing assistants were unable to take, leading to unpaid overtime wages, a former employee said in a proposed class and collective action in Colorado federal court.

  • October 15, 2025

    Mass. AG, Security Co. Settle Wage Law Claims

    A security firm and its president will pay more than $583,000 to settle claims that it violated state wage and sick leave laws, the Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General announced Wednesday.

  • October 15, 2025

    AmEx Failed To Pay For Boot-Up, Power-Down Time, Suit Says

    American Express' travel service didn't pay customer care representatives for time they spent booting up their computers and closing out of work applications, resulting in unpaid overtime, according to a proposed class and collective action in New York federal court.

  • October 14, 2025

    Walmart Pay Transparency Suit Returns To Wash. State Court

    A Washington federal judge returned a proposed wage transparency class action against Walmart Inc. to state court Tuesday, agreeing with the plaintiff that he didn't claim a concrete enough injury for the suit to proceed in federal court.

  • October 14, 2025

    Concrete Co. Can't Challenge $2M Seattle Wage Theft Fine

    A Washington state appellate panel on Monday rejected a concrete subcontractor's appeal of more than $2 million in penalties for wage violations at Seattle construction sites, supporting a city hearing examiner's conclusion that the company was also on the hook alongside the primary contractor.  

  • October 14, 2025

    Calif. Panel Keeps State's Win In Uber, Lyft Classification Row

    Uber and Lyft cannot bypass administrative proceedings by filing suits challenging the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health's authority to issue them citations and asking a trial court to find their drivers are independent contractors, a state panel ruled Tuesday.

  • October 14, 2025

    Butcher Says NJ Grocery Store Stiffed Workers On Full Wages

    A grocery store in New Jersey paid workers below the state minimum wage, denied them overtime pay and failed to keep accurate records, a former butcher alleged in a proposed class and collective action in federal court.

  • October 14, 2025

    American Airlines Didn't Pay For Preflight Work, Suit Claims

    American Airlines fails to pay its flight attendants for work they performed before and after their flights, resulting in unpaid overtime, a flight attendant claimed in a proposed class action in Pennsylvania state court.

  • October 14, 2025

    Calif. Gov. Vetoes Regulation Of AI In Employment Decisions

    California Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill that would have required businesses to make sure humans reviewed termination and disciplinary decisions made by artificial intelligence tools, calling the legislation "overly broad."

  • October 14, 2025

    2nd Circ. Weighs Taking 'Novel' ICE Detainee Labor Appeal

    A Second Circuit panel mulled Tuesday if it should consider on an interlocutory basis if the New York Labor Law covers a class of detainees who allege they were underpaid by a for-profit company that manages a Buffalo-area immigration detention facility.

Expert Analysis

  • How Latest High Court Rulings Refine Employment Law

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    The 2024-2025 U.S. Supreme Court term did not radically rewrite employment law, but sharpened focus on textual fidelity, procedural rigor and the boundaries of statutory relief, say attorneys at Krevolin & Horst.

  • Challenging A Class Representative's Adequacy And Typicality

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    Recent cases highlight that a named plaintiff cannot certify a putative class action unless they can meet all the applicable requirements of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, so defendants should consider challenging a plaintiff's ability to meet typicality and adequacy requirements early and often, say attorneys at Womble Bond.

  • What Employers Can Learn From Axed Mo. Sick Leave Law

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    Missouri's recent passage and brisk repeal of Proposition A, which would have created a paid sick time benefit for employees, serves as a case study for employers, highlighting the steps they can take to adapt as paid sick leave laws are increasingly debated across the country, say attorneys at Foley & Lardner.

  • Navigating Court Concerns About QR Codes In FLSA Notices

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    As plaintiffs attorneys increasingly seek to include QR codes as a method of notice in Fair Labor Standards Act collective actions, counsel should be prepared to address judicial concerns about their use, including their potential to be duplicative and circumvent court-approved language, say attorneys at Shook Hardy.

  • FMLA Expansion Sees State Progress Despite Federal Barriers

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    Recent legislative efforts to expand the Family and Medical Leave Act reflect workers' growing demand for work-life balance, but as federal proposals continue to face significant hurdles, states have stepped in, creating a labyrinth of leave laws and compliance headaches for multistate employers, say attorneys at FordHarrison.

  • New Law May Reshape Fla. Employer Noncompete Strategy

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    With Florida's CHOICE Act taking effect this week, employers should consider the pros and cons of drafting new restrictive covenant agreements with longer noncompete or garden leave periods and enhanced enforcement mechanisms, say attorneys at Vedder Price.

  • How Ending OFCCP Will Affect Affirmative Action Obligations

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    As President Donald Trump's administration plans to eliminate the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, which enforces federal contractor antidiscrimination compliance and affirmative action program obligations, contractors should consider the best compliance approaches available to them, especially given the False Claims Act implications, say attorneys at Ogletree.

  • FLSA Interpretation Patterns Emerge 1 Year After Loper Bright

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    One year after the U.S. Supreme Court's monumental decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, four distinct avenues of judicial decision-making have taken shape among lower courts that are responding to their newfound freedom in interpreting the Fair Labor Standards Act through U.S. Department of Labor regulations, say attorneys at Kutak Rock.

  • Handbook Hot Topics: Shifting Worker Accommodation Rules

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    Since President Donald Trump took office, many changes have directly affected how employers must address accommodation requests, particularly those concerning pregnancy-related medical conditions and religious beliefs, underscoring the importance of regularly reviewing and updating accommodation policies and procedures, say attorneys at Kutak Rock.

  • What Calif. Appeals Split Means For Litigating PAGA Claims

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    After two recent California state appeals court rulings diverged on whether a former employee with untimely individual claims under the Private Attorneys General Act can maintain a representative action, practitioners' strategic agility will be key to managing risk and achieving favorable outcomes in PAGA litigation, say attorneys at Buchalter.

  • When Rule 12 Motions Against Class Allegations Succeed

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    Companies facing class actions often attempt early motions to strike class allegations, and while some district courts have been reluctant to decide certification issues at the pleading stage, several recent decisions have shown that Rule 12 motions to dismiss or strike class allegations can be effective, say attorneys at Womble Bond.

  • 5 Insurance Claims That Could Emerge After NCAA Settlement

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    Following the recent NCAA class action settlement that will allow revenue sharing with college athletes, there may be potential management liability for universities, their executive leadership and boards that could expose insurers to tax, regulatory, breach of contract and other claims, says Sarah Abrams at Baleen Specialty.

  • 8th Circ. Ruling Highlights Complicated Remote Work Analysis

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    The Eighth Circuit’s recent opinion in Kuklenski v. Medtronic USA demonstrates that the applicability of employment laws to remote workers is often a fact-driven analysis, highlighting several parameters to consider when evaluating what state and local laws may apply to employees who work remotely, say attorneys at Vedder Price.