Wage & Hour

  • August 26, 2024

    5th Circ. Tip Rule Decision A Sign Of Post-Chevron Landscape

    The Fifth Circuit striking down a U.S. Department of Labor rule regarding tipped wages shows just how vulnerable federal wage and hour rules are without Chevron deference, attorneys say. Here, Law360 explores the decision.

  • August 26, 2024

    Red Robin Workers Get Final OK On $3.2M Wage Suit Deal

    A California federal judge granted final approval Monday to a $3.2 million settlement that resolves a class action accusing Red Robin of misclassifying managers as overtime-exempt, despite them performing the same tasks as workers who could cash in on the extra hours.

  • August 26, 2024

    Former X Worker Seeks Class Certification In Bonus Suit

    A former X Corp. employee asked a California federal court to greenlight an approximately 2,200-member class in his lawsuit alleging the company reneged on promised bonuses after Elon Musk took over the social media company formerly known as Twitter.

  • August 26, 2024

    Alaska Airlines Inks $4.75M Deal To End Military Leave Suit

    Alaska Airlines Inc. and Horizon Air Industries Inc. will pay $4.75 million to resolve a class action alleging it shortchanged pilots who took short-term military leave while allowing others to claim pay for jury duty or bereavement leave, a policy the service members called biased.

  • August 26, 2024

    Texas Restaurants Pay $69K After DOL Tip Probe

    The operators of three restaurants in Texas paid nearly $69,000 for tip violations, the U.S. Department of Labor announced Monday.

  • August 26, 2024

    Machinist Can't Represent Out-Of-State Workers In Wage Row

    A Wisconsin federal judge partially granted a manufacturing company's motion to dismiss a machinist's wage and hour collective action, citing a recent Seventh Circuit opinion that held a plaintiff can't represent out-of-state workers when the employer isn't based in the state in which the case was filed.

  • August 26, 2024

    Tenn. County Strikes Deal To Exit Wage Suit Ahead Of Trial

    A Tennessee county alerted a federal court that it reached a settlement to stave off a trial slated to begin Monday in a suit accusing it of not properly paying a variety of workers within its sheriff's office.

  • August 26, 2024

    Gov't Contracting Policies To Watch In The 2nd Half Of 2024

    An overhaul to the U.S. Department of Defense's cybersecurity requirements and a pending rule requiring many contractors to report their greenhouse gas emissions headline a slate of significant policy initiatives for government contractors to watch for during the second half of this year. Here, Law360 previews four upcoming policy changes with significant potential impacts on government contractors.

  • August 23, 2024

    Dems Address Wage Theft, Paid Leave At Convention

    Democratic National Convention speakers in recent days spoke of wage and hour priorities including raising the federal minimum wage and establishing a national paid leave program, with even Vice President Kamala Harris mentioning fighting wage theft as part of her background.

  • August 23, 2024

    Attys' Fee Request 'Exorbitant' In Pay Bias Spat, NYC Says

    New York City urged a federal court Friday to reject attorneys' $8 million fee request for representing white fire protection inspectors who claimed they were subjected to the same racist pay disparities their nonwhite colleagues alleged they faced, saying it would divert too much money away from the workers.

  • August 23, 2024

    Ex-Reed Smith Atty Wants Pay Data In Bias Suit Against Firm

    A former Reed Smith LLP attorney suing the firm for gender discrimination has told a New Jersey state court that the firm must turn over pay data for nonequity partners stretching back years for her to make her case.

  • August 23, 2024

    Albertsons-Kroger Deal Tests FTC's Stepped-Up Merger Policy

    The Federal Trade Commission's highly anticipated hearing to block Albertsons' planned $24.6 billion merger with Kroger kicks off Monday in a Portland, Oregon, courtroom in what attorneys say will be a pivotal test of the Biden administration's newly formalized merger policy.

  • August 23, 2024

    5th Circ. Strikes Down DOL Tip Rule

    The Fifth Circuit struck down a U.S. Department of Labor rule on tipped wages, saying it goes against the Fair Labor Standards Act and is therefore arbitrary and capricious.

  • August 23, 2024

    Ga. Judge Denies FLSA Settlement Again Over Fee Proposal

    A Georgia federal judge has, for the second time, refused to sign off on a settlement that would've ended a suit between a corporate office furnisher and a fired employee, finding the plaintiff's counsel's proposed hourly rate for attorney fees "far exceeds" reasonableness.

  • August 23, 2024

    Construction Workers Want 5th Circ. Redo In Unpaid OT Suit

    A group of workers for a screw pile engineering company urged the full Fifth Circuit to rehear their case alleging they were unlawfully stiffed on overtime wages, saying a panel used the wrong standard when determining their duties fell under the Motor Carrier Act's overtime exemption.

  • August 23, 2024

    Hospital Deducted Bogus Meal Breaks From Wages, Suit Says

    A healthcare system automatically deducted 30 minutes per day from workers' wages for meal breaks despite the workers not getting the chance to take uninterrupted meal periods, a proposed collective action filed in Michigan federal court said.

  • August 23, 2024

    Calif. Forecast: Court To Weigh $4M Insurance Co. Wage Deal

    In the coming week, attorneys should watch for the potential final sign-off on a $4 million deal to resolve a wage and hour class action against Arthur J. Gallagher Service Co. LLC. Here's a look at that case and other labor and employment matters on deck in California.

  • August 22, 2024

    9th Circ. Revives Military Bias Claims Against Alaska Airlines

    The Ninth Circuit on Thursday revived a class action alleging Alaska Airlines illegally denied accrued vacation and sick time to pilots on military assignments, saying the case now has the benefit of a decision from the court in a similar case involving the airline.

  • August 22, 2024

    Calif. Panel Backs Arbitration Denial In Staffing Co. Wage Suit

    A California state appeals court refused to ship to arbitration a worker's lawsuit accusing a staffing agency of unlawfully miscalculating his sick leave wages, saying the arbitration pact he signed promised that all Private Attorneys General Act claims will be litigated in court.

  • August 22, 2024

    Hormel, Meat Plants To Settle Wage-Fixing Claims For $13.5M

    Hormel Foods Corp. and two meat processing plants have agreed to a $13.5 million settlement in a Colorado wage-fixing suit, joining a host of companies that have reached deals to end claims that they colluded to depress wages.

  • August 22, 2024

    Wis. Court Ditches 2-Step Certification For Collectives

    A metal finisher cannot snag collective certification in her wage suit under the Fifth Circuit's standard, a Wisconsin federal judge ruled, departing for the first time from the two-step method to certify collectives that courts have long used.

  • August 22, 2024

    4th Circ. Ruling Seen As Harbinger Of Remote Work Battles

    A Fourth Circuit opinion affirming that Maryland's wage laws don't extend to workers in Afghanistan who were hired by a Maryland company portends continued tricky legal challenges for employers managing a remote workforce, attorneys say.

  • August 22, 2024

    DOL, Pa. Mexican Restaurant Ink $88K Deal To End Wage Suit

    A Mexican restaurant with multiple locations in Pennsylvania will pay $88,000 in back wages, damages and fines to end a U.S. Department of Labor suit alleging it denied workers their full tips and wages, according to federal court papers filed Thursday.

  • August 22, 2024

    Mich. Says Justices' Minimum Wage Ruling Lacks Detail

    The state of Michigan is seeking clarification from its high court on how to calculate the new minimum wage, saying there were several possible interpretations of the court's recent directive to account for inflation in the wage floor. 

  • August 22, 2024

    IT Staffing Co. Can't Push Unpaid OT Suit Into Arbitration

    A California federal judge refused to send to arbitration a class action accusing a tech staffing company of underpaying recruiters by misclassifying them as overtime-exempt, saying the company's establishment of the arbitration pact two years into the litigation was misleading and unfair.

Expert Analysis

  • Lessons On Using 'Advice Of Counsel' Defense In FLSA Suits

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    Several Fair Labor Standards Act cases illustrate the dangers inherent in employers trying to use the advice-of-counsel defense as a shield against liability while attempting to guard attorney-client privilege over relevant communications, says Mark Tabakman at Fox Rothschild.

  • DC Circ. Ruling Puts Issue Class Cert. Under Microscope

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    The D.C. Circuit's recent Harris v. Medical Transportation Management decision, which pushed back against lax application of Rule 23(c)(4) to certify issue classes as an end-run around the predominance requirement, provides potentially persuasive fodder for seeking to limit the scope of issue classes in other circuits, say attorneys at Skadden.

  • Ensuring Child Labor Law Compliance Amid Growing Scrutiny

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    Amid increased attention on child labor law violations, employers should review their policies and practices with respect to the employment of minors, particularly underage migrants who do not have any parents in the U.S., say Felicia O'Connor and Morgan McDonald at Foley & Lardner.

  • Employer Best Practices For Pay Transparency Compliance

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    With conflicting pay transparency and disclosure laws appearing across the country, employers must carefully develop different strategies for discussing compensation with employees, applicants, and off-site workers, disclosing salaries in job ads, and staying abreast of new state and local compliance requirements, says Joy Rosenquist at Littler Mendelson.

  • Calif. Cos. May Have To Reimburse More Remote Work Costs

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    After a California appeals court's recent decision in Thai v. IBM, countless California employers will be required to pay work-related costs incurred by their employees who were sent home during the pandemic, and this could be just the beginning of a reckoning, say Sonya Goodwin at Sauer & Wagner.

  • Water Cooler Talk: 'The Bear' Serves Up Advice For Managers

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    Tracey Diamond and Evan Gibbs at Troutman Pepper chat with Ernst & Young’s Laura Yehuda about Hulu's "The Bear" and the best practices managers can glean from the show's portrayal of workplace challenges, including those faced by young, female managers.

  • Calif. Employers Note: Industrial Welfare Commission Is Back

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    An appropriations bill recently passed in California instructs the Industrial Welfare Commission to reconvene for the first time in 19 years, opening a door for the regulatory body to significantly affect employer operations by strengthening standards for meal and rest breaks, scheduling, record-keeping, and more, say Denisha McKenzie and John Keeney at CDF Labor Law.

  • Recalling USWNT's Legal PR Playbook Amid World Cup Bid

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    As the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team strives to take home another World Cup trophy, their 2022 pay equity settlement with the U.S. Soccer Federation serves as a good reminder that winning in the court of public opinion can be more powerful than a victory inside the courtroom, says Hector Valle at Vianovo.

  • Colorado Antitrust Reform Carries Broad State Impact

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    Colorado recently became the latest state to update and expand its antitrust laws, and the new act may significantly affect enforcement and private litigation, particularly when it comes to workers and consumers, says Diane Hazel at Foley & Lardner.

  • Employer Tips For Fighting Back Against Explosive Verdicts

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    Massive jury verdicts are a product of our time, driven in part by reptile tactics, but employers can build a strategic defense to mitigate the risk of a runaway jury, and develop tools to seek judicial relief in the event of an adverse outcome, say Dawn Solowey and Lynn Kappelman at Seyfarth.

  • Calif. PAGA Ruling Not A Total Loss For Employer Arbitration

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    Contrary to the conclusion reached in a recent Law360 guest article, the California Supreme Court’s ruling in Adolph v. Uber Technologies did not diminish the benefit of arbitrating employees’ individual Private Attorneys General Act claims, as the very limited ruling does not undermine U.S. Supreme Court precedent, says Steven Katz at Constangy.

  • Handbook Hot Topics: Changing Status Quo In A Union Shop

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    A recent administrative law decision concerning a dispute between Fortune Media and the NewsGuild of New York is an important reminder to employers with unionized workforces to refrain from making unilateral updates to employee handbooks that will change the terms and conditions of employment, says Jennifer Hataway at Butler Snow.

  • Eye On Compliance: A Shift In Religious Accommodation Law

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    The recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Groff v. DeJoy is making it more difficult for employers to deny religious accommodations, and there are three takeaways employers should keep in mind, say William Cook and Matthew High at Wilson Elser.