Wage & Hour
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May 24, 2022
331 Cops Nab Collective Cert. In OT Cadet Training Suit
More than 300 Newark, New Jersey, Police Department recruits were awarded collective certification Tuesday in their suit alleging the city failed to pay them overtime for time they spent in police academy training.
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May 24, 2022
FedEx Worker Says Company Owes Pay For Military Leave
FedEx discriminates against the military reservists on its payroll by failing to pay its employees for time spent on short-term military leave, a worker alleged in a lawsuit filed in Delaware federal court.
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May 24, 2022
CBS Affiliate Reporter Not Eligible For OT, Judge Confirms
A reporter for a Miami CBS affiliate was not entitled to overtime compensation under the Fair Labor Standards Act, a Florida federal judge ruled in confirming a jury's findings.
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May 24, 2022
SC Bans Subminimum Pay For Workers With Disabilities
Employers in South Carolina will no longer be able to pay subminimum wages to workers with disabilities under legislation signed by the governor.
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May 24, 2022
Carolinas Hospital Workers Secure Cert. In Meal Break Suit
A South Carolina federal judge approved collective certification for a group of hospital workers alleging their employer improperly deducted pay for meal breaks that were never taken due to demanding workloads.
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May 24, 2022
Steakhouse Chain Shortchanges Tipped Workers, Suit Claims
National steakhouse chain Fleming's illegally paid sub-minimum-wages to tipped servers and bartenders by assigning them excessive, un-tipped side work like chopping fruit, polishing glasses and oiling wood surfaces, according to a collective action filed Tuesday in Boston federal court.
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May 23, 2022
Calif. Urges US Supreme Court Not To Undo Contractor Law
California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Monday asked the U.S. Supreme Court not to disturb a Ninth Circuit ruling upholding its worker classification law, arguing that the measure doesn't restrict speech or differentiate between speakers based on their message, meaning it doesn't violate the First Amendment.
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May 23, 2022
Calif. High Court Says Paystubs Must Detail Missed Breaks
So-called premium pay owed to California employees who work through meal and rest breaks is a wage that must be reported on official time sheets, the Supreme Court of California held Monday.
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May 23, 2022
Staffing Firm Recruiters Seek Collective Cert. in OT Suit
Staffing firm recruiters who claim their employer misclassified them as exempt from overtime pay asked a Florida federal judge for permission to recruit similarly situated workers into a Fair Labor Standards Act collective.
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May 23, 2022
State Laws Muddle Large Employers' Quest For Consistency
Navigating a landscape where some state workplace laws differ from their federal counterparts remains a daunting challenge for employers with a nationwide footprint, as state lawmakers have sought to tackle harassment, wages and paid leave. Here are four state-level requirements that could catch businesses off guard.
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May 23, 2022
Wash. Urges 9th Circ. To Affirm Detainees' $23M Wage Win
Washington state told the Ninth Circuit that a private prison company is attempting to hide behind federal law to justify paying immigrant detainees $1 a day for prison labor, urging the panel to uphold a lower court's finding that the workers are owed millions in back pay.
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May 23, 2022
NJ Sheraton Must Pay Pandemic Layoff Awards, Judge Says
A Sheraton hotel will have to pay almost $160,000 in wages and health benefit fund contributions to employees who were laid off as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, a New Jersey federal judge ordered Monday, confirming three arbitration awards in favor of the workers' union.
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May 23, 2022
Ex-Sony Worker Takes 2nd Shot At Gender Discrimination Suit
Sony's U.S.-based video game business has a pay and promotion practice that discriminates against women while allowing male employees to advance their careers, a former employee said in a proposed class action in California state court, one month after a judge axed her suit in federal court.
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May 23, 2022
Ex-Amazon Warehouse Manager Ineligible For OT, Judge Says
A former Amazon warehouse manager does not qualify for overtime rights, a California federal judge ruled, finding that witness testimony and the manager's own social media posts and resume proved that a majority of his time was spent on leadership duties, making him overtime exempt.
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May 23, 2022
Workers Accuse NJ Bakery Of Paying Cash In Lieu of OT
A New Jersey bakery paid hourly employees cash under the table in an illegal attempt to skirt its overtime compensation obligations under the Fair Labor Standards Act and state law, workers alleged in a lawsuit filed in federal court.
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May 23, 2022
Landscaping Co. Owner Arrested In Wage Case, DOL Says
The owner of a Hampton, Virginia, landscaping and snow removal company is in custody after failing to pay out court-mandated back wages, the U.S. Department of Labor said.
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May 23, 2022
Denny's Wraps Up Server's Tipped Wages Fight
Denny's and a former employee sorted out their disagreements on attorney fees and costs the server requested as part of a settlement, ending a lawsuit in Florida federal court alleging the restaurant chain violated tip-credit requirements under federal law.
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May 23, 2022
Ex-Secretary Hits NJ Law Firm With OT Suit
A former secretary of a New Jersey law firm sued the business in New Jersey federal court, alleging she was not paid overtime premiums owed to her during her nearly 20-year tenure at the firm.
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May 20, 2022
NYC Restaurants Stole Tips, Server Says In FLSA Wage Suit
A pair of Manhattan Chinese restaurants violated the Fair Labor Standards Act and the New York Labor Law by underpaying workers for untipped work, a server alleged in a class and collective action filed Friday in New York federal court.
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May 20, 2022
Texas Justices Rule Baylor Lab Owes Fired Exec Commission
The Texas Supreme Court on Friday ruled that a fired sales executive was still entitled to commission payments from a Houston medical laboratory because his contract didn't expressly condition the payments on his employment status, a decision two dissenting justices called an ill-advised departure from court precedent.
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May 20, 2022
Calif. Forecast: Rite Aid's $12M Uniform Deal Up For Approval
In the coming week, labor and employment attorneys should keep an eye out for potential final approval of a $12 million settlement between Rite Aid and a class of nearly 30,000 workers in a uniform-reimbursement lawsuit. Here's a look at that case and other labor and employment matters coming up in the Golden State.
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May 20, 2022
NY Forecast: 2nd Circ. Will Hear Gym Teacher's Age Bias Suit
In the coming week, the Second Circuit will hear arguments in a former gym teacher's lawsuit claiming his principal discriminated against him because of his age and forced him into early retirement. Here, Law360 looks at that case as well as other major labor and employment cases on the docket in the Empire State.
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May 20, 2022
Staffing Co. Settles Suits Over OT, Trade Secrets
A staffing company and a group of former employees asked a Georgia federal court to approve a settlement that would resolve a lawsuit alleging the business failed to pay all time-and-a-half overtime owed to its workers.
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May 20, 2022
DOJ 'Dropped The Ball' In 1st Wage-Fixing Case, Juror Says
For juror number eight, the U.S. Department of Justice's first criminal prosecution of wage-fixing fell apart due to shaky evidence and weak testimony from government witnesses, including an FBI agent who said one of the defendants claimed to have been locked out of his phone when what the agent really meant was an iCloud account.
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May 20, 2022
Miss. Home Care Co. Owes Workers $39K, DOL Says
A Mississippi home health care agency is on the hook for more than $39,000 in unpaid wages, the U.S. Department of Labor said.

High Court Ruling Could Cause Speedier Arb. Bids, Attys Say
The U.S. Supreme Court’s Monday ruling that a party's right to compel arbitration after litigating doesn't depend on whether the delay prejudiced the other party is a change in the majority of federal circuits and could push employers to seek arbitration more quickly, attorneys said. Here, Law360 explores that and other takeaways from the ruling.

Justices Say Arbitration Waiver Not Based On Prejudice
A party's right to try to send a case to arbitration after first litigating doesn't hinge on whether the delay prejudiced the other party, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday, a decision that means workers don't have to show prejudice when fighting delayed arbitration bids.

3 States That Go Further Than FLSA On Wage-Hour Law
States' wage and hour laws may provide greater protections than the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, as the Colorado Supreme Court demonstrated this past week when it said truck drivers are entitled to overtime.
Expert Analysis
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What OFCCP Enforcement Shift Means For Gov't Contractors
With long-awaited directives from the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs showing a shift away from self-imposed constraints on enforcement, contractors should prepare for greater scrutiny, broad records requests and the agency's unsettlingly hostile position on the limits of attorney-client privilege, says Christopher Durham at Duane Morris.
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Why NLRB Is Unlikely To Succeed In Misclassification Case
A recent National Labor Relations Board complaint would make the act of misclassifying workers as independent contractors a labor law violation, and while companies shouldn't expect this to succeed, they may want to take certain steps to better protect themselves from this type of initiative, say Richard Reibstein and Janet Barsky at Locke Lord.
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11th Circ. Ban On Service Awards May Inhibit Class Actions
Since the Johnson v. NPAS Solutions decision in 2020, the long-established practice of service awards for representative plaintiffs in class actions has fallen under a cloud in the Eleventh Circuit — and while the case remains an outlier, it may make class actions more difficult to bring in that jurisdiction, say William Reiss and Dave Rochelson at Robins Kaplan.
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11th Circ. Salt Bae Ruling Provides Service Charge Blueprint
The Eleventh Circuit’s recent decision in Compere v. Nusret Miami, holding that a restaurant owned by celebrity chef Salt Bae could use service charges to compensate employees, highlights the benefits of this pay plan over the tip credit, and illustrates six steps for hospitality employers to implement such a policy, say Ted Boehm and Courtney Leyes at Fisher Phillips.
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How New Bill May Affect Enforcement Of Mass. Wage Laws
It would be difficult to overstate the potential impact of Massachusetts' proposed wage law legislation, which would expand liability for wage theft and enhance enforceability of the commonwealth's wage statutes, say attorneys at Seyfarth.
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Calif. College Athlete Pay Bill May Lead To Employment Issues
While California’s College Athlete Race and Gender Equity Act may have a difficult time passing, it could open the door for an argument that players at academic institutions should be deemed employees, and schools must examine and prepare for the potential challenges that could be triggered by compensating college athletes, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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Defeating Motions To Decertify FLSA Collective Actions
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
Matthew Helland at Nichols Kaster lays out plaintiff strategies that can help beat a defendant’s motion to decertify a Fair Labor Standards Act collective action and convince the judge that a case should be tried on a groupwide basis, highlighting key issues such as representative proof and varying circuit frameworks.
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How A New Law Will Affect Ohio Overtime Class Actions
Ohio’s recently enacted S.B. 47 — which exempts employers from paying overtime to their employees under certain circumstances and converts state wage and hour class actions to the Fair Labor Standards Act opt-in collective — signals substantive changes for Ohio-based employers and employees, say Adam Primm and Thomas Jackson at Benesch.
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Don't Be Late Paying Terminated Employees in Massachusetts
By imposing strict liability for an incorrect wage payment to a terminated employee, the Massachusetts high court’s recent decision in Reuter v. Methuen upends a long-standing precedent and means employers will lose a commonly used safety net, say attorneys at Day Pitney.
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DOL's New Retaliation Focus Requires Employer Vigilance
In light of the U.S. Department of Labor’s recently issued bulletin signaling a wide-sweeping approach and enforcement posture to even subtle forms of retaliation, employers must ensure they have a solid framework for fair treatment, prompt investigation and appropriate resolution of employee complaints, says Mark Tabakman at Fox Rothschild.
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To Close Pay Gaps, Laws Must Shift Burden To Employers
To address the scourge of gender- and race-based pay gaps, legislators should follow the recent lead of several jurisdictions by requiring companies to advertise salary ranges with job postings and prohibiting reliance on past pay, reversing the information asymmetry that gives employers more bargaining power, say Christine Webber and Rebecca Ojserkis at Cohen Milstein.
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Bankruptcy Rulings Highlight Split On Excusable Neglect
The Fifth Circuit's recent decision in CJ Holding, and a New York federal bankruptcy court's recent decision in Westinghouse, contribute to a growing split on the weight assigned to various factors when courts decide what may constitute excusable neglect in bankruptcy filing, say attorneys at Cullen Dykman.
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Avoiding Surprise Taxation Of Employment Settlements
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
Sandra Cohen at Cohen & Buckmann discusses how to avoid unwelcome tax-related payments in connection with settling an employment claim, as the extra cost can significantly decrease the perceived value of an offer and push the parties further apart.