Wage & Hour

  • July 01, 2026

    House Bill To Regulate Earned Wage Advances Clears Panel

    The House Financial Services Committee has advanced a federal framework for fintechs offering paycheck advances despite pushback from some Democrats that the proposal hamstrings states by blocking them from applying their lending laws to the services and imposing stronger consumer protections.

  • July 01, 2026

    Watchdog Says DOL Needs Better Info Sharing Controls

    The U.S. Department of Labor's lack of controls over information sharing between subagencies and nongovernmental entities, including law firms and legal advocacy organizations, may have unfairly advantaged those parties with privileged investigative information, an agency watchdog reported, though use of the practice has dropped off. 

  • July 01, 2026

    Littler Adds Ex-Morgan Lewis Labor Litigator In California

    Littler Mendelson PC, which primarily deals in employment and labor law practice representing management, announced on Tuesday the hiring of a former Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP attorney as a shareholder in its Walnut Creek, California, office.

  • July 01, 2026

    Cleaning Co. Agrees To $500K Deal Over OT, Sick Leave Claim

    A Texas commercial cleaning company agreed to pay $500,000 to settle claims that it failed to pay overtime wages and provide paid sick leave to Colorado workers it employed through subcontractors, according to a motion for preliminary settlement approval filed Wednesday in Colorado federal court.

  • July 01, 2026

    EV Battery Workers Say Ford Is Joint Employer

    Battery plant workers have told a Michigan federal court that Ford Motor Co. is their joint employer and bears responsibility for unpaid wage claims at an electric vehicle battery plant, pushing back against the automaker's bid to escape the lawsuit.

  • June 30, 2026

    Mental Health Nonprofit Hit With RN's Wage Suit Over Breaks

    A former Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services registered nurse filed a proposed collective action on Tuesday accusing the Michigan health provider of shorting hourly workers on overtime pay through automatic meal-break deductions, time-rounding practices, unpaid training and excluded bonuses. 

  • June 30, 2026

    Conn. Servers Seek Quick Win On Minimal Duties Claims

    Restaurant servers have asked a Connecticut state court to throw out a steakhouse's argument that some of their unpaid work was too small to matter, saying a recent state high court ruling makes clear that no amount of work can go uncompensated under state law.

  • June 30, 2026

    Labor Secretary Pick Has Helped Lead Return To Trump 1.0

    President Donald Trump's chosen nominee for secretary of labor has already been overseeing the U.S. Department of Labor as it returns to wage and hour policies from the president's first term, and observers said they expect him to maintain that approach.

  • June 30, 2026

    UCHealth Workers Fight Bid To Toss Wage Suit

    Two former hospital workers urged a Colorado federal court to keep alive their proposed class and collective action alleging University of Colorado Health shorted hourly employees through a time-rounding policy and denied them required meal and rest breaks, saying their claims are sufficiently detailed to proceed.

  • June 30, 2026

    7th Circ. Says Vacation Buy Program Isn't Wage Assignment

    A worker's challenge to his former employer's vacation buy program has failed after the Seventh Circuit ruled that letting employees trade salary for extra paid time off does not amount to a wage assignment requiring special written notice under Indiana law.

  • June 30, 2026

    Fired Doctor Who Said She Faced Sex Bias Gets $6.8M Verdict

    A Missouri federal jury found a St. Louis University-affiliated hospital owes a former doctor $6.8 million in damages after finding she was retaliated against and fired for complaining that a male doctor made patient care errors and mistreated her on the job.

  • June 30, 2026

    Oilfield Drillers Seek Rehearing In 5th Circ. OT Case

    Oilfield drillers who lost their bid for overtime pay after the Fifth Circuit ruled that their hybrid pay arrangement exempted them from overtime have asked the court to take another look at the case, arguing that the ruling makes it too easy for employers to dodge overtime rules.

  • June 30, 2026

    Wage & Hour Features Revisited: Arbitration Email Debate

    A look at a Ninth Circuit case involving whether a worker consents to arbitration if they did not see emails containing opt-out instructions and an interview with a member of Congress about his paid family leave bill are among Law360 Employment Authority's wage and hour stories to catch up on. Here's a look at features and analyses you may have missed from June.

  • June 29, 2026

    Wayne-Sanderson Says Wage Claims Blocked By $70M Deal

    Wayne-Sanderson urged a Maryland federal court to enforce nearly $70 million in settlements the poultry processor reached with workers and to block dozens of individuals who are suing or threatening to sue in Alabama state court alleging wage suppression.

  • June 29, 2026

    Trump Picks Acting DOL Head To Serve As Labor Secretary

    President Donald Trump said Monday that he plans to nominate acting Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling to formally serve in the role, which has been vacant since the departure of Lori Chavez-DeRemer amid an internal watchdog investigation. 

  • June 29, 2026

    Ex-Sales Director Says Fortive Unit Used RIF To Mask Firing

    A former employee of a Fortive medical equipment subsidiary urged a Colorado federal judge to reject the unit and its parent's bid for an early win in her retaliation suit, saying evidence shows a restructuring masked her firing after she challenged government pricing violations.

  • June 29, 2026

    Professor Hits EMU With Gender Pay Disparity Suit

    An Eastern Michigan University interior design professor has sued the university and its board of regents in Michigan federal court, alleging the school systematically paid female faculty less than similarly situated male professors and then refused to correct the disparity after she sought a salary adjustment.

  • June 29, 2026

    DOL Backs Call Staff In 6th Circ. Boot-Up Pay Appeal

    Workers who need computer systems to do their jobs must be paid for time spent getting those systems ready, including booting up employer-provided machines, the U.S. Department of Labor told the Sixth Circuit in a bid to revive remote healthcare call center workers' claims that they were denied pay for that time.

  • June 29, 2026

    NJ Panel Backs Wage Representative Suit Without Class Cert.

    A New Jersey appeals court ruled Monday that workers can pursue representative wage actions under state law without meeting the requirements for a formal class action, while partly scaling back the time period for which back wages can be sought.

  • June 29, 2026

    Software Co. Inks $1.5M Deal To End OT Suit

    A cloud software company has agreed to pay $1.475 million to resolve a proposed collective action alleging it misclassified sales employees as overtime-exempt and failed to pay them overtime wages, according to an unopposed approval motion filed in North Carolina federal court.

  • June 29, 2026

    Auto Co.'s $7.28M Wage Deal Gets Initial OK

    A Missouri federal judge gave initial approval to a $7.28 million settlement in a collective action brought by more than 700 auto repair technicians who alleged that their employer failed to pay proper overtime wages under federal law.

  • June 26, 2026

    Electrical Co. Beats OT, Break Claims In Calif. Pay Suit

    A California federal judge on Friday trimmed a proposed class action against an electrical construction company, dismissing a former worker's overtime, meal and rest break claims, but allowing his minimum wage claim based on alleged off-the-clock work and unlawful rounding to proceed.

  • June 26, 2026

    Legal Groups Back DOL's H-2A Fine Power At High Court

    A coalition of worker advocacy and legal aid organizations urged the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday to uphold the Department of Labor's authority to collect monetary penalties from agricultural employers through its in-house adjudication system, arguing that H-2A visa program enforcement actions involve public rights that Congress may assign to the executive branch.

  • June 26, 2026

    Judge Won't Halt Nonparty Outreach In $14M Wage Deal

    A Colorado federal judge on Friday refused to block a plaintiff in a related state court case from contacting nurses in a $14 million wage and hour settlement, finding the health system and workers had not shown the court could step in and restrict a nonparty's conduct.

  • June 26, 2026

    Calif. Forecast: Little Caesars Workers Seek Class Status

    In the week ahead, attorneys should watch for a class certification hearing in a wage and hour suit against Little Caesars. Here's a look at that case and other labor and employment matters on deck in California.

Expert Analysis

  • Texas Med Spas Must Prepare For 2 New State Laws

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    Two new laws in Texas — regulating elective intravenous therapy and reforming healthcare noncompetes — mark a pivotal shift in the regulatory framework for medical spas in the state, which must proactively adapt their operations and contractual practices, says Brad Cook at Munsch Hardt.

  • 4 In-Flux Employment Law Issues Banks Should Note

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    Attorneys at Ogletree provide a midyear update on employment law changes that could significantly affect banks and other financial service institutions — including federal diversity equity and inclusion updates, and new and developing state and local artificial intelligence laws.

  • Mulling Worker Reclassification In Light Of No Tax On OT

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    The One Big Beautiful Bill Act's no-tax-on-overtime provisions provide tax relief for employees who regularly work overtime and are nonexempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act, but reclassifying employees may lead to higher compliance costs and increased wage and hour litigation for employers, says Steve Bronars at Edgeworth Economics.

  • 7 Ways Employers Can Avoid Labor Friction Over AI

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    As artificial intelligence use in the workplace emerges as a key labor relations topic in the U.S. and Europe, employers looking to reduce reputational risk and prevent costly disputes should consider proactive strategies to engage with unions, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.

  • What 9th Circ. Cracker Barrel Ruling Means For FLSA Cert.

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    The Ninth Circuit's decision in Harrington v. Cracker Barrel suggests a settling of two procedural trends in Fair Labor Standards Act jurisprudence — when to issue notice and where nationwide collectives can be filed — rather than deepening circuit splits, says Rebecca Ojserkis at Cohen Milstein.

  • 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.