Wage & Hour

  • September 05, 2024

    Assisted Living Co. Pays $32K For OT Violations, Retaliation

    An operator of assisted living centers in Tennessee paid nearly $32,000 in back wages and damages for denying employees overtime rates and firing one worker who questioned the company's pay practices, the U.S. Department of Labor announced Thursday.

  • September 05, 2024

    Calif. Grape Farmer Wins Revival Of Wage Suit

    A California appeals court reinstated a grape farmer's proposed class action accusing farming companies of failing to provide rest periods and overtime wages, saying he put forward enough information to put the affiliated companies on notice of his claims.

  • September 05, 2024

    Texas Home Health Co. Pays $141K After OT Probe

    A Texas-based home healthcare company paid more than $141,000 in back wages and damages for stiffing dozens of employees on overtime pay, the U.S. Department of Labor announced.

  • September 05, 2024

    NY Nursing Homes Pay $445K For Overtime Violations

    Several nursing homes in upstate New York paid more than $445,000 in back wages, damages and fines for denying hundreds of employees their overtime rates, the U.S. Department of Labor announced.

  • September 04, 2024

    LinkedIn Speech Not Covered By Labor Law, 5th Circ. Told

    A logistics company told a Fifth Circuit panel during oral arguments Wednesday that an employee who was fired for allegedly disparaging comments made over LinkedIn wasn't protected under labor law, although the panel pointed out that an employee can take protected wage complaints to outside parties.

  • September 04, 2024

    Amazon Says Too Many Differences Among Driver Class

    Amazon urged a Washington federal court to reject class certification in a delivery driver's lawsuit alleging he was misclassified as an independent contractor, saying there are too many differences among these drivers to warrant class treatment.

  • September 04, 2024

    Nonprofits Back DOL In Independent Contractor Rule Dispute

    Two nonprofit groups threw support behind the U.S. Department of Labor in a New Mexico trucking company's lawsuit seeking to block the agency's new rule for classifying independent contractors, saying the regulations are key for ensuring employers don't cheat low-wage workers out of the pay and benefits they're owed.

  • September 04, 2024

    Biden Admin May Help High Court Soften Wage-Hour Rights

    An employer-friendly argument the U.S. Department of Justice made in an overtime cased is part of the chorus of reasons to think the U.S. Supreme Court will continue retreating from interpreting the Fair Labor Standards Act in employees' favor, attorneys told Law360.

  • September 04, 2024

    Ex-Driver And Papa John's Settle Race Bias, Pay Suit

    An Alabama federal judge signed off on a settlement agreement between a Papa John's franchise and a Black former pizza delivery driver who alleged he faced a hostile work environment and was under-reimbursed for mileage, according to court papers.

  • September 04, 2024

    Cos. Tell High Court Biden Can't Hike Contractors' Min. Wage

    The Tenth Circuit pushed the borders of the Procurement Act too much when it blessed President Joe Biden's decision to increase federal contractors' hourly minimum wage, two outdoor groups told the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing that the law doesn't authorize wage increases.

  • September 04, 2024

    Concrete Co. Owes Workers $370K, Wash. Panel Says

    A Washington appeals court refused to overturn a state agency's determination that a concrete company owes workers more than $370,000 in wages for working at a disposal site, saying the work was sufficiently related to a public works project to trigger the state's prevailing wage law.

  • September 03, 2024

    Ivy Leaguers Withdraw Opposition To NCAA's $2B NIL Deal

    Two Brown University athletes have withdrawn their opposition to the NCAA's proposed $2.78 billion name, image and likeness settlement, telling a federal judge in California on Tuesday that they've been assured it will not impact their own antitrust case against several Ivy League schools.

  • September 03, 2024

    Retailer Says No Good Faith In Worker's Wash. Pay Range Suit

    Retailer Aaron's urged a Washington state court to throw out a job applicant's proposed class action accusing it of failing to post salary ranges in job advertisements, saying the worker's 15 other similar lawsuits show he had no interest in actually getting a job at the company.

  • September 03, 2024

    Turf Farm Can't Claim Agricultural OT Exemption, Judge Rules

    The work H-2A visa workers performed for a turf farm doesn't represent the agricultural work that would be exempt from overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act, a Missouri federal judge ruled Tuesday, handing the workers a partial win in their overtime suit.

  • September 03, 2024

    Biz Groups Fail In 2nd Try To Stop NJ Temp Worker Law

    A New Jersey law strengthening protections for temporary workers will stay in place because halting it would create more harm than good, a New Jersey federal judge ruled, turning down a renewed bid by staffing industry associations to pull the emergency brake on the law.

  • September 03, 2024

    Duane Morris Wants Bulk Of Atty's Equal Pay Suit Tossed

    Duane Morris LLP is asking a California federal court to toss most of the claims in a proposed class action alleging the firm systemically underpaid female and nonwhite attorneys, saying the attorney who filed the complaint has been fairly treated and compensated and her claims lack validity.

  • September 03, 2024

    DOL Says Independent Contractor Rule Doesn't Harm Co.

    The U.S. Department of Labor urged a New Mexico federal court to throw out a trucking company's lawsuit that seeks to block the agency's new rule for classifying independent contractors, saying the company failed to show it is affected by the regulations.

  • September 03, 2024

    Texas Landscaping Co. Pays $104K After DOL Probe

    A landscaping company in Texas paid nearly $104,000 in back wages for misclassifying dozens of workers, the U.S. Department of Labor announced Tuesday.

  • September 03, 2024

    Translation Services Co.'s $2.7M Wage Deal Nabs Final OK

    A language interpretation and translation services company will shell out $2.7 million to about 1,500 workers who accused the entity in California federal court of unpaid wages, putting to rest claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Private Attorneys General Act.

  • September 03, 2024

    Retail Worker Can't Get Class Cert. In Misclassification Suit

    A New York federal judge declined to grant class certification to a former employee in his suit accusing a discount retailer of incorrectly classifying him and other managers as overtime-exempt, saying he failed to show there was a company-wide policy requiring these workers to perform nonmanagerial work.

  • September 03, 2024

    Labor, Employment Ballot Questions May End Up In Court

    Voters this fall will consider ballot questions asking them to pass laws raising the minimum wage and expanding rights to sick leave and collective bargaining, potentially kicking off litigation that will give courts a chance to weigh in.

  • August 31, 2024

    EEOC's Sonderling Touts AI, Compliance Work As Successes

    Outgoing U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission member Keith Sonderling told Law360 in an exclusive interview that elevating the agency's visibility on the artificial intelligence front and reviving the U.S. Department of Labor's use of opinion letters rank among his top accomplishments during his nearly decadelong stint in federal government.

  • August 30, 2024

    3rd Circ. Won't Touch Pipeline Workers' Appeal In OT Suit

    The Third Circuit said Friday it doesn't have jurisdiction over a pipeline company's challenge to a discovery order limited to the issue of the arbitrability of two pipeline inspectors' wage claims, ruling that the challenged order isn't appealable under the Federal Arbitration Act.

  • August 30, 2024

    NY Forecast: Hotel Bid To Toss Workers' WARN Act Suit

    This week a New York federal judge will consider attempts from the operators of Four Seasons Hotel New York to toss a class action that claims the hotel violated state and federal law by furloughing them without notice.

  • August 30, 2024

    Ex-Employee Sues Ga. Chiropractic Co. Over OT Pay, Firing

    A former Dominguez Chiropractic employee hit the Atlanta-area chain with a Fair Labor Standards Act complaint Friday, alleging that it knowingly failed to pay her for overtime and unlawfully retaliated when she complained.

Expert Analysis

  • Unpacking FLSA Domestic Service Worker Wage Exemptions

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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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.

  • 3rd Circ. Ruling Shows FLSA's Broad Retaliation Protections

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    In Uronis v. Cabot Oil & Gas, the Third Circuit's recent finding that a Fair Labor Standards Act anti-retaliation provision must be interpreted broadly is the first to address the issue as it relates to employer actions against workers who intend to join a collective action, and it may encourage more equitable work environments, says Taylor Crabill at Faruqi & Faruqi.

  • How The NLRA May Slow Down The FAST Act

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    California's Fast Food Accountability and Standards Recovery Act takes on many of the activities already managed by the National Labor Relations Act and may give rise to arguments that the new law is federally preempted, say attorneys at Greenberg Traurig.

  • DOL's Contractor Rule Change May Cause Cos. Heartburn

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    The U.S. Department of Labor proposed a new rule earlier this week that would narrow the conditions under which a worker could be an independent contractor, and the new recipe for status determination may cause serious indigestion for companies doing business with them, says Todd Lebowitz at BakerHostetler.

  • A Look At Recent Service Contract Act Compliance Challenges

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    Complying with the Service Contract Act and potential U.S. Department of Labor audits have grown tougher due to the rise of remote work and increasing inflation, but certain best practices can help manage compliance risks, say Eric Leonard and Craig Smith at Wiley.

  • Worker Misclassification Poses Large Perils For NJ Cos.

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    Considering the New Jersey Legislature’s and governor’s recent focus on worker misclassification — as well as the state supreme court’s recent interpretation of the so-called ABC test — the dangers of noncompliance for businesses that use independent contractors cannot be understated, say Brent Bouma and Peter Shapiro at Lewis Brisbois.

  • All Employers Must Heed Md. Paid Commuting Time Ruling

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    The Maryland Court of Appeals’ recent ruling that federal pay carveouts for preliminary work don't apply to state wage laws is a wake-up call for employers nationwide, who should proactively review their employees' pre- and post-shift activities, analyze state laws, and take steps to avoid liability, say Kirsten Eriksson and Elisabeth Hall at Miles & Stockbridge.

  • Why FLSA Settlement Reviews May Be Increasingly Unneeded

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    While most federal courts have followed the Eleventh Circuit's 1982 holding in Lynn's Food v. U.S. that Fair Labor Standards Act claims may be settled only with approval by a court or the U.S. Department of Labor, more courts are beginning to question — or outright challenge — that obligation, say attorneys at Jackson Lewis.

  • Key Takeaways From Calif.'s Sweeping Fast-Food Wage Law

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    California Gov. Gavin Newsom recently signed a controversial wage bill that will have a major impact on fast-food employers and employees, will likely shape how the state regulates other industries in the future, and represents a radical step toward sectoral bargaining, says Pooja Nair at Ervin Cohen.

  • Forecasting A Rise In 11th Circ. State Court Class Actions

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    Two recent opinions from the Eleventh Circuit have created an unusual landscape that may result in a substantial increase of class action litigation in state courts, particularly in Florida, that will be unable to utilize removal tools such as the Class Action Fairness Act, says Alec Schultz at Hilgers Graben.