Wage & Hour

  • October 17, 2024

    MMA Fighter Hits Bellator With $15M Antitrust Suit

    A fighter lodged a $15 million antitrust lawsuit against Bellator, claiming that after it merged with the Professional Fighters League, the mixed martial arts company broke a previous agreement that had guaranteed him a certain amount of bouts and payouts.

  • October 17, 2024

    Truck Drivers Get OK For $2.5M Deal In Misclassification Suit

    An Arizona federal judge granted final approval to a $2.5 million deal resolving a class of truck drivers' allegations that Knight Transportation misclassified them as independent contractors, putting an end to 10-year-long litigation.

  • October 17, 2024

    ConEd, Transpo Co. Say OT Collective Cert. Bid Is Too Early

    A group of traffic workers' collective certification bid is premature and should wait for a New York federal court to mull other requests, ConEd and a transportation service company said in separate filings.

  • October 17, 2024

    Athletes 'Easily' Clear 3rd Circ. Employee Test, Atty Says

    The lead attorney who persuaded the Third Circuit to hold that college athletes may be employees under federal wage law said Thursday that his clients are clearly employees under the test the court set out, drawing a favorable comparison to work-study participants.

  • October 17, 2024

    Calif. Home Care Co. Pays $328K For OT Violations

    A California residential care company for people with special needs and developmental disabilities will pay more than $328,000 in back wages, damages and fines for denying 45 workers their overtime rates, the U.S. Department of Labor announced Thursday.

  • October 17, 2024

    Restaurant Barred From Intimidating Workers In FLSA Dispute

    A Connecticut federal judge ordered a restaurant group and its owners not to retaliate against workers who speak to the U.S. Department of Labor during a Fair Labor Standards Act investigation, issuing an injunction following the DOL's allegations that two owners threatened to kill an ex-worker for assisting the agency.

  • October 17, 2024

    Seyfarth Hit With $8M Suit For Botched Wage Class Settlement

    Seyfarth Shaw LLP owes a physician practice almost $8 million for negligently removing hundreds of the practice's employees from a list of those entitled to part of a $4.9 million wage and hour settlement, costing the practice another $3.6 million to correct the mistake, according to a California suit.

  • October 17, 2024

    Former X Exec 'Worst' For Class In Bonus Suit, Judge Says

    A former X Corp. senior director of compensation is "the worst possible candidate" for the class he proposed in his suit claiming unpaid bonuses after Elon Musk took the reins of the company, a California federal judge said, slamming his bid for class certification.

  • October 17, 2024

    Home Care Co. To Pay $205K To End DOL's Obstruction Case

    A New York home healthcare company will pay more than $205,000 to end a U.S. Department of Labor suit alleging it obstructed an agency investigation into its overtime practices, according to a court filing.

  • October 17, 2024

    Hospital Says Nurse's Wage Suit Belongs In Arbitration

    A hospital urged a Nevada federal court to throw out a nurse's proposed class action alleging the hospital system's unlawful timekeeping rounding practices caused her to lose out on wages, saying she failed to opt out of a contract mandating that this dispute be sent to arbitration.

  • October 16, 2024

    H2-A Workers Allegedly Forced To Work In Potato Warehouses

    Three Mexican citizens filed a proposed collective action in Colorado federal court Tuesday alleging a company lured them to work in the U.S. under guest worker visas with false promises, then trafficked them into forced labor in Colorado potato warehouses.

  • October 16, 2024

    Conn. Nurses Sue To Block Forced Post-Contract Overtime

    A union representing nurses at a Hartford HealthCare-affiliated hospital in Norwich, Connecticut, has asked a state superior court judge to block mandatory overtime assignments, arguing that a 2020 union contract requiring such shifts expired over the summer and that a 2023 state statute bans the hospital's continuing practices.

  • October 16, 2024

    9th Circ. Won't Rethink Reviving Airline Military Bias Suit

    The Ninth Circuit on Wednesday rejected Alaska Airlines' bid for the court to reconsider its August opinion reinstating a class action accusing the airline of illegally denying accrued vacation and sick time to pilots on military assignments.

  • October 16, 2024

    HSBC Says Banker 'Utterly Failed' To Back OT Class Bid

    HSBC Bank said a former employee "utterly failed" to show that there was a common policy of not compensating personal bankers for work performed during meal breaks, urging a New York federal court not to greenlight a proposed class in the worker's wage suit.

  • October 16, 2024

    Ex-Jones Day Attys' Parental Leave Suit Gets 2025 Trial Date

    Two former Jones Day associates challenging the firm's family leave policy will go to trial in late 2025 after a D.C. federal judge allowed certain claims in the lawsuit to move forward.

  • October 16, 2024

    UFC, Fighters Get New Hearing On Revised $375M Settlement

    A Nevada federal judge has scheduled an Oct. 22 hearing to consider a $375 million proposed settlement between UFC and former fighters that would resolve claims the organization underpaid match participants for years, according to a minute order on Tuesday.

  • October 16, 2024

    Remote Workers Weren't Reimbursed For Expenses, Suit Says

    A customer experience technology company required remote workers to purchase high-speed internet and computers but didn't reimburse them for these costs, causing their wages to hold less value, a former employee said in a lawsuit filed in Colorado federal court.

  • October 16, 2024

    Foley Hoag Wants Bulk Of Claims Axed In NY Wage Suit

    Foley Hoag LLP has asked a New York federal judge to toss most of the claims in an employee's suit alleging the firm failed to pay overtime wages and engaged in various forms of retaliation and discrimination against him, arguing the complaint "is largely devoid of well-pleaded factual allegations."

  • October 16, 2024

    Columbia Prof Says Firm Abandoned Her During Israel Probe

    A Columbia Law School professor accused plaintiffs employment firm Outten & Golden LLP of abruptly dropping her as a client amid the school's investigation into her comments on campus tensions tied to Israel's attack on Gaza, saying on X Wednesday that the firm's alleged conduct prompted her attorney to resign after nearly 24 years as a partner there.

  • October 16, 2024

    House Panel Presses DOL For Contractor Probes Data

    The U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce on Wednesday pressed the U.S. Department of Labor to disclose data over its independent contractor misclassification investigations, saying that the department continues to hold on to the information even after receiving a subpoena.

  • October 16, 2024

    DLA Piper Says 'Sloppy' Work Cost Pregnant Associate Job

    DLA Piper urged a New York federal court to throw out a former associate's lawsuit alleging that she was fired after requesting maternity leave, saying her work performance was "shockingly poor" during her one year with the firm.

  • October 16, 2024

    Ashland U. General Counsel Joins Ogletree In Ohio

    The general counsel of Ashland University, a private university in Ohio, has made the move to private practice at Ogletree Deakins Nash Smoak & Stewart PC.

  • October 15, 2024

    Benefit Cos. Urge Justices Take Up Cert. Fight From 5th Circ.

    Three benefit companies urged the U.S. Supreme Court to review a Fifth Circuit decision upholding certification of a class of more than 290,000 workers in a suit alleging excessive health and retirement plan fees, arguing the justices need to iron out a circuit split on standing requirements.

  • October 15, 2024

    Military Leave Still Seen As Outcast Amid Leave Reforms

    As states and cities across the country expand paid leave policies into new areas, military leave still gets the cold shoulder even as the legal landscape around short-term military leave has evolved, attorneys say.

  • October 15, 2024

    Sephora Workers Say Dismissal Denial Valid In Late Pay Suit

    Sephora employees told a New York federal judge Tuesday that his order refusing to toss their wage and hour proposed class action should stand, saying he didn't use the wrong standard of review when he departed from a magistrate judge's recommendation.

Expert Analysis

  • 2026 World Cup: Companies Face Labor Challenges And More

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    Companies sponsoring or otherwise involved with the 2026 FIFA World Cup — hosted jointly by the U.S., Canada and Mexico — should be proactive in preparing to navigate many legal considerations in immigration, labor management and multijurisdictional workforces surrounding the event, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Avoiding Jurisdictional Risks From Execs' Remote Work

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    Following a California federal court's recent decision in Evans v. Cardlytics — where the case was remanded to state court because the company’s executives worked remotely in California — there are several steps employers can take to ensure they will not be exposed to unfavored jurisdictions, says Eric Fox at Quarles & Brady.

  • Eye On Compliance: Workplace March Madness Pools

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    With March Madness set to begin in a few weeks, employers should recognize that workplace sports betting is technically illegal, keeping federal and state gambling laws in mind when determining whether they will permit ever-popular bracket pools, says Laura Stutz at Wilson Elser.

  • Handbook Hot Topics: Workplace AI Risks

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    As generative artificial intelligence tools penetrate workplaces, employers should incorporate sound AI policies and procedures in their handbooks in order to mitigate liability risks, maintain control of the technology, and protect their brands, says Laura Corvo at White and Williams.

  • Water Cooler Talk: Investigation Lessons In 'Minority Report'

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    Tracey Diamond and Evan Gibbs at Troutman Pepper discuss how themes in Steven Spielberg's Science Fiction masterpiece "Minority Report" — including prediction, prevention and the fallibility of systems — can have real-life implications in workplace investigations.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: February Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses five notable circuit court decisions on topics from property taxes to veteran's rights — and provides key takeaways for counsel on issues including class representative intervention, wage-and-hour dispute evidence and ascertainability requirements.

  • NYC Cos. Must Prepare For Increased Sick Leave Liability

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    A recent amendment to New York City's sick leave law authorizes employees for the first time to sue their employers for violations — so employers should ensure their policies and practices are compliant now to avoid the crosshairs of litigation once the law takes effect in March, says Melissa Camire at Fisher Phillips.

  • Employer Trial Tips For Fighting Worker PPE Pay Claims

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    Courts have struggled for decades to reach consensus on whether employees must be paid for time spent donning and doffing personal protective equipment, but this convoluted legal history points to practical trial strategies to help employers defeat these Fair Labor Standards Act claims, say Michael Mueller and Evangeline Paschal at Hunton.

  • Employer Lessons From NLRB Judge's Union Bias Ruling

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    A National Labor Relations Board judge’s recent decision that a Virginia drywall contractor unlawfully transferred and fired workers who made union pay complaints illustrates valuable lessons about how employers should respond to protected labor activity and federal labor investigations, says Kenneth Jenero at Holland & Knight.

  • 9 Tools To Manage PAGA Claims After Calif. High Court Ruling

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    In Estrada v. Royalty Carpet Mills, the California Supreme Court recently dealt a blow to employers by ruling that courts cannot dismiss Private Attorneys General Act claims on manageability grounds, but defendants and courts can still use arbitration agreements, due process challenges and other methods when dealing with unmanageable claims, says Ryan Krueger at Sheppard Mullin.

  • The 7th Circ.'s Top 10 Civil Opinions Of 2023

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    Attorneys at Jenner & Block examine the most significant decisions issued by the Seventh Circuit in 2023, and explain how they may affect issues related to antitrust, constitutional law, federal jurisdiction and more.

  • Where Justices Stand On Chevron Doctrine Post-Argument

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    Following recent oral argument at the U.S. Supreme Court, at least four justices appear to be in favor of overturning the long-standing Chevron deference, and three justices seem ready to uphold it, which means the ultimate decision may rest on Chief Justice John Roberts' vote, say Wayne D'Angelo and Zachary Lee at Kelley Drye.

  • Calif. High Court Ruling Outlines Limits On PAGA Actions

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    While the California Supreme Court’s ruling last week in Estrada v. Royalty Carpet Mills held that courts cannot dismiss Private Attorneys General Act claims on manageability grounds, the opinion also details how claims can be narrowed, providing a road map for defendants facing complex actions, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.