Wage & Hour

  • August 28, 2024

    Texas Restaurants Pay $198K For Tip, Wage Violations

    Two restaurants in the Dallas area paid nearly $198,000 for denying workers their full tips and wages, the U.S. Department of Labor announced Wednesday.

  • August 28, 2024

    Worker Lowers Fee Request In 3rd Bid For OT Deal Approval

    A corporate office furnisher and a former employee again asked a Georgia federal court to greenlight a deal that would resolve the worker's suit alleging he was fired for complaining about unpaid overtime, saying this third settlement draft adequately reduces an attorney's fees.

  • August 27, 2024

    Taco Bell Franchisee Will Pay $2M To End Job-Posting Suits

    A Taco Bell franchisee, Sharp Electronics and DoorDash are among the latest employers to reach class deals in Washington state court to end job seekers' allegations they failed to include salary or wage ranges in job postings, in violation of Evergreen State pay transparency laws.

  • August 27, 2024

    Insurance Co. Can't Arbitrate Sales Agents' Unpaid OT Claims

    An insurance company declined to send to arbitration a proposed collective action accusing it of failing to fully compensate sales agents for their overtime hours, saying the relevant document controlling the terms of these workers' employment doesn't include an arbitration clause.

  • August 27, 2024

    Calif. Panel Won't Block Sanctions Over Firm's Anti-SLAPP Bid

    A California appeals court has upheld a trial court's denial of an anti-SLAPP motion in a lawsuit alleging a partner in one law firm tried to misappropriate fees won in an overtime suit by another law firm where he was also a partner.

  • August 27, 2024

    Hip-Hop Label Misclassified, Underpaid Performers, Suit Says

    Rapper DaBaby's hip-hop label misclassified performers as independent contractors to avoid paying them overtime and minimum wages and dictated when they were allowed to eat and use the bathroom, according to a proposed class action filed in California state court.

  • August 27, 2024

    Reed Smith Calls Ex-Atty's Bid For Pay Data 'Frivolous'

    Reed Smith LLP has urged a New Jersey state court judge to reject a bid by a former attorney suing the firm for gender discrimination to obtain pay data going back nearly 20 years, arguing there is no legal basis to support expanding the scope of discovery.

  • August 27, 2024

    DOL, NY Gas Stations Reach $1.2M Deal In Wage Suit

    More than a dozen gas stations in New York will pay nearly $1.2 million to end a U.S. Department of Labor suit alleging they stiffed more than 100 workers on their full wages, according to court papers filed Tuesday.

  • August 27, 2024

    Croke Fairchild Adds Smith Gambrell Employment Partner

    Croke Fairchild Duarte & Beres LLC, one of the country's largest women-owned law firms, has added an employment attorney from Smith Gambrell & Russell LLP as a partner.

  • August 27, 2024

    New Jersey Laws Attorneys Need To Know In 2024

    New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy has signed contentious new bills into law recently that attorneys and business owners are adjusting to, including updates to the state's Open Public Records Act that make "fee shifting" more difficult, and a new wage requirement for temporary workers.

  • August 27, 2024

    DOL Seeking Ga. Healthcare Workers For Settlement Funds

    The U.S. Department of Labor is looking for 28 former employees of a Georgia home healthcare company who are eligible for nearly $66,000 in back wages and damages as part of a settlement in an overtime suit with the employer, the agency announced Tuesday.

  • August 27, 2024

    Former DOL W&H Head Talks Shop On Agency Rulemaking

    Paul DeCamp, a former administrator in the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division, said the overturning of Chevron deference will lead to better rulemaking. Here, Law360 talks with DeCamp about the future of agency rules.

  • August 27, 2024

    6th Circ. Reverses Geico's Win In Agents' Benefits Suit

    The Sixth Circuit upended Geico's win in a lawsuit from insurance agents accusing it of misclassifying them as independent contractors and forcing them to lose out on benefits, saying more evidence is needed to determine if the insurer relied on unauthentic documents to get the suit tossed.

  • August 27, 2024

    5 Wage-Hour Ideas A Harris Administration Might Pursue

    Before Vice President Kamala Harris held her current office, she was a U.S. senator from California from 2017 to 2021. Here, Law360 details five wage and hour bills Harris supported that could preview policies her administration might champion if she wins the presidential election.

  • August 27, 2024

    Ex-Trooper Asks To Delay Prison In OT Scam Amid Appeal

    A former Massachusetts state trooper asked to stay his five-year prison sentence for stealing overtime pay, lying on his taxes and cheating to get student aid for his son — a request prosecutors said was "yet another attempt to delay justice in this case."

  • August 26, 2024

    Albertsons Paints Picture Of Dire Future Without Kroger Deal

    Albertsons told an Oregon federal judge Monday that if the Federal Trade Commission is able to block a proposed merger with Kroger, it could lead to layoffs and shuttered stores, because a go-it-alone Albertsons doesn't have the wholesale buying power to compete with Walmart and Costco on prices.

  • August 26, 2024

    Care.com To Pay $8.5M To Settle FTC's Deception Claims

    Caregiver job website Care.com has agreed to shell out $8.5 million in refunds to put to rest allegations it misled caregivers about wages and job availability and also made it difficult for families to cancel paid memberships, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission announced Monday.

  • August 26, 2024

    Class Attys Get $1.2M In Wash. Health Workers' Wage Deal

    A Washington federal judge has awarded two plaintiffs firms almost $1.2 million of a $4.4 million class and collective wage deal ending a group of Evergreen state hospital workers' claims that their employers deducted pay for meal breaks they never took.  

  • August 26, 2024

    Ga. Judge Won't Let DOL Play 'Sorcerer' With H-2A Rule

    A Georgia federal judge on Monday temporarily restricted the U.S. Department of Labor's ability to enforce a rule protecting union-related activities for H-2A foreign agricultural workers, saying the law is unconstitutional because it violates the 1935 National Labor Relations Act.

  • 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.

Expert Analysis

  • What Employers Should Do To Prepare For Natural Disasters

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    As hurricane season picks up steam and extreme weather events become more erratic and uncertain in every region of the U.S., employers must put emergency action plans in place that address everything from compensation issues to leave requests, says Sally Culley at Rumberger Kirk.

  • Wage Theft Bill Would Increase Risk, Severity Of FLSA Claims

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    A recently introduced bill would amend the Fair Labor Standards Act in extreme ways that go well beyond the commonsense idea that people should be paid the wages they have earned, thereby sharply increasing the threat of claims against employers, with implications for arbitration, collective bargaining and more, say Christopher Pardo and Beth Sherwood at Hunton.

  • Gig Companies May Have To Live With The ABC Test In Calif.

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    Two recent cert denials by the U.S. Supreme Court has left California's ABC test for employment classification intact, and if gig companies' recent efforts to exempt certain workers from the test fail, they may be less eager to pursue similar challenges in California and beyond, says Ronald Zambrano at West Coast Employment Lawyers.

  • Cos. Face FMLA Quagmire Given New Mental Health Focus

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    The Seventh Circuit’s recent decision in Ziccarelli v. Dart, clarifying that merely discouraging an employee from exercising Family and Medical Leave Act rights may constitute unlawful interference, paired with new U.S. Department of Labor's mental health guidance, present unique challenges for employers, say Matthew Tyrrell and Adam Maxwell at Schoenberg Finkel.

  • How New Seattle Wage Law Will Affect Gig Economy Cos.

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    As state and local legislatures around the country consider additional labor protections for app-based workers, Seattle's new minimum wage for delivery drivers offers an example of how record-keeping and compliance requirements are changing for gig economy businesses, say Catharine Morisset and Lisa Nagele-Piazza at Fisher Phillips.

  • Beware The Risks In Laying Off Out-Of-State Remote Workers

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    Employers could run into unique legal risks when laying off remote, out-of-state employees if they're not familiar with varying state employment laws, but they can minimize the chances of potential penalties by reviewing payroll practices, applicable final paycheck laws and more, says Paul Cirner at Ogletree.

  • Why Justices' PAGA Ruling May Not Be Real Win For Cos.

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    Following the U.S. Supreme Court's Viking River decision last month, companies may temporarily cheer their reduced California Private Attorneys General Act exposure from court cases, but they may come to regret their enthusiasm as plaintiffs firms can pursue arbitration on a mass scale, says Aaron Blumenthal at Gibbs Law Group.

  • Justices Prolong Calif. Trucking Industry's Employment Woes

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent refusal to hear a trucking industry challenge to A.B. 5 — a California law that makes many truck drivers employees instead of independent contractors — only extends the struggle for a balanced approach to this issue that avoids paternalism and supports small businesses, says Gregory Feary at Scopelitis Garvin.

  • How Calif. Small Biz Can Navigate Evolving Employment Laws

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    Developments like the U.S. Supreme Court's recent arbitration decision in Viking River v. Moriana, among others, mean California small businesses should look out for five common employment-related errors and explore what they can do to reduce risk in an ever-changing landscape, say Corinne Spencer and Brianna Pearlman at Pearlman Brown.

  • Employer Duties As Pandemic And Caregiver Law Evolve

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    Recent San Francisco employment law changes recognize how the pandemic has altered many employees' caregiving responsibilities outside of work, so California employers should review their obligations — and consider providing flexible work arrangements even where not required, says Katie Collins at Weintraub Tobin.

  • New Fla. Law Is Good For Both Gig Workers And Employers

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    A recently effective Florida law, shielding companies that aid gig workers from misclassification claims, helps protect both independent contractors and their employers during times of emergency, and could be a road map for other states looking to extend similar protections, says Brett Owens at Fisher Phillips.

  • Tracking Class Certification Changes, 1 Year After TransUnion

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    In the year since the U.S. Supreme Court's TransUnion v. Ramirez decision, defense lawyers have invoked it as support for denying class certification or decertifying classes — but an analysis suggests that the main impact of the ruling has simply been closer scrutiny of class definitions by district courts, say James Morsch and Jonathan Singer at Saul Ewing.

  • Determining Which State Governs A Remote Work Agreement

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    The First Circuit's recent finding in Viscito v. National Planning that the Massachusetts Wage Act did not apply to a remote worker who mostly lived in Florida offers guidance for employers trying to determine what law applies to their out-of-state employees, says Stephen Melnick at Littler.