Wage & Hour

  • September 23, 2024

    Home Care Workers Prevail In Wage Reduction Suit

    A Pennsylvania federal judge granted a win Monday to a class of home care workers who said their employer reduced their pay rates when they worked overtime, saying the company's practice is illegal because it was only implemented when workers clocked in more than 40 hours per week.

  • September 23, 2024

    DOL Says It Can Set Higher Wages For H-2A Workers

    The U.S. Department of Labor told a Florida federal court that its final rule increasing foreign agricultural workers' salaries ensures that H-2A visa holders don't adversely affect the wages of other workers, rejecting farm groups' arguments that the department lacked the authority to do so.

  • September 23, 2024

    Boston Globe Secures Key Depo In Exec's Firing Suit

    A Massachusetts state judge has OK'd The Boston Globe's request for a subpoena it hopes will show a fired executive had a habit of questionable corporate spending.

  • September 23, 2024

    Natural Gas Co. Must Pay $6.8M To Ex-Trader In Bonus Fight

    A Colorado state judge has entered a $6.8 million judgment against a natural gas marketing company for its failure to pay an ex-trading director a bonus on lucrative trades he made during a 2021 winter storm, a sum that includes more than $2.5 million in penalties for the company's intentional violation of a state wage law.

  • September 23, 2024

    3rd Circ. Vexed By Time-Tracking Role In $22M Wage Case

    The Third Circuit contemplated on Monday whether a Pennsylvania battery manufacturer shorted workers $22 million for time they spent putting on and taking off protective gear, with one judge questioning the employer's stance that it was the workers' responsibility to track their donning and doffing time. 

  • September 23, 2024

    UPS Beats Union-Represented Workers' Pension, Wage Suit

    UPS beat back claims that it violated benefits and wage laws by depriving two union-represented workers of their seniority and related pension credits when they transferred units, with an Indiana federal judge saying that issues with the lawsuit tanked the workers' legal arguments.

  • September 23, 2024

    5th Circ. Salary Rule Decision Is Blueprint For Reg Challenges

    A Fifth Circuit decision affirming the U.S. Department of Labor's authority to issue salary regulations doesn't foreclose the success of other challenges to its overtime standard, but it provides a methodical road map for courts to evaluate rulemaking generally, attorneys say.

  • September 23, 2024

    House Panel Subpoenas DOL For Independent Contractor Info

    The chairwoman of the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce served the U.S. Department of Labor with a subpoena Monday, pointing to the department's several failures to respond to questions about its independent contractor misclassification probes.

  • September 23, 2024

    Ark. Dispatcher's Settlement Approved In OT Dispute

    An Arkansas federal judge signed off on a settlement that puts an end to an emergency dispatcher's proposed class action alleging the city of Jonesboro, Arkansas, shorted her and others on overtime wages, finding she had adequately resolved an error in her prior proposed settlement.

  • September 20, 2024

    Judge Doubts Amazon Targeted Workers On Military Leave

    A Washington federal judge pressed an ex-Amazon employee on Friday to back up allegations that she was fired for taking military leave, saying the termination appeared to be an administrative "oops" on the company's part that it has since corrected by offering reinstatement and back pay.

  • September 20, 2024

    H-2A Wage Rule Blocked In La. For Sugarcane Farms

    A Louisiana federal judge said Thursday the U.S. Department of Labor likely didn't have the authority to raise wages for H-2A farmworkers, temporarily blocking the rule from applying to sugarcane farms in Louisiana.

  • September 20, 2024

    DOL's Post-Chevron Tactic Has Mixed Results

    The U.S. Department of Labor's attempts to defend its wage and hour regulations in a world without Chevron deference have so far been only partly successful, as two recent Fifth Circuit decisions show.

  • September 20, 2024

    Amazon Escapes Bulk Of Drivers' Wage Suit

    A Washington federal judge on Friday threw out multiple claims from 19 delivery drivers in an 8-year-old lawsuit alleging Amazon misclassified them as independent contractors and shorted them on wages, saying many of the workers failed to show that their wages dipped below state and federal standards.

  • September 20, 2024

    Cellphone Retailer To Pay $750K In Lost Wages, NY AG Says

    A former certified Verizon retailer will shell out $750,000 to about 450 workers following an investigation by New York Attorney General Letitia James that revealed the business cheated employees out of wages and retaliated against those who raised any issues, James announced Friday.

  • September 20, 2024

    NY Forecast: 2nd Circ. Hears Unsealed Arbitration Award Row

    This week the Second Circuit will consider a janitorial company's challenge to a lower court order that allowed an arbitration award in a dispute over what a janitor alleged was the company's misclassification of janitors as independent contractors to become public. Here, Law360 explores this and another employment case on the docket in New York.

  • September 20, 2024

    5th Circ. Opinion On Salary Regs Supports OT Rule, DOL Says

    The U.S. Department of Labor urged a Texas federal court to throw out a lawsuit from the Lone Star State and several business groups alleging the agency's new rule setting salary thresholds for overtime exemptions is unlawful, saying a recent Fifth Circuit opinion indicates the opposite.

  • September 20, 2024

    Worker Says Oil Field Co. Misclassified Him To Dodge OT

    A Texas-based oil field support services company misclassified workers as independent contractors to avoid paying them overtime, a former worker alleged in a proposed collective action filed in federal court.

  • September 20, 2024

    Labor & Employment Trio From Calif. Firm Arrive At Buchalter

    Buchalter PC said Thursday that it has hired three attorneys from California firm Atkinson Andelson Loya Ruud & Romo, including a shareholder who will co-chair its wage and hour practice and chair its Private Attorneys General Act practice.

  • September 20, 2024

    Caddies Can Keep Their Unpaid Wages Suit On Course

    The bag fees caddies received from golfers were tips, not service charges, a New York federal judge ruled, denying a course operator's bid to toss the workers' suit claiming unpaid minimum wage and overtime under federal and state law.

  • September 20, 2024

    LA Sees Retired Police Lt.'s Military Leave Suit Trimmed

    A California federal judge threw out several claims in a retired police lieutenant's lawsuit alleging the city of Los Angeles denied sick time and promotions to police officers who took military leave, although the parties have taken issue with the scope of the judge's order.

  • September 19, 2024

    Club Owner Finalizes Deal With Exotic Dancers In Wage Suit

    An Arkansas federal judge on Thursday closed a suit a group of exotic dancers launched against a club owner accusing him of misclassifying them as independent contractors and compensating them only through tips, coming after the parties reached a settlement in June.

  • September 19, 2024

    Feds, Wis. Military Affairs Office Ink Deal In Pay Bias Suit

    The Wisconsin Department of Military Affairs will pay $175,000 to end a U.S. Department of Justice suit alleging it offered a female job applicant a lower salary than what it paid a man for the same position, according to a filing Thursday in federal court. 

  • September 19, 2024

    Sephora Workers Can Move Forward With Late Payment Suit

    New York Labor Law gives workers the ability to sue over claims of untimely payments, a New York federal judge ruled Thursday, departing from a magistrate judge's recommendation to toss a suit against Sephora.

  • September 19, 2024

    Cleaning Co., H-2B Workers Nab Final OK For $400K Deal

    A Colorado federal judge granted final approval Thursday to a $400,000 settlement that resolves claims from migrant housekeepers who accused a cleaning contractor of committing a variety of wage and visa law violations and threatening to deport workers who complained.

  • September 19, 2024

    Freight Delivery Co. Inks $4M Deal In Truck Drivers' Wage Suit

    Long-haul freight delivery company CRST will shell out about $4 million to settle a suit by truck drivers accusing the company of not paying them their full wages and failing to provide breaks, after a California federal judge gave the deal its initial approval.

Expert Analysis

  • Why Gig Platforms Should Be On Alert

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    The Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general have set their sights on the gig economy and practices they view as deceptive and unfair, which will open gig platforms to more scrutiny — and past cases against gig-economy giants including Uber and Instacart are cautionary tales to keep in mind, say attorneys at Venable.

  • More Employment Regs May See 'Major Questions' Challenges

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent use of the major questions doctrine to strike down regulation has already been cited in lower court cases challenging U.S. Department of Labor authority to implement wage and hour changes, and could provide a potent tool to litigants seeking to restrain federal workplace and labor regulations, say Jeffrey Brecher and Courtney Malveaux at Jackson Lewis.

  • 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.