On January 29, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced that it was abandoning the Payroll Audit Independent Determination (PAID) program, effective immediately. PAID was introduced in 2018 as a self-audit program,...more
On January 19, 2021, eight states (Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania), along with the District of Columbia, filed a lawsuit seeking to enjoin the Tip Regulations...more
In 2017, then-Department of Labor (DOL) Secretary Alexander Acosta, appointed by former President Donald Trump, announced the Wage and Hour Division (WHD) would be reviving the practice of issuing Opinion Letters, seeking to...more
In 2020, federal and state laws regulating wages and hours of work continued to change and develop, expanding in some areas, and contracting in others. In “2020 Wage & Hour Developments: A Year in Review,” we look back on...more
1/18/2021
/ Collective Bargaining ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure ,
Fluctuating Workweek ,
Independent Contractors ,
Joint Employers ,
Minimum Wage ,
Misclassification ,
Opinion Letter ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
State Labor Laws ,
Tip Credit ,
Tip-Pooling ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour
The Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division has formally released a Final Rule defining “independent contractors” under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The regulation provides that “an individual is an...more
On the last day of 2020, the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) ushered out the year with two new Opinion Letters. These may be the final two Opinion Letters of the Trump Administration and perhaps...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has issued its long-awaited Final Rule addressing who may share tips under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the circumstances under which employers may use a tip credit.
The Final...more
Agreeing with the district court, the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has concluded that the mandatory service charges imposed by a restaurant on dining parties of six or more were not “tips” under the FLSA. However,...more
The plaintiff sought more than $12,000 in unpaid wages on his FLSA claims, rejected the defendant employer’s Rule 68 offer of judgment of $3,500 on those claims, and then was awarded only $97.20 plus an equal amount of...more
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to alter work lives in profound ways, employers are confronted with additional liability risks. The pandemic has created a wave of litigation that is unlikely to ebb until well after the...more
11/3/2020
/ ABC Test ,
Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Class Action ,
Collective Actions ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Due Diligence ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Furloughs ,
Hybrid Plan ,
Independent Contractors ,
Mitigating Factors ,
Remote Working ,
USERRA ,
Wage and Hour ,
WARN Act
As federal and state safety and health guidelines in response to the COVID-19 pandemic call for extensive use of personal protective equipment (PPE) in the workplace, employers should give their policies on “donning and...more
Employers continue to grapple with an ongoing, unprecedented public health crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and its after-effects, which have profoundly disrupted the nation’s economy and U.S. workplaces. In this issue,...more
8/6/2020
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Best Practices ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Class Action ,
COBRA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Retention ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Furloughs ,
Layoffs ,
No-Poaching ,
OSHA ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Pregnancy Discrimination ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Remote Working ,
Telecommuting ,
Wage and Hour ,
WARN Act ,
Workplace Safety
Our quarterly report discusses new developments in class action litigation and offers strategic guidance and tactical tips on how to defend such claims. This issue covers using data analytics, including the following...more
The Department of Labor (DOL) has issued its Final Rule revising the regulations governing the calculation of the “regular rate” of pay, used to calculate overtime, under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The Final Rule,...more
Our quarterly report takes a look back at the most significant class action developments over the last year, including litigation trends, court decisions, and legislative and regulatory changes that are certain to invite...more
Persistent confusion over the Department of Labor’s (DOL) “fluctuating workweek” (FWW) pay method to satisfy employers’ obligation to pay overtime has deterred many from using it. Now, the DOL has proposed changes to clarify...more
Our quarterly report discusses new developments in class action litigation and offers strategic guidance and tactical tips on how to defend such claims. This issue covers the following topics:
- Who gets notice of a...more
6/26/2019
/ #MeToo ,
Background Checks ,
Class Action ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Equal Pay ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Lactation Accommodation ,
Medical Marijuana ,
NLRB ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Pregnancy ,
Prevailing Wages ,
Wage and Hour ,
Website Accessibility ,
Whistleblowers
The Department of Labor (DOL) has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to revise the regulations governing the calculation of the regular rate under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
The FLSA generally requires...more
Are you my employee?
Ayanna is working as an IT consultant at Globo Worldwide, part of a large team brought on to assist the e-commerce company in updating its website and email servers for EU General Data Protection...more
Our quarterly report discusses new developments in class action litigation and offers strategic guidance and tactical tips on how to defend such claims. This issue covers the following topics: -
Are you my employer?
A...more
12/13/2018
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Class Certification ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Joint Employers ,
Misclassification ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Unpaid Interns ,
Wage and Hour
An insurance company named as a garnishee in a garnishment action is not a “financial institution” under Georgia’s garnishment statute when the garnishment is seeking earnings owed to its current or former employees....more
Concluding that the unstructured time spent by the plaintiffs between arriving at the oil refinery and the beginning of their shifts was not “integral and indispensable” to their duties erecting scaffolds at the refinery, the...more
The U.S. Department of Labor confirmed on October 30, 2017 that it intends to “undertake new rulemaking with regard to overtime.” While the DOL simultaneously filed an appeal of the district court order holding the prior...more
In recent years, one significant issue that has plagued industries employing tipped employees is whether the employers must ensure that tipped employees retain all of their tips even if the company is not using the employee’s...more
The Department of Labor’s May 2016 Final Rule, which would have more than doubled the minimum salary necessary to satisfy the “executive, administrative or professional” (the “EAP” or “white collar”) overtime exemptions under...more