Seyfarth Synopsis: The Second Circuit held that attorneys’ fee awards in FLSA settlements are not limited by principles of “proportionality” between the fees and the amount of the settlement or subject to a 1/3 cap....more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Second Circuit held that FLSA settlements pursuant to Rule 68 Offers of Judgment do not require judicial approval. The Court distinguished such settlements from Rule 41 stipulated dismissals, which...more
12/10/2019
/ Carve Out Provisions ,
Confidentiality Agreements ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Court Approval ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Interlocutory Appeals ,
Offer of Judgment ,
Rule 41 ,
Rule 68 ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Settlement Negotiations ,
Stipulated Judgment ,
Unpaid Overtime ,
Unpaid Wages ,
Wage and Hour
Seyfarth Synopsis: As they have each year since 2016, the minimum wage and exempt salary threshold will increase for New York employers effective December 31, 2019....more
11/14/2019
/ Employer Liability Issues ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Labor Regulations ,
Local Ordinance ,
Minimum Wage ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Threshold Requirements ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
Seyfarth Synopsis: Furthering a recent trend, a judge in the District of Massachusetts denied a motion for conditional certification because there was no personal jurisdiction over non-Massachusetts entities with respect to...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: A New York appellate court recently held that New York employers may be liable for liquidated damages for failure to pay employees on a timely basis, even where the employees have been paid in full....more
9/20/2019
/ Appeals ,
Construction Industry ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Failure To Pay ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Labor Regulations ,
Liquidated Damages ,
Payment Schedules ,
State and Local Government ,
Unpaid Wages ,
Wages
Seyfarth Synopsis: A new decision in the Southern District of New York held that the N.Y. prohibition of mandatory, pre-dispute arbitration of sexual harassment claims is preempted by the Federal Arbitration Act....more
7/2/2019
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Federal v State Law Application ,
Labor Regulations ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Motion to Compel ,
Preemption ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws
Seyfarth Synopsis: The NYSDOL recently announced that it will no longer pursue regulations that, if adopted, would have required most NYS employers to provide call-in pay to employees for hours they do not work under a...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: New York’s expanded list of permissible wage deductions has been extended until 2020.
...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Democrats now control both houses of the New York Legislature as well as the Governor’s office. A host of new employment-related legislation may be in the offing, affecting matters such as wage...more
12/11/2018
/ Employee Privacy Rights ,
Equal Pay ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Reproductive Discrimination ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage Deductions ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies
Seyfarth Synopsis: As they have each year since 2016, the minimum wage and exempt salary threshold will increase for New York employers effective December 31, 2018, with large employers in New York City being the first to hit...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: New York’s recently enacted prohibition on arbitration agreements of sexual harassment claims is likely to be preempted by federal law. ...more
10/26/2018
/ #MeToo ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Federal v State Law Application ,
Preemption ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws
Seyfarth Synopsis: In compliance with legislation passed earlier this year, New York State has released the final model sexual harassment policy and complaint form, the model training materials, and FAQs, which provide...more
10/4/2018
/ #MeToo ,
Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Complaint Procedures ,
Corporate Culture ,
Employee Rights ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Employment Policies ,
Harassment ,
Hostile Environment ,
Local Ordinance ,
Non-Disclosure Agreement ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Risk Management ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws
Seyfarth Synopsis: In compliance with the New York State Anti-Sexual Harassment legislation passed earlier this year, the Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo has released drafts of the model sexual harassment policy, training...more
8/27/2018
/ #MeToo ,
Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Comment Period ,
Complaint Procedures ,
Corporate Culture ,
Draft Guidance ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Harassment ,
Hostile Environment ,
Internal Investigations ,
Internal Reporting ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Risk Management ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Harassment
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Commission has published the sexual harassment poster and information sheet mandated under the “Stop Sexual Harassment in NYC Act.” Employers must display the poster, and distribute the information...more
The New York City Department of Consumer Affairs has released a model Notice of Employee Right and Frequently Asked Questions regarding its new Temporary Schedule Change Law that went into effect last week. Employers should...more
Effective July 18, 2018, New York City employers must grant two temporary schedule changes per year to eligible employees for certain qualifying “personal events.” Unlike other bills which were a part of the NYC Fair...more
A New York federal court once again denied a motion for conditional certification of a nationwide collective action against Barnes & Noble. ...more
7/3/2018
/ Barnes and Noble ,
Conditional Certification ,
Discovery ,
Employment Litigation ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Job Descriptions ,
Misclassification ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Retail Market ,
Wage and Hour
Seyfarth Synopsis: New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio have each signed new laws designed to combat workplace sexual harassment. Together, these new laws have resulted in sweeping...more
5/16/2018
/ Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Hostile Environment ,
Local Ordinance ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
New Legislation ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws
Seyfarth Synopsis: The New York City Council has passed, and Mayor Bill de Blasio is expected to sign, a package of eleven bills—together referred to as the Stop Sexual Harassment in NYC Act—that will require most private...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The New York Legislature has passed, and Governor Andrew M. Cuomo is expected to sign, a bill that will, among other things, prohibit all employers from requiring employees to arbitrate claims of sexual...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The U.S. Department of Labor has announced the launch of the Payroll Audit Independent Determination program—or “PAID”— to facilitate the resolution of overtime and minimum wage claims under the FLSA...more
4/5/2018
/ Back Wages ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Pilot Programs ,
Minimum Wage ,
Over-Time ,
Payroll Audit Independent Determination program (PAID) ,
Self-Reporting ,
State and Local Government ,
Unpaid Wages ,
Wage and Hour
Seyfarth Synopsis: A new NYC law entitles employees to two temporary schedule changes per year for certain personal events. Separately, the comment period for call-in pay rules proposed by the State DOL has been extended to...more
1/22/2018
/ Comment Period ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fast-Food Industry ,
Food Service Workers ,
Local Ordinance ,
On-Call Employees ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Retailers ,
State and Local Government ,
Wage and Hour ,
Work Schedules
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Department of Labor has scrapped its 2010 Fact Sheet on internship status and adopted the more flexible and employer-friendly test devised by Second Circuit....more
1/8/2018
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Internships ,
Misclassification ,
Primary Beneficiary Test ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Unpaid Interns ,
Wage and Hour
Seyfarth Synopsis: Governor Andrew Cuomo has directed the Commissioner of Labor to schedule public hearings to address the possibility of eliminating the tip credit. A tip credit allows an employer to pay less than minimum...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The New York Court of Appeals holds that the state’s class action rules require notice of settlements to be sent to putative class members – even though no class has been certified....more
12/14/2017
/ Appeals ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Class Members ,
Employment Litigation ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Litigation Strategies ,
Notice Requirements ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Settlement ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Wage and Hour