Wage & Hour
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December 18, 2024
Call Center Worker Says Disability Nonprofit Skirts Wage Laws
A disability services nonprofit failed to pay call center workers for time spent preparing for their shifts and miscalculates the rate at which they should be paid overtime, a worker alleged in a proposed class and collective action filed Wednesday in Virginia federal court.
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December 18, 2024
Class Counsel In NCAA-NIL Suits Seek $500M-Plus In Fees
The attorneys who represent the athletes in two name, image and likeness class actions that were settled with the NCAA have requested more than half a billion dollars total in fees and costs, citing the "substantial risks and complex issues" involved.
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December 18, 2024
K&L Gates Gains L&E Atty In NY From Duane Morris
K&L Gates LLP announced another addition to its labor, employment and workplace safety practice last week, welcoming a former Duane Morris LLP attorney to its New York office.
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December 18, 2024
Trucking Co.'s $3M Wage Deal Nabs Final OK
Trucking company Ryder will shell out about $3 million to settle a suit in federal court by truck drivers alleging wage and hour violations and claims under California's Private Attorneys General Act.
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December 18, 2024
DEI Attacks, Hybrid Work, Paid Leave: 2024's Workplace Shifts
Over the past year, challenges to employers' diversity, equity and inclusion programs reached a fever pitch, hybrid arrangements began to dominate the teleworking environment, and states and cities took unprecedented steps on paid leave. Here's a look at the major evolutions in workplaces in 2024.
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December 18, 2024
Servers See Class Trimmed In Unpaid Wages Suit
A Colorado federal judge said a collective of servers can proceed on two of their claims accusing a steakhouse chain of unlawfully claiming a tip credit, but decertified the collective as to their claim that the company illegally retained funds from a tip pool.
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December 18, 2024
Construction, Payroll Cos. Strike $7.6M Deal In DOL Pay Suit
A construction business in Phoenix and the company that handles its payroll will hand over nearly $7.6 million to end a U.S. Department of Labor suit alleging they failed to pay workers overtime premiums, according to an Arizona federal court filing.
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December 17, 2024
Union Says DOL's H2-A Contracts Defy Court Order
A farmworkers union told a Washington federal judge Monday that the U.S. Department of Labor is violating a court injunction by greenlighting H-2A contracts that do not include 2020 prevailing wage rates for the upcoming cherry and apple harvests.
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December 17, 2024
Little Caesar's Arbitration Clause Should Be Axed, Judge Told
An ex-Little Caesars worker seeking to represent the pizza chain's California employees in a putative wage-and-hour class action urged a Golden State federal judge Tuesday to invalidate the restaurant's new arbitration agreement banning workers from participating in the litigation, saying the company didn't make it clear the clause was voluntary.
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December 17, 2024
Los Angeles Can't Dodge Ex-Cop's Military Leave Bias Suit
A California federal judge declined to toss a former cop's suit claiming Los Angeles didn't grant equal sick and vacation time to service members and declined to promote him because he served in the National Guard, ruling he backed up his claims with enough detail to dodge dismissal.
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December 17, 2024
4th Circ. Undoes Classes Of Bojangles Managers In Wage Suit
A Fourth Circuit panel untangled two classes of over 5,000 shift managers accusing fried chicken restaurant chain Bojangles of owing workers pay for off-the-clock work, ruling Tuesday that a lower court's overly broad approach was fatal to keeping the certification in place.
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December 17, 2024
X Can't Seal Corporate Info In $500M Severance Dispute
A California federal judge refused Tuesday to allow X Corp. and Elon Musk to file under seal the company's corporate disclosure statement in a dispute over X's failure to adequately pay severance to former workers, saying there's no evidence that disclosing this information would harm the company.
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December 17, 2024
Ex-Reed Smith Atty Seeks To Appeal NJ Bias Damages Limit
A former Reed Smith LLP labor and employment lawyer has told the New Jersey Appellate Division that a lower court was wrong to conclude that a pay discrimination law does not apply retroactively, limiting her potential damages against the firm in a bias lawsuit.
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December 17, 2024
Police Captains Say Del. City Fails To Pay Them OT
The city of Wilmington, Delaware, misclassifies police captains as overtime-exempt despite their duties being nearly identical to those of police officers, who are eligible for overtime pay, a Delaware federal court was told.
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December 17, 2024
NY AG Recovers $4M In Tips For Former Drizly Drivers
Defunct alcohol delivery service Drizly agreed to pay $4 million to more than 8,300 former delivery drivers after it failed to properly give them earned tips, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced Tuesday.
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December 17, 2024
Groups Want Win In Partially Blocked Prevailing Wage Rule
The U.S. Department of Labor's final rule updating how prevailing wages are calculated under the Davis-Bacon Act should sink because it is arbitrary and capricious, a group of construction groups said, urging a Texas court to ax the rule after it partially blocked it.
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December 17, 2024
Supercuts Owner Cuts Deal To End Ex-Worker's OT Suit
The owner of nearly 400 Supercuts and other hair salons agreed to pay $15,000 to resolve a suit from a former employee accusing it of failing to account for commissions and other nondiscretionary bonuses when calculating her overtime rates, a filing in Michigan federal court said.
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December 17, 2024
Biggest Wage And Hour Legislation Of 2024
States have passed or implemented laws in 2024 on pay transparency, industry-specific wage floors, child labor, gig and temporary workers, and other wage and hour issues, a flurry of activity happening while federal wage legislation hasn't advanced. Here, Law360 explores the top wage and hour legislation of the year.
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December 16, 2024
Philly Elder Abuse Investigators Strike $975K Deal In OT Suit
A Philadelphia nonprofit that coordinates services for older and disabled individuals will pay $975,000 to resolve a collective action alleging it failed to pay overtime wages to elder abuse investigators, according to a filing in Pennsylvania federal court.
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December 16, 2024
Ex-Staples Worker Says Wage Suit Is Different From Others
A former Staples employee fought to preserve her wage and hour suit against the office supply company Monday, urging a California federal judge to reject the company's argument that the suit is too generic and similar to two other lawsuits to survive a motion to dismiss.
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December 16, 2024
Disney To Pay $233M To End Calif. Wage Theft Case
Walt Disney Co. has agreed to shell out $233 million to end a five-year-long California state court case covering more than 51,000 workers accusing the company of failing to follow Anaheim's $15 minimum wage ordinance.
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December 16, 2024
Omni Gets 5th Circ. To Order New Trial In Pay Bias Battle
The Fifth Circuit ruled Monday that a jury contradicted itself when it backed a steep damages award for a former Omni Hotels & Resorts worker who claimed the company unlawfully paid her less than her male predecessors, ordering a new trial in the case.
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December 16, 2024
Albertsons Says Kroger 'Squandered' $25B Merger Bid
The Kroger Co. Inc. "willfully squandered" opportunities to complete a now-blocked $24.6 billion mega-merger with Albertsons Cos. Inc., according to an unsealed five-count lawsuit in Delaware's Court of Chancery potentially seeking billions in damages.
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December 16, 2024
La. Home Care Cos. Owe $355K After DOL Pay Probe
Two Louisiana-based home care providers under common ownership will pay nearly $355,000 to end a U.S. Department of Labor suit alleging they misclassified employees as independent contractors.
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December 16, 2024
DOL Announces Tip Rule In Line With 5th Circ. Decision
The U.S. Department of Labor announced it would officially reinstate the so-called dual jobs rule for governing tipped wages in response to a Fifth Circuit decision vacating the department's more worker-friendly rule, according to a press release Monday.
Expert Analysis
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Compliance Refresher Amid DOL Child Labor Crackdown
In light of the Labor Department’s recent announcement of new penalty assessment procedures for child labor law violations, Erica MacDonald and Sylvia Bokyung St. Clair at Faegre Drinker discuss what employers should know about the department’s continued focus on this issue and how to bolster compliance efforts.
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Top 10 Employer Resolutions For 2024
From technological leaps to sea changes in labor policy to literal sea changes, 2024 provides opportunities for employers to face big-picture questions that will shape their business for years to come, say Allegra Lawrence-Hardy and Lisa Haldar at Lawrence & Bundy.
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Top 10 Whistleblowing And Retaliation Events Of 2023
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and federal and state courts made 2023 another groundbreaking year for whistleblower litigation and retaliation developments, including the SEC’s massive whistleblower awards, which are likely to continue into 2024 and further incentivize individuals to submit tips, say attorneys at Proskauer.
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Navigating Issues Around NY Freelancer Pay Protection Bill
New York’s recently signed Freelance Isn’t Free Act was designed to protect freelance workers, but leaves business to navigate challenges such as unclear coverage, vague contract terms and potentially crushing penalties, says Richard Reibstein at Locke Lord.
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The Key To Defending Multistate Collective FLSA Claims
Federal circuit courts are split on the reach of a court's jurisdiction over out-of-state employers in Fair Labor Standards Act collective actions, but until the U.S. Supreme Court agrees to review the question, multistate employers should be aware of a potential case-changing defense, say Matthew Disbrow and Michael Dauphinais at Honigman.
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Ill. Temp Labor Rules: No Clear Road Map For Compliance
While the delay of a particularly thorny provision of the Illinois temporary worker law will provide some short-term relief, staffing agencies and their clients will still need to scramble to plan compliance with the myriad vague requirements imposed by the other amendments to the act, say Alexis Dominguez and Alissa Griffin at Neal Gerber.
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Tips For Defeating Claims Of Willful FLSA Violations
As employers increasingly encounter wage and hour complaints under the Fair Labor Standards Act, more companies could face enhanced penalties for violations deemed willful, but defense counsel can use several discovery and trial strategies to instead demonstrate the employer’s commitment to compliance, say Michael Mueller and Evangeline Paschal at Hunton.
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A Gov't Contractor's Guide To Davis-Bacon Prevailing Wages
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
In light of shifting federal infrastructure priorities and recent updates to U.S. Department of Labor regulations, employers should take the time to revisit the basics of prevailing wage requirements for federal contractors under the Davis-Bacon Act and similar laws, says Timothy Taylor at Holland & Knight.
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Legal Profession Gender Parity Requires Equal Parental Leave
To truly foster equity in the legal profession and to promote attorney retention, workplaces need to better support all parents, regardless of gender — starting by offering equal and robust parental leave to both birthing and non-birthing parents, says Ali Spindler at Irwin Fritchie.
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1st Circ. Ruling Helps Clarify Test For FLSA Admin Exemption
The First Circuit’s recent decision in Marcus v. American Contract Bridge League will help employers navigate the Fair Labor Standards Act's "general business operations" exemption and make the crucial and often confusing decision of whether white collar employees are overtime-exempt administrators or nonexempt frontline producers of products and services, says Mark Tabakman at Fox Rothschild.
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3 Employer Strategies To Streamline Mass Arbitrations
Workers under arbitration agreements have gained an edge on their employers by filing floods of tedious and expensive individualized claims, but companies can adapt to this new world of mass arbitration by applying several new strategies that may streamline the dispute-resolution process, says Michael Strauss at Alternative Resolution Centers.
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Employer Takeaways From 2nd Circ. Equal Pay Ruling
The Second Circuit 's recent decision in Eisenhauer v. Culinary Institute of America reversed a long-held understanding of the Equal Pay Act, ultimately making it easier for employers to defend against equal pay claims brought under federal law, but it is not a clear escape hatch for employers, say Thelma Akpan and Katelyn McCombs at Littler.
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The Growing Need For FLSA Private Settlement Rule Clarity
A Pennsylvania district court's recent ruling in Walker v. Marathon Petroleum echoes an interesting and growing trend of jurists questioning the need for — and legality of — judicial approval of private Fair Labor Standards Act settlements, which provides more options for parties to efficiently resolve their claims, says Rachael Coe at Moore & Van Allen.