Wage & Hour

Expert Analysis

• Ecolab Ruling Opens Doors For Percentage Bonuses In Calif.

  

  California's Second Appellate District recently became the first court in the state to clear the air on percentage bonuses, providing employers who have wanted to offer such bonuses with a new option to do so without having to recalculate the overtime regular rate, says Paul Lynd at ArentFox Schiff.

• How Employers Can Defend Against Claims Made In Bad Faith

  Excerpt from Practical Guidance

  

  When an employer becomes aware of an employee complaint, it should carefully research whether the claim could be characterized as frivolous or in bad faith, and then consider various defense strategies, say Ellen Holloman and Jaclyn Hall at Cadwalader.

• Encouraging Labor Abuse Reports Beyond The PAGA Model

  

  The recent stalling of several state bills modeled after California's Private Attorneys General Act, which would allow workers to sue on behalf of the state over labor violations, suggests budget-constrained regulators should consider alternative tools for incentivizing employees to flag workplace abuses, says Joseph Jeziorkowski at Valiant Law.

• Eye On Compliance: Service Animal Accommodations

  

  A Michigan federal court's recent ruling in Bennett v. Hurley Medical Center provides guidance on when employee service animals must be permitted in the workplace — a question otherwise lacking clarity under the Americans with Disabilities Act that has emerged as people return to the office post-pandemic, says Lauren Stadler at Wilson Elser.

• Joint Employment Mediation Sessions Are Worth The Work

  

  Despite the recent trend away from joint mediation in employment disputes, and the prevailing belief that putting both parties in the same room is only a recipe for lost ground, face-to-face sessions can be valuable tools for moving toward win-win resolutions when planned with certain considerations in mind, says Jonathan Andrews at Signature Resolution.

• Takeaways From Virgin's Wage And Hour Class Action Loss

  

  A California district court recently issued a $31 million judgment against Virgin America in a wage and hour class action brought by flight attendants, a reminder that the state Labor Code's reach extends beyond the Golden State when the facts show a strong connection to work performed there, says Julie O’Dell at Armstrong Teasdale.

• There's More To The Helix FLSA Opinion Than Meets The Eye

  

  At first blush, the U.S. Supreme Court's recent Helix decision seems remarkable for its determination that an oil rig worker who makes $200,000 a year can still be entitled to overtime, but the decision also offers two more important takeaways about how the Fair Labor Standards Act may be applied, says Nicholas Woodfield at The Employment Law Group.

• What Employers Need To Know About New Breastfeeding Law

  

  The recently enacted federal PUMP Act expands employers' existing obligations to provide breaks and space for certain employees to express breast milk, so employers should review the requirements and take steps to ensure that workers' rights are protected, say Sara Abarbanel and Katelynn Williams at Foley & Lardner.

• 6 Labor Compliance Questions For Infrastructure Contractors

  

  Eric Leonard at Wiley provides a checklist to help both traditional and nontraditional government contractors identify and understand the enhanced labor and employment compliance obligations they assume by taking on a project funded under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

• Water Cooler Talk: Termination Lessons From 'WeCrashed'

  

  Tracey Diamond and Evan Gibbs at Troutman Pepper chat with Fulton Bank’s Allison Snyder about how the show “WeCrashed” highlights pitfalls companies should avoid when terminating workers, even when the employment is at will.

• Clean Energy Tax Credits' Wage, Apprentice Rules: Key Points

  

  The Inflation Reduction Act's complicated prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements for clean energy facility construction tax credits recently took effect — and the learning curve will be more difficult for taxpayers who are not already familiar with such programs, say attorneys at Shearman.

• New Rulings Show Job Duties Crucial To Equal Pay Act Claims

  

  Two recent decisions from the Fourth and Tenth Circuits emphasize that it is an employee's actual responsibilities, and not just their job title, that are critical to a pay discrimination claim under the Equal Pay Act and can offer some lessons for employers in avoiding and defending these claims, say Fiona Ong and Lindsey White at Shawe Rosenthal.

• Tips For Handling Employee Pay Scale Asks As Laws Expand

  

  Due to the increase in pay transparency legislation, companies are being forced to get comfortable with pay-related discussions with their employees, and there are best practices employers can apply to ensure compliance with new laws and address the challenging questions that may follow, say Maria Stearns and Joanna Blake at Rutan & Tucker.