Wage & Hour

Expert Analysis

• Tracking Class Certification Changes, 1 Year After TransUnion

  

  In the year since the U.S. Supreme Court's TransUnion v. Ramirez decision, defense lawyers have invoked it as support for denying class certification or decertifying classes — but an analysis suggests that the main impact of the ruling has simply been closer scrutiny of class definitions by district courts, say James Morsch and Jonathan Singer at Saul Ewing.

• Determining Which State Governs A Remote Work Agreement

  

  The First Circuit's recent finding in Viscito v. National Planning that the Massachusetts Wage Act did not apply to a remote worker who mostly lived in Florida offers guidance for employers trying to determine what law applies to their out-of-state employees, says Stephen Melnick at Littler.

• NYC Pay Transparency Law May Fail To Close Wage Gap

  

  Peter Glennon at The Glennon Law Firm argues that New York City’s new pay transparency law, requiring employers to post salary information in job listings, creates a number of challenges for businesses, raising the question: Could encouraging the use of existing tools close the wage gap without the need for additional legislation?

• How Day-Of-Rest Law Changes May Affect Ill. Employers

  

  Recent amendments to Illinois' One Day Rest in Seven Act change meal break calculations and increase penalties for violations, so employers should review their meal, break and day of rest policies and consider conservative precautions to avoid accidental violations or litigation, says Darren Mungerson at Littler.

• Understanding Georgia's New Worker Classification Law

  

  A Georgia law taking effect next month amends the definition of employment for unemployment compensation purposes and may benefit certain technology companies, including ride-sharing and delivery services — as long as their independent contractor arrangements comply with the statute’s requirements, say Meredith Caiafa and Kelli Church at Morris Manning.

• Justices' PAGA Ruling May Be Employer Win — With Caveats

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Viking River Cruises v. Moriana, holding that federal law partially preempts California's Private Attorneys General Act, may help employers send individual claims to arbitration, but key questions remain regarding statutory standing and the potential impact of another state law, says Joshua Henderson at Norton Rose.

• Employers Must Think 3 Moves Ahead In Their Bid For Talent

  

  Employers offering ever-increasing incentives to combat today’s labor shortage must not be nearsighted about tomorrow’s risk of recession, and should instead ask themselves three key questions about historical demand and future technology, say Adam Santucci and Langdon Ramsburg at McNees Wallace.

• Supreme Court Should Review Flight Break Mandate

  

  Despite government pushback, the U.S. Supreme Court should review Virgin America v. Bernstein, a Ninth Circuit decision that would require meal and rest breaks for flight attendants, as federal law and California regulations are in clear conflict and threaten to disrupt national air transportation, says Patricia Vercelli at Airlines for America.

• Parsing The Impact Of White Collar FLSA Exemption Proposal

  

  The Congressional Progressive Caucus recently proposed to increase the salary threshold at which a white collar worker isn't eligible for overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act, which would force reclassification of millions as hourly employees — especially in low-wage states — and would likely raise compliance costs for businesses, says Stephen Bronars at Edgeworth Economics.

• Preparing For NYC's New Pay Transparency Law

  

  Recent guidance postponing implementation of New York City’s Pay Transparency Law to Nov. 1 failed to clarify employers' obligation to act in good faith when advertising what they are willing to pay, so employers may want to devote resources to up-front evaluations of salary ranges, say John Litchfield and Paul King at Foley & Lardner.

• FAA Ruling Raises Fresh Questions On Transportation Work

  

  In Bissonnette v. LePage Bakeries, the Second Circuit's narrow view of the Federal Arbitration Act's transportation worker exemption leaves some ambiguity for delivery workers in the gig economy, which the U.S. Supreme Court will likely address in a future circuit split, says Jeff Shooman at FordHarrison.

• Calif. Premium Pay Ruling May Raise Employer Liability Risks

  

  After the California Supreme Court’s recent decision in Naranjo v. Spectrum Security Services, holding that premium pay for missed meal and rest breaks constitutes wages that must be reported on pay stubs, employers should revisit their meal and rest period policies to avoid a potential windfall of liability, say Jeremy Mittman and Gabriel Hemphill at Mitchell Silberberg.

• Will Calif. High Court Take On PAGA Unmanageability?

  

  Two diverging California state appeals court decisions — Wesson v. Staples and Estrada v. Royalty Carpet Mills — have set the stage for the California Supreme Court to determine the scope of trial court authority to dismiss Private Attorneys General Act claims on manageability grounds, but the burden may fall on trial courts if the high court denies review, say Harrison Thorne and Lowell Ritter at Sheppard Mullin.