Seyfarth Synopsis: In a welcome turn of events, the Seventh Circuit has taken up the question of what is the appropriate standard for court-authorized notice in collective actions....more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The DOL has issued guidance to its staff – that might be relied upon by courts – that any break less than 20 minutes while working from home is compensable time, regardless of the reason for the break....more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Though it may sound esoteric, the question of whether “last mile” drivers fall within the Federal Arbitration Act’s transportation worker exemption bears tremendous consequence. If they are exempt, they...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The COVID-19 pandemic thrust remote working upon many employers without notice or adequate time to prepare. Now that employees are settling into longer-term remote working arrangements, employers are...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Effective April 8, 2020, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (“FMCSA”) extended an emergency rule suspending “Hours of Service” rules that generally limit the number of hours certain truck...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: On the heels of last week’s federal court order temporarily blocking enforcement of AB 5 by the State of California, a California state court in Los Angeles reached the same conclusion, finding the Federal...more
1/13/2020
/ ABC Test ,
Commercial Truck Drivers ,
Dynamex ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994 (FAAAA) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Freelance Workers ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Regulations ,
Misclassification ,
Motor Carriers ,
New Legislation ,
Preemption ,
Retroactive Application ,
Rulemaking Process ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
TRO ,
Trucking Industry ,
Trucking Regulations ,
Wage and Hour
Seyfarth Synopsis: Effective January 1, 2020, AB 5 implements the mandatory “ABC” test for determining whether a person is an independent contractor or employee under California law. Specific to motor carriers, AB 5 presumes...more
1/6/2020
/ ABC Test ,
Commercial Truck Drivers ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994 (FAAAA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Labor Regulations ,
Misclassification ,
Motor Carriers ,
New Legislation ,
Preemption ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Trucking Industry ,
Trucking Regulations ,
Wage and Hour
Seyfarth Synopsis: Earlier this year, in New Prime, the Supreme Court decisively held that the Federal Arbitration Act’s § 1 exemption for transportation workers engaged in foreign or interstate commerce applied to...more
8/8/2019
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Delivery Drivers ,
Employment Litigation ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Foreign Commerce ,
Freight Forwarding ,
Independent Contractors ,
Interstate Commerce ,
Misclassification ,
Transportation Industry ,
Wage and Hour ,
Waiver of Rights
Seyfarth Synopsis: Following the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s determination in December 2018 that federal law preempts California’s meal and rest break rules, observers questioned what deference courts would...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: In January, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled in New Prime Inc. v. Oliveira that the Federal Arbitration Act’s (“FAA” or the “Act”) exclusion for transportation workers engaged in interstate commerce...more
3/21/2019
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Commercial Truck Drivers ,
Employment Contract ,
Exceptions ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Independent Contractors ,
Motion to Compel ,
New Prime v Oliveira ,
Question of Arbitrability ,
Reaffirmation ,
SCOTUS
Seyfarth Synopsis: A recent decision by the Southern District of New York clarifies common questions arising from the use of the fixed salary for a fluctuating workweek method of compensation (the “FWW”)...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The United States Supreme Court ruled 9-0 today that whistleblowing employees seeking to sue for retaliation under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act must bring their concerns to...more
2/21/2018
/ Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Digital Realty Trust Inc v Somers ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Internal Reporting ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Retaliation ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
Seyfarth Synopsis: A common feature of many a commission plan is the recoverable draw that is offset against future commissions. The DOL has long held this is a permissible way to satisfy the minimum wage requirement. In a...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: As previously discussed in this space, the Ninth Circuit recently chose to side with the Second Circuit, and not the Sixth Circuit, and ruled that mortgage underwriters fail to meet the FLSA’s...more
9/29/2017
/ Administrative Exemption ,
Appeals ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Mortgage Servicers ,
Over-Time ,
Petition for Writ of Certiorari ,
SCOTUS ,
Split of Authority ,
Underwriting ,
Wage and Hour
Seyfarth Synopsis: By resurrecting reliance on the administrative/production dichotomy in FLSA administrative exemption cases, the Ninth Circuit is at odds with the California Supreme Court’s application of the state’s...more
As our readers saw earlier this week, the Ninth Circuit recently issued a decision in McKeen-Chaplin v. Provident Bank, turning the traditional administrative vs. production dichotomy of the administrative exemption on its...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Earlier this month, the Ninth Circuit chose to side with the Second Circuit, and not the Sixth Circuit, to opine that mortgage underwriters fail to meet the FLSA’s administrative exemption from overtime...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Second Circuit recently upheld a district court order denying a bid for class certification by personal bankers claiming their managers refused to approve timesheets with overtime hours, shaved...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: If Congress fails to pass a long-term funding bill, we could be facing a federal government shutdown with no money flowing to fund non-essential services. While it seems the crisis may be averted for now —...more