Risk Prevention Strategies: Avoiding Costly FLSA Missteps
What Should I Do If My Employer Failed to Pay Me Wages?
It seems every week another call center case pops up. These are extremely dangerous cases for employers and that is why I keep writing (or, harping) about them, as a warning to employers, not only those who operate call...more
When litigating claims under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), litigants are aware of long-standing case law that essentially awards a prevailing plaintiff with their attorneys’ fees absent extraordinary...more
In Naranjo v. Spectrum Security Services, the case’s second appearance before the California Supreme Court in two years, the Supreme Court confirmed that an employer does not incur civil penalties for failing to report unpaid...more
Summary - To qualify as a transportation worker for purposes of the FAA, an employee’s relationship to the movement of goods must be sufficiently close enough to conclude that the employee’s work plays a tangible and...more
Employers that fail to pay required minimum wage or overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act are liable for the amount of missed wages: doubled, plus attorneys fees, costs, and interest. The court can award such damages...more
Earlier this week, the California Court of Appeal reached a decision that may ease employers’ worries when presented with a wage and hour lawsuit. California’s plaintiff-friendly laws provide avenues for plaintiffs to...more
On September 12, 2022, the California Court of Appeal held that employees bringing successful rest break and meal period claims are entitled to recover attorneys’ fees under California Labor Code section 218.5. The...more
On April 4, 2022, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court held, in Reuter v. City of Methuen, that employers are strictly liable for treble wages as liquidated damages if they fail to make timely payments upon an employee’s...more
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (“SJC”) – Massachusetts’ highest court – recently held that under the Massachusetts Wage Act (“Wage Act”) employees are entitled to automatic treble wage damages – that is, three times...more
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) on April 4, 2022, handed down a decision with major implications for Massachusetts employers accused of wage-and-hour law violations or late payment of wages. In Reuter v. City...more
On April 4, 2022, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (“SJC”) issued its decision in Reuter v. City of Methuen, holding that an employer must pay treble (triple) damages if the organization is late in paying the wages of...more
On September 27, 2021, the Governor signed Senate Bill 62 (SB 62), which expands the definition of the garment manufacturing industry for purposes of wage claim enforcement to include brand guarantors. A brand guarantor is a...more
On February 1, 2021, in an unpublished opinion resolving a Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) attorney’s fees dispute, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, in Batista v. South Florida Womans Health Associates, Inc., struck...more
In a New Year’s Eve decision, the Oregon Supreme Court stripped employer-defendants of a powerful litigation tool in wage claim litigation. In a 5-2 decision, the Supreme Court held that an offer of judgment made pursuant to...more
On December 31, 2020, the Oregon Supreme Court reversed the Oregon Court of Appeals’ decision in Mathis v. St. Helens Auto Center, Inc. and concluded that the “reasonable” attorney fee award permitted under ORS 652.200 cannot...more
The agreement is simple, you work for your employer and they pay you a fair wage. When your employer fails to pay, you have more options than crossing your fingers and hoping that the money will eventually show up. ...more
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently underscored that removal practice under the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA) differs in some important respects from traditional removal practice in non-CAFA cases. It did so...more
Currently, the New York Equal Pay Act provides that no employee shall be paid at a lesser wage rate than an employee of the opposite sex in the same establishment for equal work on a job requiring equal skill, effort and...more
On February 19, 2019, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ("SJC") held that two employees asserting claims under the Massachusetts Wage Act ("Wage Act") were entitled to recover attorneys' fees from their former employer...more
With the partial government shutdown reaching record lengths, several federal employees who have been required to work without pay have sought court intervention, alleging that this practice violates the Fair Labor Standards...more
Potential exposure for a violation of Oregon’s Equal Pay Act is considerable. Employees alleging unpaid wages or pay equity discrimination may be awarded two years of back pay, compensatory and punitive damages, and attorney...more
After two years, California courts are finally putting California’s “A Fair Day’s Pay Act” (the “Act”) to the test. While intended to help employees collect judgments against employers that are judgment proof, the Act created...more
A recent opinion authored by a California Court of Appeal highlights the importance of wage and hour compliance for companies with employees in California and in particular the owners, officers, and directors of these...more
Notwithstanding two previous California Supreme Court decisions which essentially held that “[u]nder the common law, corporate agents acting within the scope of their agency are not personally liable for the corporate...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: An employer did not incur waiting time penalties for inadvertently misstating the amount of pay on a final paycheck, but was liable for its delay in correcting the error. And, by taking an appeal from a...more