The New York City Department of Consumer Affairs has released a model Notice of Employee Right and Frequently Asked Questions regarding its new Temporary Schedule Change Law that went into effect last week. Employers should...more
Effective July 18, 2018, New York City employers must grant two temporary schedule changes per year to eligible employees for certain qualifying “personal events.” Unlike other bills which were a part of the NYC Fair...more
A New York federal court once again denied a motion for conditional certification of a nationwide collective action against Barnes & Noble. ...more
7/3/2018
/ Barnes and Noble ,
Conditional Certification ,
Discovery ,
Employment Litigation ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Job Descriptions ,
Misclassification ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Retail Market ,
Wage and Hour
Seyfarth Synopsis: The U.S. Department of Labor has announced the launch of the Payroll Audit Independent Determination program—or “PAID”— to facilitate the resolution of overtime and minimum wage claims under the FLSA...more
4/5/2018
/ Back Wages ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Pilot Programs ,
Minimum Wage ,
Over-Time ,
Payroll Audit Independent Determination program (PAID) ,
Self-Reporting ,
State and Local Government ,
Unpaid Wages ,
Wage and Hour
Seyfarth Synopsis: A new NYC law entitles employees to two temporary schedule changes per year for certain personal events. Separately, the comment period for call-in pay rules proposed by the State DOL has been extended to...more
1/22/2018
/ Comment Period ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fast-Food Industry ,
Food Service Workers ,
Local Ordinance ,
On-Call Employees ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Retailers ,
State and Local Government ,
Wage and Hour ,
Work Schedules
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Department of Labor has scrapped its 2010 Fact Sheet on internship status and adopted the more flexible and employer-friendly test devised by Second Circuit....more
1/8/2018
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Internships ,
Misclassification ,
Primary Beneficiary Test ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Unpaid Interns ,
Wage and Hour
Seyfarth Synopsis: Governor Andrew Cuomo has directed the Commissioner of Labor to schedule public hearings to address the possibility of eliminating the tip credit. A tip credit allows an employer to pay less than minimum...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The New York Court of Appeals holds that the state’s class action rules require notice of settlements to be sent to putative class members – even though no class has been certified....more
12/14/2017
/ Appeals ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Class Members ,
Employment Litigation ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Litigation Strategies ,
Notice Requirements ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Settlement ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Wage and Hour
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Second Circuit has upheld summary judgment against magazine interns seeking payment as “employees” under the FLSA.
In an end-of-semester decision that may represent the final grade for unpaid interns...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The New York City Department of Consumer Affairs has issued final rules to implement the Fair Workweek Law, which imposes significant constraints on shift scheduling in the retail and fast food industries...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: New York employers are facing a host of changes in 2018, including an increase to the minimum salary amounts for exempt status and increases in the minimum wage.
...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Proposed rules released by the NYS DOL would require employees to be paid for time not worked due to on-call scheduling practices....more
Seyfarth Synopsis: A judge in the Southern District of New York held that FLSA off-the-clock claims could not proceed collectively because the employer’s policy enforcement and approval of overtime compensation varied by...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The NYC Department of Consumer Affairs has proposed rules implementing the Fair Workweek Law, which imposes significant constraints on shift scheduling in the retail and fast food industries. The comment...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Second Circuit will soon decide key issues for FLSA practitioners: whether settlements pursuant to an Offer of Judgment are subject to court review and approval, and whether the standards for final...more
10/26/2017
/ Chipotle Grill ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Collective Actions ,
Employee Definition ,
Employment Litigation ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Food Service Workers ,
FRCP 23 ,
FRCP 23(f) ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Misclassification ,
Offer of Judgment ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Rule 68 ,
Settlement Agreements ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
Seyfarth Synopsis: The majority of courts have held that releases of FLSA rights require approval by a court or the US Department of Labor. A recent case in the Southern District of New York highlights a dilemma employers...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Five new laws in New York City will impose strict limits on shift scheduling for fast food and retail industry employees. The laws will be effective 180 days after their signing, on November 26, 2017....more
Seyfarth Synopsis: A New York federal court denied a motion for conditional certification of a nationwide collective action against Barnes & Noble. The ruling highlights that, even though the burden for “first stage”...more
5/4/2017
/ Barnes and Noble ,
Conditional Certification ,
Employment Litigation ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Job Descriptions ,
Misclassification ,
Retail Market ,
Unpaid Overtime ,
Wage and Hour ,
Young Lawyers
Seyfarth Synopsis: New regulations from the NY Department of Labor clarify employers’ ability to limit employees’ discussion of wages.
The New York Department of Labor has promulgated regulations that permit employers to...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: New York employers are facing a host of changes in wage and hour regulations for 2017: an increase to the minimum salary amounts for exempt status; increases in the minimum wage; and changes in the amount...more
With employers about to ring in 2017, the New York State Department of Labor—with only two days to spare—has finalized regulations to increase the salary threshold for exempt status. The regulations, originally introduced on...more
Amid the uncertainty concerning the DOL’s enjoined overtime exemption rules and similar state-led efforts to increase the salary threshold, such as in New York, the Second Circuit recently gave employers an early holiday...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The New York Court of Appeals recently rejected the narrow view of the Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board and found that substantial evidence did not support a finding that certain yoga instructors were...more
As we all know, the revisions to the FLSA’s “white collar” exemptions will take effect December 1 and will increase the salary level required for the executive, administrative, and professional exemptions to $913 per week (or...more
10/25/2016
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Final Rules ,
Minimum Salary ,
Minimum Wage ,
Non-Exempt Employees ,
Over-Time ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Uniforms ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage Orders ,
White-Collar Exemptions
As we all know, wage and hour litigation continues to soar to record highs. We expect 2016 will be another record year and that the revisions to the white collar exemptions effective December 1st will further increase the...more