Episode 139 -- DOJ Resolves Two Food Safety Criminal Cases -- Blue Bell Creameries and Chipotle Mexican Grills
More details on that massive ransomware hack that hit Colonial Pipeline over the weekend. The FBI has confirmed that hacking group DarkSide was responsible and that it’s “looking for any ties the group might have to...more
The U.S. Supreme Court has been asked to fill a gaping hole in our Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) jurisprudence: What, precisely, is meant by “similarly situated,” as set forth in 29 U.S.C. 216(b)? The request comes in a...more
As previously reported in EmployNews, in December a creative group of plaintiffs’ lawyers filed suit against Chipotle in federal district court in New Jersey. The lawyers contended that despite a Texas federal court’s...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
On June 7, 2107, a plaintiff brought a putative class and collective action against Chipotle for alleged violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act and New Jersey’s Wage and Hour Law. The plaintiff asserts the company...more
Wednesday a group of Chipotle employees brought suit in New Jersey federal court alleging FLSA violations stemming from Chipotle’s failure to follow the Obama-era salary-basis regulations. As you will recall, these...more
On November 23, 2016, we issued a Client Bulletin titled “Employers Can Breathe A Sigh of Relief Come December 1: Court strikes down overtime rule.” But a new lawsuit in federal court in Jersey puts a gulp in that sigh of...more
Wage and hour class action jurisprudence continues to twist and turn down an unusual path. As a consequence of the limited consistent case precedent in this area, hospitality employers defending against these claims face...more
The Court’s opinion in Scott v. Chipotle Mexican Grill demonstrates how employers can successfully combat class action claims that employees were misclassified as exempt. The successful defense of the class certification...more
We’ve commented on numerous occasions about the peculiar paths taken by wage and hour class litigation, particularly with respect to collective actions under the FLSA. Two cases involving the same employer decided only days...more
Last week, California Governor Jerry Brown signed a law that requires employers to prove they are not paying workers differently because of their race or ethnicity. This new requirement builds on California’s Equal Pay Act,...more
Last week, it was reported that 10,000 Chipotle workers have joined the class action against the Tex Mex chain for unpaid wages, claiming Chipotle routinely made them work off the clock. That’s roughly one in five Chipotle...more
Equal pay and EEO-1 reports made headlines last Friday as the EEOC and the White House celebrated the 7th anniversary of the Lilly Ledbetter Act. The EEOC announced a proposed new requirement for federal contractors and...more
Legislative Update - Governor Brown recently signed into state law the following employment law bills (among others): SB 358—Referred to as the California Fair Pay Act, this law is directed at closing the pay...more
It is a common practice for employers to check criminal backgrounds or credit ratings of potential, and sometimes current, employees. Background checks that provide this type of information are helpful to employers when...more
Beloved burrito-maker Chipotle Mexican Grill has found itself in a situation messier than the finger foods that brought the company more than $4 billion in revenue last year. A magistrate judge in Scott v. Chipotle Mexican...more
Client agents/consultants normally fall outside privilege protection, unless they help facilitate communications between the client and lawyer. Recognizing this, some lawyers seek privilege protection by hiring the...more
On March 27, 2015, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York granted the plaintiffs’ motion to compel disclosure of a report prepared by a Human Resources (“HR”) consultant in class action litigation under...more
Employees win most motions for conditional certification under the FLSA, with many courts declining to perform a probing analysis at that stage. A recent case from the District of Minnesota, in which the court still applied a...more
A New York federal court recently granted conditional certification of a nationwide class of Assistant Managers at Chipotle restaurants based on the allegations that Chipotle misclassified Assistant Managers as exempt from...more