Risk Prevention Strategies: Avoiding Costly FLSA Missteps
What Should I Do If My Employer Failed to Pay Me Wages?
On August 16, 2024, a divided Seventh Circuit panel held that a court needs to establish personal jurisdiction over each individual member of a Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) collective, further contributing to an existing...more
This week we consider a new EAT decision that emphasises the difficulties of making assumptions about tribunal time limits, particularly the date from when time starts to run....more
A hotel manager was recently held individually liable for violations of federal wage and hour law under a broad definition of “employer.” Although the ruling applied to a unique set of facts – including that the manager was...more
I have blogged about these automatic deduction cases, but they nevertheless keep popping up with disturbing regularity. In another example of this phenomenon, employees have sued a Michigan healthcare employer, alleging...more
The Michigan Builders Trust Fund Act (MBTFA), MCL 570.151 et seq. was signed into law in the early years of the Great Depression to protect people from fraud and misappropriation of funds in the construction industry. During...more
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
On May 15, 2024, the New Jersey Supreme Court held in Maia v. IEW Construction Group that both the six-year look-back period and liquidated damages provided by the state Wage Theft Act (WTA) do not apply retroactively....more
The beginning of a new year, or new fiscal year, can often bring changes to a company’s workforce. Many businesses will perform or complete performance reviews and implement compensation changes based on the prior year. The...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 a recent unanimous decision by the New Jersey Supreme Court in Christopher Maia v. IEW Construction Group, the seven-judge panel reversed the prior judgment of the Appellate Division and held that the August 6, 2019,...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
In a unanimous decision, on May 15, 2024, the New Jersey Supreme Court held that the state’s amendments (Chapter 212) to the Wage Payment Law (WPL) and the Wage and Hour Law (WHL) apply prospectively, and therefore plaintiffs...more
The New Jersey Supreme Court has ruled that amendments to the state’s wage and hour laws passed in 2019 cannot be applied retroactively. As a result, the provisions in the amendments — including imposition of liquidated...more
On May 6, 2024, California LawCalifornia’s Supreme Court, in a rare and surprising “employer friendly” decision, held that an employer can avoid penalties under California’s wage statement law, Cal. Lab. Code § 226, if it...more
On Monday May 7, the California Supreme Court confirmed, in Naranjo v. Spectrum Securities Services, Inc., S279397.PDF (ca.gov), that penalties authorized under Labor Code Section 226 (“Section 226”) for “knowing and...more
The California Supreme Court concluded that the “good faith” defense applies to claims seeking to impose penalties under California Labor Code section 226. An employee must show that an employer’s failure to comply with...more
On March 28, 2024, in Sutton v. Jordan’s Furniture, Inc., the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) upheld a Massachusetts Superior Court decision finding the furniture retailer’s commission-based compensation scheme...more
Last week, a Washington healthcare company was ordered to pay 33,000 workers $98.3 million in damages in a class action related to its meal break and timeclock rounding practices. The vast majority of the awarded damages...more
Kansas has become the fourth state (and the second in 2024) to enact a law that establishes a financial services oversight regime for earned wage access services, also known as on-demand pay services, which allow workers to...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
In October 2023, we wrote an alert detailing an amendment to New York's Penal Code that added wage theft as a means of committing criminal larceny. This amendment, along with the creation of a specialized Worker Protection...more
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, applying Louisiana law, has held that an insurer does not need to cover a monetary judgment rendered in favor of two former employees of the insured...more
In Boyer v. Callidus, 2024 ONSC 20, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice found that an employee was entitled to $1.8 million in damages for unpaid vacation, bonuses, and stock options, because the terms of the relevant...more
In this month's article, we share some of our top "bites" covered during the February 2024 webinar....more
There has been a great deal of controversy about the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in all facets of life and now the legal field. My own firm has certain very restrictive rules about lawyers using AI, especially when...more