Wage & Hour

  • May 01, 2024

    DOL's OT Rule Doesn't Touch Trucker Exemption

    Certain interstate truck drivers remain exempt from overtime under federal labor law, even as the U.S. Department of Labor has issued a new final rule addressing overtime exemptions for other workers. Here, Law360 explores the motor carrier exemption.

  • May 01, 2024

    Acting Labor Sec. Defends Status, Rules At Tense Hearing

    Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su defended her U.S. Department of Labor role and recent agency rules at a U.S. House committee hearing on Wednesday from Republicans who accused her of serving through a "loophole" and who questioned the legality of actions under her leadership.

  • May 01, 2024

    Fired HR Worker Hits Financial Co. With Age, Sex Bias Suit

    A financial services company laid off a human resources worker after she took federal medical leave and in retaliation for her repeated complaints about pay disparities between herself and younger, male employees, according to a lawsuit filed in Colorado federal court.

  • May 01, 2024

    Overtime Theft Scheme Earns Ex-Mass. Trooper 3 Years

    The former second-in-command of a Massachusetts state police traffic safety unit was sentenced to three years in prison for his role in a widespread conspiracy to steal federally funded overtime through no-work shifts.

  • May 01, 2024

    Ala. Insurance Co. Settles Adjuster's Overtime Suit

    An Alabama insurance agency will pay a settlement to end a claims adjuster's suit accusing it of failing to pay adjusters overtime wages for time they spent inspecting and assessing property damage, according to court papers.

  • May 01, 2024

    Teachers Say Pa. Can't Nix Equal Pay Suit

    A Pennsylvania school district can't snag a win on claims that it paid women teachers less than their male colleagues because it is clear that while the teachers performed comparable work, the pay was different, the women told a federal court.

  • May 01, 2024

    7th Circ. Backs Dismissal Of Ill. City Worker's Equal Pay Suit

    The Seventh Circuit declined to give an Illinois city diversity officer a second chance at her sex bias suit that claimed she was terminated after complaining that male co-workers were paid more for lighter workloads, ruling she didn't adequately back up her allegations.

  • May 01, 2024

    Texas Oil Field Supply Co. Wants OT Suit Arbitrated

    An ex-worker for a Texas oil field equipment supply company signed a valid agreement to arbitrate any employment disputes, the company said in asking a federal judge to send his unpaid overtime claims into arbitration.

  • April 30, 2024

    Foreign Farmworker Protection Rule Could Frustrate Hiring

    A new U.S. Department of Labor regulation boosting labor protections for H-2A visa workers has industry experts worried that it could frustrate a common practice of sharing employees within the agricultural industry, and pose hiring challenges for farmers and ranchers.

  • April 30, 2024

    Kroger, Albertsons Say FTC Distorts Markets In Merger Case

    Kroger and Albertsons told an Oregon federal court to reject a pending merger challenge by the Federal Trade Commission and a group of states, saying it distorts the competitive landscape for the grocery and labor markets.

  • April 30, 2024

    Staffing Firm Can't Send Misclassification Case To Arbitration

    A worker didn't enter an arbitration agreement with the oil and gas production company it accused of misclassifying him as an independent contractor and therefore an intervenor staffing company can't push the suit out of court, a New Mexico federal judge ruled.

  • April 30, 2024

    Wash. Job Applicant's Pay Transparency Suit Tossed For Now

    A Washington federal judge tossed a job applicant's state pay transparency suit against a rent-to-own retailer, ruling the job-seeker didn't prove how the company's failure to include pay information in a job listing negatively affected him.

  • April 30, 2024

    10th Circ. Says Biden Can Raise Contractors' Minimum Wage

    President Joe Biden's minimum hourly wage increase for federal contractors to $15 is intertwined with furthering the economy and is therefore supported by the Procurement Act, a split Tenth Circuit panel ruled Tuesday, agreeing with a Colorado federal court to keep the wage bump.

  • April 30, 2024

    DOL Fines Texas Nonprofit For Underpaying Disabled Workers

    A nonprofit in Texas paid more than $52,000 in back wages for denying 134 workers with disabilities the subminimum wage rate, the U.S. Department of Labor announced Tuesday.

  • April 30, 2024

    Money Can't Buy Unfair End To IHOP Tips Suit, Judge Says

    A New York federal judge rejected a proposed $100,000 settlement between IHOP franchises and an ex-waiter accusing them of paying servers' overtime wages with tips, saying several nonmonetary terms seem unfair and that "money can buy a lot of things, but not a license to violate the law." 

  • April 30, 2024

    DOL Asks 7th Circ. To Expand Unpaid Travel Time Ruling

    The U.S. Department of Labor urged the Seventh Circuit to affirm a lower court's ruling that a staffing firm must pay tradespeople for travel time between overnight jobs during normal working hours, and asked the court to extend the ruling to apply to travel outside regular work hours.

  • April 30, 2024

    How Fee-Shifting Clauses Can Sink An Arbitration Pact

    Arbitration agreements workers must sign as a job requirement may be found unenforceable if they include a fee-shifting provision that could make the out-of-court process so costly that they chill enforcement of employment laws, attorneys told Law360.

  • April 29, 2024

    3 Tips For Navigating DOL's New OT Rule

    Employers should audit their compensation data and get ahead of morale challenges to prepare for complying with the U.S. Department of Labor's just-released final rule on overtime-exempt professionals. Here, Law360 offers tips for employers to manage workforce changes related to the new regulation.

  • April 29, 2024

    Business Groups Rally Against Independent Contractor Rule

    The U.S. Department of Labor's rule determining whether workers are employees or independent contractors is confusing and lacks reason, a slew of business groups told a Texas federal court, backing the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other entities' bid to nix the rule.

  • April 29, 2024

    Restaurateurs Say DOL Drew Tipped Work 'Line' Unfairly

    The U.S. Department of Labor and two restaurant groups told the Fifth Circuit on Monday that they agreed the department's rule regulating what's tipped and nontipped work "is fundamentally a line-drawing problem," but disagreed on whether that "line" had been drawn appropriately under federal statutes.

  • April 29, 2024

    Ex-Manager Accuses Hallmark Of Retaliation For Wage Claims

    A former manager said he was illegally let go for speaking up about Hallmark's alleged violations of a minimum wage ordinance, telling a California state court Monday that the greeting card giant terminated him for supposedly saying an expletive when profanity use is "embedded in Hallmark's culture."

  • April 29, 2024

    NYC Medical College Asks Court to Toss Unpaid OT Suit

    A Bronx, New York, medical college urged a federal judge to throw out a former research coordinator's proposed class and collective action alleging he and his co-workers worked 45- to 50-hour weeks without overtime wages, saying the ex-worker didn't point to specific weeks in which he failed to receive overtime.

  • April 29, 2024

    Wells Fargo Didn't Pay For Out-Of-Shift Work, Suit Says

    Wells Fargo has for years enforced a companywide policy that denies overtime pay to workers tasked with opening and closing its branches, according to a lawsuit filed by a former employee at one of the bank's Atlanta-area locations.

  • April 29, 2024

    Calif. Judge OKs $1M Deal In Strawberry Pickers' Wage Suit

    A California federal court gave the first sign-off to a $1 million deal that would end hundreds of strawberry pickers' claims that they were forced to work at unsafe speeds for allegedly little pay.

  • April 29, 2024

    DOL Issues Guidance On Using AI In The Workplace

    The U.S. Department of Labor issued guidance Monday on how employers can carefully use artificial intelligence, saying a lack of human eyes could create a domino effect and lead to violations of federal wage and leave laws.

Expert Analysis

  • 2026 World Cup: Companies Face Labor Challenges And More

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    Companies sponsoring or otherwise involved with the 2026 FIFA World Cup — hosted jointly by the U.S., Canada and Mexico — should be proactive in preparing to navigate many legal considerations in immigration, labor management and multijurisdictional workforces surrounding the event, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Avoiding Jurisdictional Risks From Execs' Remote Work

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    Following a California federal court's recent decision in Evans v. Cardlytics — where the case was remanded to state court because the company’s executives worked remotely in California — there are several steps employers can take to ensure they will not be exposed to unfavored jurisdictions, says Eric Fox at Quarles & Brady.

  • Eye On Compliance: Workplace March Madness Pools

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    With March Madness set to begin in a few weeks, employers should recognize that workplace sports betting is technically illegal, keeping federal and state gambling laws in mind when determining whether they will permit ever-popular bracket pools, says Laura Stutz at Wilson Elser.

  • Handbook Hot Topics: Workplace AI Risks

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    As generative artificial intelligence tools penetrate workplaces, employers should incorporate sound AI policies and procedures in their handbooks in order to mitigate liability risks, maintain control of the technology, and protect their brands, says Laura Corvo at White and Williams.

  • Water Cooler Talk: Investigation Lessons In 'Minority Report'

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    Tracey Diamond and Evan Gibbs at Troutman Pepper discuss how themes in Steven Spielberg's Science Fiction masterpiece "Minority Report" — including prediction, prevention and the fallibility of systems — can have real-life implications in workplace investigations.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: February Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses five notable circuit court decisions on topics from property taxes to veteran's rights — and provides key takeaways for counsel on issues including class representative intervention, wage-and-hour dispute evidence and ascertainability requirements.

  • NYC Cos. Must Prepare For Increased Sick Leave Liability

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    A recent amendment to New York City's sick leave law authorizes employees for the first time to sue their employers for violations — so employers should ensure their policies and practices are compliant now to avoid the crosshairs of litigation once the law takes effect in March, says Melissa Camire at Fisher Phillips.

  • Employer Trial Tips For Fighting Worker PPE Pay Claims

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    Courts have struggled for decades to reach consensus on whether employees must be paid for time spent donning and doffing personal protective equipment, but this convoluted legal history points to practical trial strategies to help employers defeat these Fair Labor Standards Act claims, say Michael Mueller and Evangeline Paschal at Hunton.

  • Employer Lessons From NLRB Judge's Union Bias Ruling

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    A National Labor Relations Board judge’s recent decision that a Virginia drywall contractor unlawfully transferred and fired workers who made union pay complaints illustrates valuable lessons about how employers should respond to protected labor activity and federal labor investigations, says Kenneth Jenero at Holland & Knight.

  • 9 Tools To Manage PAGA Claims After Calif. High Court Ruling

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    In Estrada v. Royalty Carpet Mills, the California Supreme Court recently dealt a blow to employers by ruling that courts cannot dismiss Private Attorneys General Act claims on manageability grounds, but defendants and courts can still use arbitration agreements, due process challenges and other methods when dealing with unmanageable claims, says Ryan Krueger at Sheppard Mullin.

  • The 7th Circ.'s Top 10 Civil Opinions Of 2023

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    Attorneys at Jenner & Block examine the most significant decisions issued by the Seventh Circuit in 2023, and explain how they may affect issues related to antitrust, constitutional law, federal jurisdiction and more.

  • Where Justices Stand On Chevron Doctrine Post-Argument

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    Following recent oral argument at the U.S. Supreme Court, at least four justices appear to be in favor of overturning the long-standing Chevron deference, and three justices seem ready to uphold it, which means the ultimate decision may rest on Chief Justice John Roberts' vote, say Wayne D'Angelo and Zachary Lee at Kelley Drye.

  • Calif. High Court Ruling Outlines Limits On PAGA Actions

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    While the California Supreme Court’s ruling last week in Estrada v. Royalty Carpet Mills held that courts cannot dismiss Private Attorneys General Act claims on manageability grounds, the opinion also details how claims can be narrowed, providing a road map for defendants facing complex actions, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.