Wage & Hour

  • January 08, 2026

    Driver Wage Suit Paused Over Similar High Court Case

    A truck driver's lawsuit accusing a food company and its subsidiaries of misclassifying employees as independent contractors will be paused while the U.S. Supreme Court weighs in on a similar dispute involving the same company, a Connecticut federal judge ruled.

  • January 08, 2026

    Colo. Judge Tosses Banker's Cancer-Leave Suit Against UMB

    A Colorado federal judge granted an early win to UMB Financial Corp. over a banker's claims that the company discriminated and retaliated against her by denying her leave to recover from chemotherapy treatments, ruling that her request for nine months' leave is "presumptively unreasonable."

  • January 08, 2026

    DOL Moves Forward To Toss Biden's Contractor Rule

    The U.S. Department of Labor's proposed rule to undo a Biden-era regulation on whether workers are employees or independent contractors under the Fair Labor Standards Act has reached the White House's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs.

  • January 08, 2026

    Cracker Barrel Servers Tell Justices To Avoid Collective Row

    Cracker Barrel servers urged the U.S. Supreme Court not to take up the restaurant's chain's bid to review evidentiary standards used to authorize collective action notices, arguing that no circuit split exists because the Ninth Circuit ruled on the permissibility of a two-step certification process and not required showings for notice authorization.

  • January 08, 2026

    DOL Recovered $259M In Back Wages In FY 2025

    The U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division said Thursday it recovered more than $259 million in back wages for about 177,000 employees in fiscal year 2025, the highest recovery since 2019.

  • January 08, 2026

    Amazon Drivers Can Keep Wage Suit In Court, Calif. Panel Says

    Amazon cannot ship to arbitration six drivers' individual claims under California's Private Attorneys General Act that they were misclassified as independent contractors, a state appeals court has ruled, agreeing with a trial court that their last-mile deliveries were part of an uninterrupted interstate trip.

  • January 08, 2026

    Miss. Jail Stopped Pay After Defunding Vote, Suit Says

    A Mississippi county detention center failed to pay its workers following a board of supervisors vote to temporarily defund the facility, according to a proposed class action filed in federal court.

  • January 08, 2026

    Collective Wage Certifications Slowed In 2025, Report Says

    Collective certification orders in wage and hour cases slowed down in 2025, likely as a result of arbitration agreements and the several certification standards that courts introduced in recent years, according to an annual class action review released by Duane Morris LLP.

  • January 08, 2026

    Haynes Boone Adds Perkins Coie Employment Pro In Dallas

    Haynes Boone has bolstered its labor and employment practice with the addition of an experienced Dallas-based partner who came aboard after more than a decade with Perkins Coie LLP.

  • January 07, 2026

    Trader Asks Wary Colo. Appeals Court To Award $10M Penalty

    A Colorado appellate panel pushed back Wednesday on an ex-trading director's bid for a $10 million statutory penalty against his former employer following a $6.8 million judgment against the natural gas marketing company for failing to pay him a bonus on lucrative trades made during a 2021 winter storm.

  • January 07, 2026

    Ill. Poultry Processor Improperly Calculates OT, Suit Says

    A former Koch Foods employee in Ohio has hit the Illinois-based poultry processor with a proposed collective wage dispute in Chicago federal court, claiming the company has illegally short-changed its workers by failing to factor their nondiscretionary bonus pay into its overtime wage calculations.

  • January 07, 2026

    Mamdani Expected To Shift NYC Wage Policies

    New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has management-side attorneys bracing for potential shifts in wage and hour law, including a minimum wage hike, while worker advocates are already celebrating the new administration’s announcements and appointments. Here are wage and hour issues to watch from the new mayor.

  • January 07, 2026

    Philadelphia Settles Cops' OT Suit 6 Days Before Trial

    A group of mid-ranking officers in Philadelphia's police department have settled an overtime lawsuit against the city and the department's leaders, less than a week before it could have gone to trial.

  • January 07, 2026

    Ga. Health Clinic, Ex-Aide Reach Deal In Wage Fight

    A Georgia mental health clinic and a former aide have reached a tentative agreement that, if approved, would end the ex-aide's suit alleging she was forced to resign last year after the clinic refused to hand over thousands in unpaid overtime.

  • January 07, 2026

    Mo. Restaurant To Pay $850K To End DOL Wage Suit

    A Missouri restaurant will pay $850,000 to end a U.S. Department of Labor suit alleging it stiffed more than two dozen workers on their full wages, according to a filing in federal court.

  • January 07, 2026

    Packaged Grains Co. To Pay $350K In Wage Row

    A packaged grains company will pay $350,000 to settle a suit in which workers claimed that the entity failed to properly pay wages and provide meal and rest breaks, as a California federal judge gave the deal final approval.

  • January 07, 2026

    DOL Clarifies How OT Factors Into Bonus Payments

    The bonuses a worker in waste management earned were not discretionary and therefore needed to be included in overtime calculations, and a social worker didn't stop being overtime-exempt when supervisory work ceased, the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division said among other guidance included in several opinion letters.

  • January 07, 2026

    Disney, Staffing Co. Stiffed Worker On OT, Suit Says

    Disney's theme park design arm and a staffing firm failed to pay a former IT project manager overtime premiums even though he regularly worked more than 40 hours a week, a lawsuit brought in Florida federal court says.

  • January 07, 2026

    Domino's Franchisee Can't Estimate Vehicle Costs, Court Says

    A Domino's franchisee must reimburse its drivers based on the actual costs of their vehicle expenses, not a reasonable approximation, to ensure that their pay does not fall below minimum wage requirements, a New Mexico federal judge ruled.

  • January 06, 2026

    Amazon Nears Deal With Flex Drivers In Tip Skimming Suit

    Amazon and a group of Flex delivery drivers told a Seattle federal judge Tuesday they've reached an agreement in principle to resolve a 2021 putative class action accusing the e-commerce giant of withholding tips, prompting the court to pause the case pending a final settlement.

  • January 06, 2026

    Tyson Foods Tries To Pare Down Meat Packer's Wage Claims

    Tyson Foods Inc. is asking a Washington federal judge to throw out the bulk of a proposed wage and hour class action, arguing that the plaintiff's amended complaint is too short on details to proceed.

  • January 06, 2026

    3rd Circ. Backs DOL In Home Healthcare Wage Case

    The Third Circuit upheld a $1 million judgment against home health company WiCare Home Care Agency LLC Tuesday, finding it was within the secretary of labor's power to write regulations keeping "third-party employers" subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act and not exempt under a provision for "companionship services."

  • January 06, 2026

    NYC Hospital Network, Co. Fight Class Cert. In Wage Suit

    NYC Health and Hospitals workers weren't subject to a single policy that violated federal law, the hospital network and a staffing company told a New York federal court, urging it to reject the workers' bid for collective certification in their wage suit.

  • January 06, 2026

    New Year Brings Wage Law Changes Across US

    Wage and hour updates took effect across the United States on New Year's Day, including pay disclosure requirements in Oregon, a ban on stay-or-pay contract provisions in California, and minimum wage increases in more than a dozen states. Here, Law360 takes a look at the laws and wage floors the new year ushered in.

  • January 06, 2026

    Employment Trio Joins Ogletree In California, Oregon

    Ogletree Deakins Nash Smoak & Stewart PC announced Tuesday that the labor and employment firm has added three experienced shareholders to bolster its efforts in California and Oregon.

Expert Analysis

  • 2026 World Cup: Companies Face Labor Challenges And More

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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'

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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.