Wage & Hour

  • January 21, 2025

    DOL Pushes To Ax Challenge Against Prevailing Wage Rule

    The U.S. Department of Labor pushed against an effort by two construction groups to ax a final rule updating how prevailing wage rates are calculated under the Davis-Bacon Act, telling a Texas federal court the groups' arguments were rootless and misplaced.

  • January 21, 2025

    Harassment By Workers Upends Retaliation Suit, Farm Says

    A pork farm urged a Tennessee federal court to throw out a lawsuit from the U.S. Department of Labor accusing it of retaliating against two workers who complained to the agency about unpaid wages, saying the workers were disciplined because they harassed their colleagues.

  • January 21, 2025

    Illinois Senate Bill Seeks Income Tax Deduction For Tips

    Illinois would create an income tax deduction for gratuities that are included in a taxpayer's federal adjusted gross income under a bill introduced in the state Senate.

  • January 21, 2025

    Trump Picks Acting DOL Head

     A U.S. Department of Labor staffer and 2016 transition officer will lead the agency until the Senate confirms President Donald Trump's pick for labor secretary, according to the agency.

  • January 21, 2025

    Employment Group Of The Year: Cohen Milstein

    The plaintiff-side law firm Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC snagged over $78 million last year in settlements for workers who'd faced discrimination on the job, including big payouts from both the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the FBI, earning the firm a spot among the 2024 Law360 Employment Groups of the Year.

  • January 21, 2025

    Trump Orders Federal Workers Back To Office

    On his first day back in the Oval Office, President Donald Trump ordered federal workers back to theirs.

  • January 17, 2025

    Law360 Names Practice Groups Of The Year

    Law360 would like to congratulate the winners of its Practice Groups of the Year awards for 2024, which honor the attorney teams behind litigation wins and significant transaction work that resonated throughout the legal industry this past year.

  • January 17, 2025

    Law360 Names Firms Of The Year

    Eight law firms have earned spots as Law360's Firms of the Year, with 54 Practice Group of the Year awards among them, steering some of the largest deals of 2024 and securing high-profile litigation wins, including at the U.S. Supreme Court.

  • January 17, 2025

    4 Tips To Help Employers Address LA Wildfires, Aid Workers

    As wildfires continue to cause extensive damage in Los Angeles, employers in the region face a challenge in maintaining safe workplaces and living up to their legal obligations. Here, management-side experts offer four tips for doing right by workers while staying on the right side of the law.

  • January 17, 2025

    DOL's Subminimum Wage Rule Draws Support, Scrutiny

    The U.S. Department of Labor's proposed rule to end the program allowing employers to pay subminimum wages to workers with disabilities drew polarized opinions as the comment period ended Friday, with supporters arguing it is time to pay those workers fairly and critics saying the rule will limit workers' options.

  • January 17, 2025

    Predictions For Arbitration Carveout, NLRB Legality And More

    In the coming year, the debate over a carveout to federal arbitration requirements for interstate transportation workers is expected to heat up, while challenges to the National Labor Relations Board's constitutionality are set to continue and pay transparency laws will expand to more states. Here, Law360 takes a look at issues experts say are likely to hit the employment law world in 2025.

  • January 17, 2025

    NY Forecast: Second Circuit Hears NYC IT Worker Bias Suit

    This week, the Second Circuit will consider a former New York City IT worker's claim that she faced sexual harassment and discrimination at her job and was ultimately forced from her position in retaliation for complaining.

  • January 17, 2025

    Healthcare Co. Strikes Deal To End Nurse's OT Suit

    A home healthcare services company reached a deal Friday to resolve a former nurse's lawsuit accusing it of failing to pay her overtime wages despite clocking in as many as 240 hours in a two-week period, a filing in Texas federal court said.

  • January 17, 2025

    Duke U. Strikes Deal In Female Scientist's Pay Bias Suit

    Duke University and a female scientist have brokered an agreement to end her suit claiming she was paid less than her male counterparts and was threatened with demotions after complaining about it, according to a Friday filing in North Carolina federal court.

  • January 17, 2025

    High Court FLSA Ruling Should Nix 2-Step Cert., 9th Circ. Told

    Cracker Barrel urged the Ninth Circuit to upend an order granting servers collective status, arguing the U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling that the Fair Labor Standards Act's exemptions do not call for heightened evidence standards shows the two-step process for certifying a collective should be thrown out.

  • January 17, 2025

    Security Cos. Owe Officers OT, Court Told

    Two security companies cheated officers out of overtime by failing to pay them for the preshift and post-shift work they performed donning and removing bulletproof vests and other security gear, a proposed class and collective action claimed in Colorado federal court.

  • January 17, 2025

    Calif. Forecast: $5M Staffing Co. Wage Deal Before Court

    In the next week, attorneys should keep an eye out for potential preliminary approval of a $5.25 million deal to resolve a proposed wage and hour class action against a staffing company. Here's a look at that case and other labor and employment matters coming up in California.

  • January 16, 2025

    Baltimore Court Clerk Can Proceed With Bulk Of Bias Suit

    A Maryland federal judge refused Thursday to toss the bulk of a lawsuit from a Black judiciary clerk, finding she put forward enough details to support her allegations that a circuit court acted out of bias when it suspended her without pay and barred her from earning overtime.

  • January 16, 2025

    Walgreens' $950K Deal Halted In Unreimbursed Expenses Suit

    A $950,000 settlement that would resolve Walgreens workers' claims of unreimbursed expenses cannot proceed, a California federal judge ruled Thursday, taking issue with a release provision tied to two incentive awards, the opt-out time frame and the lack of opportunity to object to the proposed attorney fees.

  • January 16, 2025

    High Court Ruling On FLSA Evidence Standards Brings Clarity

    The U.S. Supreme Court's ruling that the Fair Labor Standards Act's exemptions do not warrant higher evidence standards than what is typical of civil litigation brought clarity and showed the court's commitment to textualism, attorneys say.

  • January 16, 2025

    Biden Prevailed On Wage Policies, But Trump Can Undo Them

    President Joe Biden moved the needle on independent contractors, prevailing wages, minimum pay for certain workers, and other wage and hour issues that appeared in his 2020 plan, but few of those developments carried the enduring weight of legislation. Here, Law360 explores Biden’s wage and hour legacy.

  • January 16, 2025

    FedEx Worker Wage Fight Ruling Likely On Hold

    A Connecticut federal judge said Thursday that she is unlikely to rule on dueling summary judgment motions from FedEx Ground Package System Inc. and a class of workers demanding compensation for the time spent on company security screenings until the Second Circuit hands down its decision in a similar case.

  • January 16, 2025

    9th Circ. Affirms $23.2M Judgment In ICE Detainee Wage Trial

    A split Ninth Circuit panel on Thursday upheld a $23.2 million district court judgment in favor of a class of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees and Washington state, ruling that the GEO Group isn't immune from paying the detainees the state minimum wage for their involvement in a work program.

  • January 16, 2025

    La. Home Care Cos. Owe $844K In DOL Misclassification Suit

    Two Louisiana home care providers will pay more than $844,000 in back wages, damages and fines for misclassifying workers, the U.S. Department of Labor announced Thursday.

  • January 16, 2025

    NC Biz Court Bulletin: Judge Bids Adieu, TikTok Wants Out

    The North Carolina Business Court's former chief judge hung up his robes for the last time as the court entered the new year with a ruling that shapes the fate of beset real estate company MV Realty's consumer fraud trial and arguments by TikTok Inc. that its platform being "too engaging" isn't enough for the state to begin an enforcement action.

Expert Analysis

  • 3 Compliance Reminders For Calif. Employers In 2024

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    As we enter into the new year, several recent updates to California employment law — including minimum wage and sick leave requirements — necessitate immediate compliance actions for employers, says Daniel Pyne at Hopkins & Carley.

  • Compliance Refresher Amid DOL Child Labor Crackdown

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    In light of the Labor Department’s recent announcement of new penalty assessment procedures for child labor law violations, Erica MacDonald and Sylvia Bokyung St. Clair at Faegre Drinker discuss what employers should know about the department’s continued focus on this issue and how to bolster compliance efforts.

  • Top 10 Employer Resolutions For 2024

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    From technological leaps to sea changes in labor policy to literal sea changes, 2024 provides opportunities for employers to face big-picture questions that will shape their business for years to come, say Allegra Lawrence-Hardy and Lisa Haldar at Lawrence & Bundy.

  • Top 10 Whistleblowing And Retaliation Events Of 2023

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and federal and state courts made 2023 another groundbreaking year for whistleblower litigation and retaliation developments, including the SEC’s massive whistleblower awards, which are likely to continue into 2024 and further incentivize individuals to submit tips, say attorneys at Proskauer.

  • Navigating Issues Around NY Freelancer Pay Protection Bill

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    New York’s recently signed Freelance Isn’t Free Act was designed to protect freelance workers, but leaves business to navigate challenges such as unclear coverage, vague contract terms and potentially crushing penalties, says Richard Reibstein at Locke Lord.

  • The Key To Defending Multistate Collective FLSA Claims

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    Federal circuit courts are split on the reach of a court's jurisdiction over out-of-state employers in Fair Labor Standards Act collective actions, but until the U.S. Supreme Court agrees to review the question, multistate employers should be aware of a potential case-changing defense, say Matthew Disbrow and Michael Dauphinais at Honigman.

  • Ill. Temp Labor Rules: No Clear Road Map For Compliance

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    While the delay of a particularly thorny provision of the Illinois temporary worker law will provide some short-term relief, staffing agencies and their clients will still need to scramble to plan compliance with the myriad vague requirements imposed by the other amendments to the act, say Alexis Dominguez and Alissa Griffin at Neal Gerber.

  • Tips For Defeating Claims Of Willful FLSA Violations

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    As employers increasingly encounter wage and hour complaints under the Fair Labor Standards Act, more companies could face enhanced penalties for violations deemed willful, but defense counsel can use several discovery and trial strategies to instead demonstrate the employer’s commitment to compliance, say Michael Mueller and Evangeline Paschal at Hunton.

  • A Gov't Contractor's Guide To Davis-Bacon Prevailing Wages

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    In light of shifting federal infrastructure priorities and recent updates to U.S. Department of Labor regulations, employers should take the time to revisit the basics of prevailing wage requirements for federal contractors under the Davis-Bacon Act and similar laws, says Timothy Taylor at Holland & Knight.

  • Legal Profession Gender Parity Requires Equal Parental Leave

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    To truly foster equity in the legal profession and to promote attorney retention, workplaces need to better support all parents, regardless of gender — starting by offering equal and robust parental leave to both birthing and non-birthing parents, says Ali Spindler at Irwin Fritchie.

  • 1st Circ. Ruling Helps Clarify Test For FLSA Admin Exemption

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    The First Circuit’s recent decision in Marcus v. American Contract Bridge League will help employers navigate the Fair Labor Standards Act's "general business operations" exemption and make the crucial and often confusing decision of whether white collar employees are overtime-exempt administrators or nonexempt frontline producers of products and services, says Mark Tabakman at Fox Rothschild.

  • 3 Employer Strategies To Streamline Mass Arbitrations

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    Workers under arbitration agreements have gained an edge on their employers by filing floods of tedious and expensive individualized claims, but companies can adapt to this new world of mass arbitration by applying several new strategies that may streamline the dispute-resolution process, says Michael Strauss at Alternative Resolution Centers.

  • Employer Takeaways From 2nd Circ. Equal Pay Ruling

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    The Second Circuit 's recent decision in Eisenhauer v. Culinary Institute of America reversed a long-held understanding of the Equal Pay Act, ultimately making it easier for employers to defend against equal pay claims brought under federal law, but it is not a clear escape hatch for employers, say Thelma Akpan and Katelyn McCombs at Littler.