Wage and hour cases are showing some interesting trends.  NERA issued a report on November 20, stating that the number of settlements in wage and hour cases in federal and state courts and the aggregate settlement amount in 2013 decreased since 2012, but the median settlement amount has increased.[1]  Some cases I’ve seen recently illustrate this trend.

For example, recently a California car wash company plead no contest to claims including failure pay minimum wages and failure to provide required meal and rest periods. (People v. Wilshire West Car Wash LLC, Cal. Super. Ct., No. 3WA20320, plea entered 11/13/13).  The parties reached a plea agreement to provide full back pay to 75 former and current employees for the three-year period of $656,547.  The complaint alleged several significant claims: that the car wash altered time records to make it appear that workers had worked fewer hours; created false time records to give the appearance that employees had taken meal breaks when they were actually still working; forced employees to pay a regular fee for cable television when they were not even allowed to watch tv while working; forced employees to pay a fee for towel laundering; threatened, harassed and punished employees who questioned the defendants’ unlawful behavior; and failed to give workers the required rest and meal breaks.

Employers should be mindful that penalties for failing violating state and federal wage and hours laws are significant, and can be detrimental for an employer’s business.