The whole trick for a plaintiff (and his lawyers) in a FLSA collective action case is to try to get conditional certification. Once that happens, the stakes automatically escalate for the defendant-employer, often leaving settlement as the most viable and cheapest manner of resolving the case. This process becomes more complicated when there is, as
Democrats Now Want White Collar Exemption Salary Level to Be Much Higher
I blogged last week about the back and forth on the new USDOL proposed salary threshold for exempt status, at approximately $35,000 per year. Well, the Democrats have now spoken on the issue and they propose raising the threshold to approximately $51,000 per year. Another great divide.
The proposed law is entitled the Restoring Overtime
No OT for Hourly Paid Nurses in Offbeat Texas Lawsuit
This is a very interesting case. A group of nurses at a Texas hospital claimed they their employer intended to pay them an annual salary rather than an hourly rate and thus they were owed no back wages. They won in the lower court and appellate court but, now, the Texas Supreme Court has reversed,
Another Automatic Lunch Deduction FLSA Collective Action: How Many Times Does It Have to Happen?
I have blogged numerous times about these automatic lunch deduction cases and have suggested remedies. Yet, these cases proliferate. Another very recent example is that of a hospital that has agreed to pay more than $4,000,000 to settle a FLSA collective action where the workers allege that their employer violated the Fair Labor Standards Act
The Good Faith Defense as a Complete Bar to Wage Claims? Yes, It Is!
When the Department of Labor, whether USDOL or a state agency, issues an Opinion Letter on a certain topic/issue or follows a consistent course of conduct vis-à-vis a particular employer, that employer is allowed to rely on that letter or administrative practice or enforcement policy. The Opinion Letter or consistent practice then acts as a
The USDOL And The Joint Employer Doctrine: The Saga Continues
The USDOL has proposed a new cut-down (watered down?) test for determining when entities are a joint employer. Such a finding leads to the aggregating of employee hours which are worked at both places as well as rendering the entities jointly liable for wage-hour (e.g. overtime) violations.
The focus of the new proposal is a
New DOL Proposed Rule Will Affect What Is included (or Not) in Regular Rate for Overtime Calculation
Even the most well-intentioned employer who wants to comply with the FLSA will have trouble, as there are many gray, nuanced provisions and regulations in this law, especially on overtime computation. One of these is the requirement to include non-discretionary bonuses in the overtime calculation of non-exempt workers. That may now be changing as the
Court Refuses To Award Liquidated Damages in FLSA Collective Action Even After Finding Employer Did Not Pay Proper Overtime
What scares me the most about a USDOL audit or a FLSA lawsuit is the threat of liquidated damages. These damages, which double the wages due, are imposed almost routinely in court cases and are being imposed more and more by the administrative agency. Well, sometimes the pendulum swings the other way, as illustrated by
Another Successful Labor Contract Preemption Defense Prevails in FLSA Collective Action: Defense Practitioners Must Always Look for It!
What do I always say? If an employer is sued in a FLSA action, collective or otherwise, and is unionized, always look for a National Labor Relations Act/Labor Management Relations Act preemption defense. Well, it has happened again! A federal judge has dismissed a collective action alleging that a rehabilitation center did not pay nurses
Issues With the New FLSA OT Rule/Exemption Rules
Now that the new $35,000 per annum overtime rule has been proposed, the commentators have been commenting on the implications. I have read these with great interest. For example, Alexander Passantino, former DOL Wage Hour Division chief, stated that “it just struck me as funny that it’s within $5 per week of the exact midpoint