Many times, plaintiff lawyers will try to file FLSA class actions as nationwide lawsuits so the size of the class and potential recovery can be magnified geometrically. Well, that just got a little harder to do as a federal judge rejected an attempt by a group of Outback Steakhouse front-of-house managers to continue as a
Working Time/Travel Time Case Thrown Out: No Integral Connection to Primary Duty
I have defended many claims and lawsuits involving working time, especially travel time. Employees are continually seeking innovative ways to convert their otherwise non-compensable home-to-work travel into compensable work hours. These efforts often fail, as illustrated by a recent case where Chicago police officers sought pay for transporting and storing their guns and then retrieving
New White Collar Exemption Salary Rises to $35,000 Per Year: Much Ado About Nothing?
It has finally happened! The USDOL has announced that it is setting the new exempt salary threshold for the “white collar” exemptions at about $35,000, about $700 per week. The exact salary is $35,368 annually. This is far lower than the Obama-proposed $47,000 per annum, almost $900 per week. The new salary level takes take
Cannabis Workers Allege Off-the-Clock Violations and Other Employer Misdeeds
Employees of cannabis companies have the same rights as workers who are employed by any other entity. A California cannabis company knowingly withheld wages, meal breaks and rest periods from its employees, according to a lawsuit filed by a former worker who accused the company and a separate marketing firm of violating state labor laws.
Third Circuit Examines FLSA ‘Willfulness’ Standard: ‘Reckless’ vs. ‘Egregious’
The issue of willfulness is very important in FLSA cases because such a finding extends the statute of limitations from two years to three. The standards utilized in making these decisions have been established but their application to particular situations often is difficult. A recent example of this tenet has just emerged in a case
New USDOL Secretary Will Be Big Booster of Business: Here Comes Deregulation
It seems that with the resignation of Secretary Acosta there is going to be a decidedly more pro-business posture for the agency. This is because Patrick Pizzella, who will take over, has let it be known that he will be “hitting the gas” according to Paul DeCamp.
The business community sought (and expected) a great
Joint Employer Angle Gives Interesting Twist to FLSA Truck Driver Collective Action
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