As a general rule, employee expense reimbursements are not includible in the regular rate for purposes of overtime computation. When the reimbursements, however, are unreasonable or out of whack (i.e.
Continue Reading Disturbing Ninth Circuit Holding On Inclusion Of Per Diem Expense Reimbursement In FLSA Regular Rate
collective action
Fifth Circuit Issues New Test For Determining Conditional Certification in FLSA Collective Actions: I Am Giddy!

I have often lamented how easy it seems for plaintiffs to secure conditional certification in a FLSA collective action. A few Affidavits, often identical in content, are produced and then,…
Continue Reading Fifth Circuit Issues New Test For Determining Conditional Certification in FLSA Collective Actions: I Am Giddy!
Bah, Humbug! Hospital Hit With Another Of The FLSA Collective Actions On Missed Lunches
The health care industry seems to be ground zero for a particular kind of class action lawsuit. Many of these health care institutions have policies where a thirty-minute lunch period…
Continue Reading Bah, Humbug! Hospital Hit With Another Of The FLSA Collective Actions On Missed Lunches
FLSA Joint Employer Doctrine At Issue In Health Care Industry Overtime Class Action: A Warning To That Industry!
In FLSA cases, plaintiff lawyers are always looking for a deep pocket and one of the avenues they use towards this “goal” is the joint employer doctrine. That doctrine allows…
Continue Reading FLSA Joint Employer Doctrine At Issue In Health Care Industry Overtime Class Action: A Warning To That Industry!
Payroll Audit Independent Determination Program Is a Bust… for an Obvious Reason!
When the USDOL self-reporting program was announced, I was highly skeptical. Even though there seemed to be assurances that no undue enforcement actions would be taken, it just did not…
Continue Reading Payroll Audit Independent Determination Program Is a Bust… for an Obvious Reason!
Pandemic Instigates First of (Probably) Many Lawsuits on Wage Payment
Well, here we are, still in the midst of this horrible COVID-19 pandemic, staying home, scared to go out, wearing masks and gloves, but yet, the first lawsuit(s) involving virus…
Continue Reading Pandemic Instigates First of (Probably) Many Lawsuits on Wage Payment
Flimsy Affidavit From Named Plaintiff Insufficient to Secure Conditional Certification in FLSA Collective Action: A Case for Sanity!
It seems that plaintiffs (and their lawyers) think that all they have to do to get conditional certification is throw up a flimsy Affidavit from the named plaintiff and the…
Continue Reading Flimsy Affidavit From Named Plaintiff Insufficient to Secure Conditional Certification in FLSA Collective Action: A Case for Sanity!
Judge Signals Change on Certification Decision and Then Case Quickly Settles
It is fairly easy for a plaintiff to get conditional certification in a FLSA class action case, but that is not the end of the story. The next step, much…
Continue Reading Judge Signals Change on Certification Decision and Then Case Quickly Settles
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…
Continue Reading Joint Employer Angle Gives Interesting Twist to FLSA Truck Driver Collective Action
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…
Continue Reading Another Automatic Lunch Deduction FLSA Collective Action: How Many Times Does It Have to Happen?