I just posted on a travel time case the other day but I have a special fondness for these kinds of cases and enjoy watching the numerous, creative ways that plaintiffs try to convert ordinary travel into working hours, i.e. compensable. In a recent case, a class of employees whose job function was directing traffic
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
Travel Time Class Action Tries To Convert Home-To-Work Travel To Compensable Time
By Mark Tabakman on
Posted in Overtime Issues, Working Time
I have handled many travel time cases and can report, regretfully, that plaintiff-side lawyers are always seeking new and creative ways to make certain kinds of travel time compensable. A new case has been filed on this issue where oil and gas workers claim they are owed overtime for travel between company housing to their…
FLSA Working Through-Lunch Case Gets Dismissed: Another Automatic Lunch Deduction Case Goes Nowhere!
By Mark Tabakman on
Posted in Overtime Issues, Working Time
I have defended many cases in which the employee(s) claim they worked through lunch and are owed wages (or, usually, overtime). These cases are usually difficult to defend unless the employer either compels employees to punch out and in for lunch or has another kind of fail-safe mechanism to account for this time, if legitimately…
FLSA Suit By Domestic Employee-Are The Work Hours Claimed Accurate?
By Mark Tabakman on
Posted in Overtime Issues
Over these last years, there have been a number of lawsuits by domestic employees against their employers and I have defended some of those. They present a unique kind of case as these domestic servants are usually on very close terms with their employers, not the typical employer-employee relationship, but then, something happens and it…
Great Fifth Circuit Decision On Exclusion Of Bonus From Regular Rate Under FLSA
By Mark Tabakman on
Posted in Overtime Issues
I have often blogged about the thorny issue of bonuses under the FLSA and when those bonuses must be included in the regular rate of employees for overtime purposes. The crucial test is whether the bonus is discretionary, meaning it need not be included, or is “promised” to employees, meaning it does have to be…
More USDOL Guidance On Virus Working Time Issues: Tracking Off-the-Clock Time
By Mark Tabakman on
Posted in Working Time
I have written several times about employees working from home, e.g. telecommuting, and how employers must carefully keep track of their hours to avoid unauthorized overtime. There are situations, however, that arise regarding unanticipated work and how employers should track and pay for this. The USDOL has now assisted in this endeavor, as it issued…
Pre-Payment Plans: A Novel Way to Deal With Overtime Issues
By Mark Tabakman on
The FLSA contains a number of provisions that enable employers to manage, if not reduce, overtime costs. One of these is called a pre-payment plan. Under a Pre-Payment Plan, an employer pays anticipated overtime in advance in order to maintain the employee’s wage or salary level constant from pay period to pay period. Excess payments…
USDOL Revises FLSA Section 7(i) Retail Commission Exemption: Long Overdue And Very Welcome!
By Mark Tabakman on
Posted in Exemptions
I have handled a number of cases involving Section 7(i) of the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) which provides an exemption from overtime for commissioned employees working for a so-called retail/service establishment. One of the major hurdles for an employer in claiming the exemption is the necessity to prove that the employer is in a…
The FLSA and Temperature Checks: The Doctrine of “Integral and Indispensable” Comes to the Forefront
By Mark Tabakman on
The other day I went to the eye doctor and, before I could go in, an employee checked my temperature. This phenomenon is going to become perhaps a constant fact of life when businesses open, employees return to work and employers want to be sure that they are virus-free and the workplace is safe. That…
FLSA Settlement Principles Illustrated by Recent Case: A Primer on What Is Appropriate
By Mark Tabakman on
When FLSA lawsuits are settled, the matter must go before a federal judge for approval, as opposed to when a “demand letter” is sent and the parties settle prior to suit. There are many elements that a court must look at to determine if the settlement is appropriate and the recent case of Fritz v…