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
Donning and Duffing Cases Keep Happening: The Danger of Off-The-Clock Activities
Working time cases come in all sizes and shapes. Many of these off-the-clock cases are so-called donning-and-duffing cases involving clothes changing for work and whether it is compensable. The U.S. Department of Labor has weighed in again on this issue. It has filed a lawsuit against a battery company for its alleged failure to pay
A Great Victory! Federal Judge Rules Against Plaintiffs In Off-Duty BlackBerry Use Trial
I have followed this case closely for some time, I blogged in September that I thought the City of Chicago had positioned itself in the most favorable position, with the policies and procedures it had implemented, to win this very large class action. It seems I was right. The federal district court judge has ruled
Apple Workers Denied Class Certification in FLSA Working Time Claim on Security Checks
I often blog about what is and is not working time under the FLSA. Many class actions have been brought on these issues, with some focused on time waiting for security checks. A class of retail workers working for Apple Inc. have sought a ruling that the time they spend having their bags checked at
A (Potentially) Big Time FLSA Blackberry Case Goes To Trial
This has been a protracted lawsuit; I have used this case (for some years now) as an example when I give seminars on working time and these so-called “email cases.” There has been a geometric explosion of cases over the last decade or so
Another FLSA Off-the-Clock Case: Employees Allegedly Ordered Not To Report Time
I have posted numerous times about the dangers of (and the escalation of lawsuits) involving claims of off-the-clock work. Well, here we have yet another example. A $450,000 settlement has now been approved in a case in which admissions representatives at a chain of cosmetology schools claim they were required, under an unwritten policy, to
FLSA Collective Action Certified By NJ Federal Court: Another Dangerous “Electronic” Class Action
In Maddy v General Electric Company, filed in federal court in the District of New Jersey, the plaintiffs brought a collective action pursuant to the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) to recover allegedly unpaid overtime compensation from General Electric Company (“GE”). The theory was unpaid preliminary and postliminary work. The plaintiffs were service technicians for
Supreme Court Ruling on Pre/Post Shift Activities: New Wine in an Old Bottle
I have lectured and presented extensively on what does and does not constitute working time, in the context of preliminary and postliminary activities. The key in such determinations is whether the activity at issue is so connected with the main/major job activity as to make the activity at issue compensable. The US Supreme Court has
When Is It Time For A Wage Hour Audit? Answer—Now!
Better safe than sorry is the old adage. Nowhere is this maxim more applicable than for an employer’s compensation practices, especially on issues of classification, working time, and record keeping protocols and obligations.
In the last several years, there has been an escalation of wage hour lawsuits, single and class action. These cases can be
Travel Time Issues Under the FLSA: An Overview
When is travel time compensable? The focus is on whether an employee is engaged in travel as part of the employee’s principal activity or for the benefit of the employer.
The Basic Rules
• Basic Rule #1: Normal travel from home to work is not work time. This is true whether the employee works