I always tell clients they must comply with both federal and state law, whatever State they are situate in, that complying with one is not a defense to not complying with the other, tougher, law. A sterling example of this concept has just arisen in a travel time case. Travel time issues are often murky,
FLSA Collective Action Seeks Payment For Time Spent Undergoing COVID Screen: I Don’t Think So!
The issue of payment (or not) for undergoing security checks has been a hot item of late, especially since the US Supreme Court issued its momentous decision in Integrity Staffing Solutions v. Busk. Now, these controversies have taken on a new tweak with COVID-related screenings. In a recent case, a group of workers are
Another Security Line Check Case: The Extent Of The De Minimis Rule Explored
There have been a host of federal cases recently focusing on whether time spent waiting in security lines is compensable. Some have gone for the plaintiffs and others for the employer, as these cases are nuanced and fact-sensitive. A recent example of this genre is a Nike case where the Company will pay $8.25 million
Need For Too Much Individual Scrutiny Defense Fails: A Real Bummer!
The employer who is fighting a collective or class action must make the argument that there is too much of a need for individual scrutiny to allow a class to proceed. There are times that argument works, and times it does not. An Illinois federal Judge has recently conditionally certified a class of logistics workers
Paid Time Off For Getting The Vaccine: States Are Moving Towards That.
I have been asked many times by clients if they need to give employees paid time off in order to get the vaccine. I tell them (in New Jersey) that they are not compelled to do so, but it is a good idea. Some States have gone farther than just suggesting it is a “good
Spring Ahead, Fall Back, Pay Now, Pay Later: Daylight Savings Time And The FLSA
This Sunday was Daylight Savings Time and we pushed the clocks ahead by one hour. This is, on a human level, a welcome event, as it signals winter’s end. Now, I can fling away any vestiges of Seasonal Affective Disorder and turn my attention to outdoor activities. Employers, however, must be vigilant on the particular
Biden DOL Withdrawal Of Trump DOL Opinion Letters Signals Major Pendulum Swing Towards Employees
I have often said that the USDOL is a politically charged industry and its view on legal issues (much like the National Labor Relations Board) shifts with the Administration that is in power. For example, under the prior administration, the agency took a pro-business stance and issued pro-business Opinion Letters on independent contractor and working
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 is automatically deducted from the daily scroll of hours. This is quite understandable, from an operational perspective, as it usually is difficult for employees to
FLSA Working Through-Lunch Case Gets Dismissed: Another Automatic Lunch Deduction Case Goes Nowhere!
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
Many Wage and Hour Issues Arise in Return-to-Work Scenarios From COVID-19
We are seeing states start to re-open and businesses start to come back to life and bring their employees back. There are many difficult economic issues that surround these developments, not the least of which is the continuing need to comply with the Fair Labor Standards Act (and state wage and hour laws). These issues