Archives: Wage and Hour

New Seattle Ordinance Restricts Scheduling Practices

Many of us are familiar with the lyrics of Dolly Parton: “Workin’ 9 to 5, what a way to make a livin’…” A predictable work schedule, however, is not so universal in the retail and food services businesses. For many employers in these industries, work schedules are often issued on short notice as a result … Continue Reading

Labor Department Announces Plan to Find Joint Employment — in All Directions

By Todd Lebowitz on January 26, 2016 Posted in Independent Contractor, Wage and Hour

When I get lost (which is often, say my kids), I turn to a map. Fortunately, I always have my iPhone on me, so the Maps app can generally get me where I am going. The Wage and Hour Division needs no map to find where it wants to go. In a 15-page release dated … Continue Reading

DOL Meets The Far Side, Targets Independent Contractor Relationships

By Todd Lebowitz on July 15, 2015 Posted in Independent Contractor, Uncategorized, Wage and Hour

The all-time best The Far Side cartoon (based on an unscientific survey, sample size of me) is the one with two deer standing in the forest, one with a red circular target imprinted on its chest. The other deer says, “Bummer of a birthmark, Hal.” Poor Hal. Blessed with the ability to walk upright, but … Continue Reading

Alice in Cook County, Illinois: A View Through the Looking Glass at a Ridiculous Wage-Theft Ordinance

By Joel Griswold and John C. McIlwee on February 22, 2015 Posted in FLSA, Wage and Hour

Starting May 1, 2015, employers in Cook County will be subject to a new “Wage-Theft Ordinance” that could lead to employers incurring massive property tax liabilities, business license revocation, and debarment from county contracts. Under the ordinance, local employers will face harsh penalties if they admit guilt or liability or are “adjudicated” to be guilty … Continue Reading

2015 Wage and Hour Law Update for Hospitality Industry Employers in New York

By Adam Seldon on February 11, 2015 Posted in Wage and Hour

This Employment Law Spotlight blog post highlights important changes to New York’s wage and hour laws covering private employers in the hotel and restaurant industries, not including resort hotels. These changes are already in effect and require employers to, among other things, update their employment posters and other documentation. A. Increased Minimum Wage for Non-Exempt … Continue Reading

Latest Scoop From New Jersey on Independent Contractor Misclassification May Cause Employers Brain Freeze

By Todd Lebowitz on January 20, 2015 Posted in Independent Contractor, Retail, Wage and Hour

An ice cream parlor in Dania Beach, Florida, features The Original Kitchen Sink Sundae, which contains up to 30 scoops, plus chocolate syrup, marshmallows, nuts, whipped cream, and a variety of berries. Customers can choose from any of the 38 flavors offered, and this menu item has earned Jaxson’s Ice Cream Parlor plenty of positive … Continue Reading

Changes to New York’s Wage Theft Prevention Act Eliminating the Annual Wage Notice Requirement

By Adam Seldon on January 11, 2015 Posted in Wage and Hour

On December 29, 2014, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a bill that amends the Wage Theft Prevention Act (the “WTPA”) eliminating the burdensome annual wage notice requirement that was previously placed on employers (the “Amendments”). The Amendments also significantly increase penalties for wage payment violations, expand successor and personal liability for wage payment violations, and establish … Continue Reading

New Year, New Colorado Employment Laws

By Nathan A. Schacht on January 7, 2015 Posted in Wage and Hour

As Coloradans rang in 2015, new Colorado employment laws and regulations were also ushered into effect. These laws, all effective January 1, 2015, add protections and generally benefit employees while likely creating new compliance requirements (and, potentially, headaches) for Colorado employers. Colorado Minimum Wage Effective January 1, 2015, Colorado’s minimum wage rose $.23 — to … Continue Reading

President Obama Directs the DOL to Attack FLSA Exemptions

By Joel Griswold and Melissa Siebert on March 17, 2014 Posted in Department of Labor, FLSA, Wage and Hour

Everybody is talking about it – President Obama’s announcement at the end of last week that existing overtime regulations be “modernized” and “streamlined” – but what exactly does this mean? The answer is, only time will tell. In the “Presidential Memorandum” entitled “Updating and Modernizing Overtime Regulations,” the White House states that “regulations regarding exemptions … Continue Reading

As if Employers Needed Another Reminder, Here Are 8.4 Million More Reasons to Get the Tip Credit Right

By Steve Sutton on March 9, 2014 Posted in FLSA, Wage and Hour

A couple of weeks ago, a Philadelphia based sports bar chain entered into a consent order with the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and filed a request with the E.D. Pennsylvania for approval of a separate settlement with individual affected employees who alleged the employer improperly took tips from servers and violated the Fair Labor … Continue Reading

Illinois Supreme Court Upholds One of the Nation’s Strictest Worker Misclassification Laws; Employers May Face Millions of Dollars in Penalties

By Todd Lebowitz on March 2, 2014 Posted in Independent Contractor, Wage and Hour

Worker misclassification is now a bet-the-company issue. On February 21, 2004, the Illinois Supreme Court rejected a constitutional challenge to Illinois’s Employee Classification Act (the “ECA”), a law that defines most individuals who perform construction-related services as employees of the company who retains them, even if the relationship is set up as an independent contractor … Continue Reading

The Supreme Court’s Sandifer Decision and Collective Actions

By BakerHostetler on February 10, 2014 Posted in FLSA, Wage and Hour

Late last month, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its highly anticipated decision in Sandifer v. United States Steel Corp. The Court examined donning and doffing claims, and in the course of doing so, expressed key timekeeping principles in general, which have the potential to affect claims against employers under the Fair Labor Standards Act, including … Continue Reading

Internship Programs: Rite of Passage, or Right to Pay? The Issue Deserves Continued Monitoring by Employers

By Amy J. Traub and Laura Scully on January 23, 2014 Posted in FLSA, Wage and Hour

With the start of the New Year, many employers are gearing up for their internship programs, which often coincide with academic semesters and summer recesses beginning in May. Such programs, though, have become a source of much attention in the media, courts, state and federal agencies, and even legislatures. Front and center in this debate … Continue Reading

Employers Under Continued Fire from Government Agencies and Legislature for Workplace Misclassification

By Jeanine Conley and Amy J. Traub on December 6, 2013 Posted in Department of Labor, DOL, FLSA, Independent Contractor, New York, Wage and Hour

New York has just become the 15th state to formally align its efforts with those of the United States Department of Labor (“DOL”) to crack down on the misclassification of employees as “independent contractors.” New York joins 14 other states (including California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Washington) that have partnered with the DOL to “root out bad … Continue Reading

Certain Deductions Allowed Under New York Labor Law, But Employers Beware

By Amy J. Traub and Laura Scully on October 24, 2013 Posted in New York, Wage and Hour

The New York State Department of Labor (“NYSDOL”) issued final regulations last week governing how employers may make certain types of deductions from employee wages authorized under the New York Labor Law. For years, there were very few exceptions to the Law’s general prohibition on wage deductions. This changed last year, when the New York … Continue Reading

FLSA Care for the Caregivers: New DOL Rule Broadens Minimum Wage and Overtime Protections for Direct Care Workers

By Amy J. Traub and Jeanine Conley on October 4, 2013 Posted in DOL, FLSA, Home Health Workers, Wage and Hour

A final rule issued by the Department of Labor (“DOL”) is to erode significantly a longstanding exemption under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). For nearly 40 years, under the companionship services exemption, home care agencies and other third parties have not had to pay federally required minimum wage and overtime to workers providing home … Continue Reading

Failure to Reimburse California Employees for Business Expenses, Including Mileage, Resulting in Class-Action Litigation

By Nancy Inesta on August 29, 2013 Posted in California, FLSA, Retail, Wage and Hour

In California, there has been an increase in class action litigation against employers for the alleged failure to reimburse employees for business expenses, particularly mileage reimbursement. By way of example, in recent actions filed against prominent retailers, employees allege that they were not reimbursed for mileage and other travel expenses caused by: daily bank deposits, … Continue Reading