Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, thousands of pandemic-related lawsuits, including hundreds of putative class or collective actions, have been filed — and the number continues to grow. A large percentage of those lawsuits involve wage and hour claims, centered around issues including, but not limited to, failure to pay for pre-work COVID-19 screening and testing
Litigation
State Plaintiffs Urge Fifth Circuit to Affirm Nationwide Injunction Blocking DOL Overtime Rule
In the latest round in the litigation between 21 States, led by the State of Nevada, and the Department of Labor regarding the Final Rule, the State Plaintiffs filed their appeal brief today with the Fifth Circuit, urging the Court to affirm the district court’s order, which issued a nationwide injunction blocking the rule. “As …
Sen. Sanders, Other Members of Congress, File Amicus Brief in Support of DOL Salary Basis Regulation
Sen. Bernie Sanders, along with twenty-five other members of Congress, have filed an amicus brief in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals urging the Court to reverse the injunction issued by a Texas federal judge enjoining enforcement of the Department of Labor’s recent increase to the salary basis threshold for the white collar exemptions under…
Federal Court In Florida Is Latest To Reject DOL Regulation, Finds FLSA Does Not Require That Employees Receiving Full Minimum Wage Retain All Tips
While Department of Labor regulations interpreting the FLSA remain the primary source of employer guidance regarding the Act’s requirements, they are not necessarily the final word on what federal wage law requires. This is so even where they have been subject to “notice and comment,” triggering a higher level of judicial deference. A federal court…
First Circuit: FAAAA Preempts Massachusetts’ Contractor Law
On February 22, 2016, the First Circuit issued its decision in Schwann v. Fedex Ground Package System, Inc. This decision clarified the extent to which the Massachusetts Independent Contractor statute, G.L. c. 149 § 148B (“§ 148B”), as applied to motor carriers, is preempted by the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994, 49…
Second Circuit Affirms “Supervision” Doctrine Vis a Vis FLSA Settlements
Bringing some degree of clarity to the murky question of whether parties can dismiss a pending FLSA lawsuit on their own volition, the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has ruled that any dismissal with prejudice requires “the approval of the district court or the DOL to take effect.” Cheeks v. Freeport Pancake House…
Fifth Circuit Narrows Its Holding Regarding Waiver of FLSA Claims Without Supervision
In 2012, the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that union members who worked on a film shoot and later brought FLSA claims subsequently waived those claims through a private agreement between their union and the production company. Martin v. Spring Break ’83 Productions, L.L.C., 688 F.3d 247 (5th Cir. 2012).…
Utah’s Highest Court Finds LLC Managers Were Not Employers Under State Wage Law
When small entrepreneurial ventures collapse, disputes sometimes arise regarding who constituted an “employee” of the business and whether they were paid proper wages. As the venture has failed, the issue of individual liability often is raised. In a new decision, Utah’s highest court clarifies that Managers of a limited liability company are not liable for…
Florida Judge Holds That Oyster Shucking Not Part of “Agriculture” For The Purposes Of Migrant Workers’ Act
The Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, 29 U.S.C. § 1801 et seq. (“AWPA”), provides certain protections to guest workers employed through the federal H-2B program. This week, Judge Richard Smoak of the Northern District of Florida rejected a claim from workers employed pursuant to such program that their employment shucking oysters was…
Brooklyn Federal Court Judge Reiterates And Expands on Prior Opinion Regarding Plaintiff’s Attorneys’ Fees
As the volume of FLSA litigation remains high, an impediment to resolving such cases (even where the underlying claimant’s wage claim already has been resolved) is the issue of the appropriate fee to be paid to counsel representing the worker pursuant to the fee shifting provision of the FLSA and/or applicable state labor law. …