Litigation

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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…

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…

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. …

The Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has joined the Second Circuit’s recent opinions requiring plaintiffs in FLSA cases to provide more than generalized allegations regarding hours worked in order to satisfy the the Supreme Court’s Iqbal/Twombly standard (all arising in the medical setting).   Davis v. Abington Mem. Hosp., 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS…

The high volume of FLSA litigation, particularly in jurisdictions such as New York and Florida, has in recent years forced many small businesses truly outside the scope of FLSA coverage to defend lawsuits brought pursuant to its minimum wage and overtime provisions.  Typically, these smaller employers attempt to address the issue of coverage early…

Employees may have an understanding of their own “work week” for various employment purposes based on different business practices or employer scheduling.  However, with respect to calculating hours worked for purposes of determining overtime pay under the FLSA, DOL regulations simply require that an employer designate and use a standard work week for a given…

On March 22, 2014, Maryland’s highest court issued a new ruling regarding the scope of an employee’s right to file a lawsuit for unpaid wages under the Maryland Wage Payment and Collection Law (the “MWPCL”), Maryland’s principal wage payment statute.  In Marshall v. Safeway, the Maryland Court of Appeals held that an employee may…

Reviewing a district court’s dismissal of FLSA claims which were not timely filed within the FLSA’s two-year limitations period for non-willful violations, the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit found no error in the lower court’s two findings that: 1) plaintiff failed to create a question of fact as to willfulness in order to…