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 … Continue Reading
On July 26, 2016, Judge William S. Duffey of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia issued a decision holding that an employer does not have to ensure tipped employees retain all of their tips if the company is not using the employee’s tips to satisfy part of the minimum wage … Continue Reading
San Diego, California has become the latest municipality to add minimum wage and paid sick leave requirements for city employers. Full coverage is available here.… Continue Reading
Over the past few years, numerous states and municipalities have increased the statutory minimum wage. Further, through Executive Order, President Obama increased the federal minimum wage applicable to federal contractors. Consistent with this trend, the governors of both California and New York have now reached new legislative deals with their respective legislative branches which provide … Continue Reading
Last week, Oregon joined New York, Los Angeles, Birmingham, Seattle and others on the list of states and municipalities continuing to push for a higher minimum wage in the face of stalled federal rulemaking. In Alabama, the state quickly blocked Birmingham’s efforts. Full coverage of the Oregon law is available here.… Continue Reading
As covered on the Jackson Lewis web site here, Santa Monica (CA) has joined the City of Los Angeles and other municipalities in enacting a minimum wage and paid sick leave statute. Absent a change or legal challenge, the minimum wage schedule set forth in the new ordinance takes effect on July 1, 2016.… Continue Reading
As discussed in detail on the Jackson Lewis web site, the Birmingham City Council – attempting to push through a wage increase within the municipality ahead of rule-making at the state level designed to preempt such city laws – has passed an ordinance increasing the minimum wage within city limits to $10.10 effective immediately. Full … Continue Reading
In an eight-page decision dated today, New York’s Industrial Board of Appeals (the “IBA,” an arm of the state Department of Labor) upheld the Commissioner of Labor’s Fast Food Wage Order. In so doing, the IBA rejected challenges to the Order from the National Restaurant Association based on: 1) the composition of the Fast Food … Continue Reading
Joining decisions from other parts of the country, a California federal judge has held that former cosmetology and “hair design” students were not “employees” under the Fair Labor Standards Act or the wage-and-hour laws of California and Nevada entitled to minimum wage. Benjamin v. B & H Education, Inc., et al., 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS … Continue Reading
As New York’s hospitality industry prepares for a reduced tip credit and a fast food minimum wage, one New York restaurateur has announced its intention to eliminate tipping and thus, by extension, use of the tip credit: New York City’s Danny Meyer. This lengthy Eater feature discusses Meyer’s audacious new Hospitality Included program, noting the … Continue Reading
Today, Acting Commissioner of Labor Mario Musolino adopted the Fast Food Wage Board’s July recommendations, in an Order available here. The Order takes effect within thirty days of its publication in ten New York newspapers. Employers covered – or arguably covered – by the definition of “Fast Food Establishment” contained in the Wage Board’s recommendations … Continue Reading
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit today ruled that the U.S. Department of Labor’s decision to reverse its prior position and extend the FLSA’s minimum wage and overtime protections to employees of third-party agencies who provide companionship services and live-in care within a home was a reasonable interpretation of the law. The … Continue Reading
In prior posts, we have summarized the New York State Department of Labor’s most recent rulemaking processes, comprised of two separate wage boards. The first, in 2014, addressed the hospitality industry as a whole, while more recently, in 2015, another highly publicized wage board addressed the subset of that industry deemed “fast food.” Employers should … Continue Reading
In accordance with the Ninth Circuit and several other federal court rulings, the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit yesterday held that an employee cannot bring a claim for wages based on allegedly misappropriated gratuities under the FLSA unless the employer used the tip credit set forth in 29 U.S.C. § 203(m). Trejo v. Ryman … Continue Reading
In a televised meeting this afternoon, New York’s recently-convened Fast Food Wage Board confirmed industry employers’ fears and announced its unanimous recommendation that the wage for “fast food employees” in “fast food establishments” be increased to $15/hour by December 31, 2018 in New York City and by July 1, 2021 in the rest of New … Continue Reading
In an op/ed piece appearing in yesterday’s New York Times, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced he would direct the Commissioner of Labor to convene a new Wage Board “to examine the minimum wage in the fast-food industry” in New York state. The Commissioner’s announcement follows on the heels of a separate op/ed suggesting this … Continue Reading
Last week, a Pennsylvania federal judge held that a former cosmetology school student was not entitled to minimum wage as an “employee” under the Fair Labor Standards Act or the Pennsylvania Wage Payment and Collection Law. Jochim v. Jean Madeline Educ. Ctr. of Cosmetology, Inc., 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 45663 (E.D. Pa. Apr. 8, 2015). … Continue Reading
In one of the most comprehensive circuit court opinions to address application of Section 207(i) of the FLSA—the provision of the law that allows employers to comply with the overtime provisions of the FLSA by paying commissioned employees of a retail or service establishment at least 1.5 times the minimum wage, instead of their regular … Continue Reading
The Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit recently revisited the Department of Labor’s four-part test for purposes of determining whether a person qualifies as a “public service volunteer.” In a new decision applying the Second Circuit’s fact-intensive standard, Southern District of New York Judge Jesse M. Furman ruled in favor of the City of … Continue Reading
In New York, the cash wage due to tipped workers will increase to $7.50 at the end of the year, following an Order from acting Commissioner of Labor Mario Musolino. Commissioner Musolino accepted this recommendation from the Wage Board convened by his predecessor. This order will reduce the tip credit to $1.50/hour off the minimum … Continue Reading
As reported by our colleagues at the New York State Restaurant Association, the current Wage Board, convened to examine the state of the tip credit under New York law, today voted on, but ultimately rejected, a motion to eliminate the tip credit entirely. Tip credits under federal and state wage laws permit an employer to … Continue Reading
Whether a function of recent legislation or a rule tying the minimum wage to inflation, the minimum wage will increase in more than a dozen states in the new year, as it did last year. These changes impact workers at or near the minimum wage (including, in many cases, tipped workers), and also impact other … Continue Reading
Click here for a summary of the wage rate changes triggered by the previously-scheduled December 31, 2014 increase to the New York minimum wage.… Continue Reading
Demoralized by the attendant costs of litigation and a shifting compliance environment in numerous jurisdictions, many hospitality industry employers have resolved wage-and-hour lawsuits brought in New York City and elsewhere over the last number of years. Bucking this trend, one such employer recently successfully defended its wage practices at trial. Mendez v. Int’l Food House, … Continue Reading
