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The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit recently affirmed the dismissal of a plaintiff’s Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and New York Labor Law (NYLL) overtime pay claims in federal court, after she previously had obtained relief for substantially similar claims in small claims court. Simmons v. Trans Express, Inc., 2021…

Upholding a jury verdict in favor of the defendant “black car” (limousine service) company, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit concluded that the plaintiff-employee was properly classified as overtime-exempt under both the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and New York Labor Law (NYLL). Suarez v. Big Apple Car, Inc., 2020 U.S.…

Concluding that it too broadly defined “employer” and raised a myriad of due process concerns that subjected it to risks of unconstitutionality, on December 31, 2019, Governor Andrew Cuomo vetoed a bill that would have allowed a current or former employee (or the New York State Department of Labor), alleging “wage theft” by an employer,…

Employers in New York currently are permitted to pay tipped workers a direct cash wage that is below the State minimum wage and take a “credit” for some of the tips received by employees to satisfy the difference between the cash wage paid and the full minimum wage.  For example, in New York City beginning…

Citing the need “to preserve the status quo, prevent the collapse of the home healthcare industry, and avoid institutionalizing patients who could be cared for at home,” the New York Department of Labor (NYDOL) has issued emergency regulations to ensure consistency with longstanding opinion letters issued by the Department and to clarify that time spent…

The New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) has appealed the Industrial Board of Appeals decision that invalidated and revoked final regulations issued by the NYSDOL which would have significantly restricted the use of payroll debit cards and imposed new disclosure and consent requirements for direct deposit.  The regulations (12 NYCRR §192) were to become…

In October 2015, New York amended its equal pay law making it unlawful for an employer to prohibit employees from inquiring about, discussing, or disclosing their wages or the wages of other employees.  N.Y. Lab. Law § 194(4).  The law reflects the belief that if employees can openly discuss their wages (including knowledge regarding the…

On January 9, 2017, New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo issued an executive order aimed at ensuring pay equity. The executive order prohibits the State from asking job applicants about their current or previous compensation history until a conditional offer of employment with compensation has been extended.

Such measures have become increasingly popular in employee-friendly…

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…

Last year, a Manhattan federal district judge reviewed a decision of a federal bankruptcy court and held that Lehman Brothers was not required to pay a $350,000 performance bonus referenced in the offer letter of a prospective employee who never provided services. In doing so, the Court observed that the Firm terminated the contractual relationship…