In March 2021, then-Governor Ralph Northam (D), backed by a full Democratic majority in the General Assembly (Virginia’s legislative body), signed the Virginia Overtime Wage Act, greatly expanding the State’s overtime requirements effective July 1, 2021. Prior to the Act, Virginia adopted the overtime requirements of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
During the…
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…
Although it may have intended for a customer charge to be treated as an administrative overhead fee separate from gratuities paid to its employees, a country club’s reference to the amount as a “service charge” in some documents necessarily required that the amount retained be paid to the employees, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts…
Although the employer’s pay system for its auto repair technicians was complicated and at times redundant, it nevertheless constituted a bona fide commissions compensation method subject to exemption from the overtime pay provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has held. Reed v. Brex, Inc., 2021 U.S.…
In a significant victory for California employers, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently reversed a $102 million award against Walmart, in a suit alleging that the retailer violated the California Labor Code’s wage statement and meal-break provisions. Magadia v. Wal-Mart Associates, Inc., 2021 U.S. App. LEXIS 16070 (9th Cir. May…
Answering the first of two certified questions from an Alaska federal court and overturning nearly 30-year-old precedent, the Alaska Supreme Court has held that an employer need only establish an exemption under the Alaska Wage and Hour Act by a “preponderance of the evidence,” rather than “beyond a reasonable doubt.” Buntin v. 00073 Tmb Schlumberger…
On May 20, 2021, Governor Dan McKee signed an amendment to Rhode Island law that will see the Ocean State’s minimum wage increase to $15.00 per hour by 2025. Beginning January 1, 2022, Rhode Island’s minimum wage will increase from its current $11.50 to $12.25. On January 1, 2023, it will increase to $13.00 and…
Wage and hour claims, particularly those asserting class or collective violations, comprise a significant percentage of employment law claims across the country, and Wisconsin is no exception. Improper rounding and other timecard policies frequently are the culprit in such claims against employers.
Wage and hour lawsuits, whether individual or class/collective action in nature, typically are…
Continuing its early pattern of reversing positions adopted during the former administration, on February 19, 2021 the Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) withdrew two more Opinion Letters. The first, Opinion Letter FLSA2019-6, addressed whether service providers for a virtual market company were properly classified as independent contractors or…
The laws governing wages and hours of work affect nearly everyone. How employees are paid, whether as hourly non-exempt, salaried-exempt, tipped, or commissioned sales workers, and how much they are paid, are questions of deep interest to employees and employers alike. And because the laws regulating wages generally apply only to employees, as opposed to…
