On April 6, 2022, Governor Mike DeWine signed Senate Bill (S.B.) 47, thereby formally adopting Sections 2 and 4 of the Portal-to-Portal Act (PPA) amendments to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). In addition, S.B. 47 incorporates the FLSA’s “opt-in” requirement for individuals seeking to join a class (collective) action based on state law

Katharine C. Weber
Katharine C. Weber is a principal in the Cincinnati, Ohio, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. and co-leader of the firm's Disability, Leave and Health Management (DLHM) practice group. She has successfully assisted countless clients in handling their labor and employment issues in both Ohio and Kentucky.
Katharine has experience litigating wrongful discharge cases; managing discrimination cases; negotiating collective bargaining agreements; representing employers before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and other federal, Ohio and Kentucky agencies; advising management on employment relations; drafting employee handbooks; and negotiating severance agreements.
Katharine regularly advises clients on wage and hour issues. Over the past five years she has served as lead counsel on various wage and hour class and collective actions filed in both Ohio and Kentucky involving claims of misclassification, off the clock work, and other violations for which the plaintiffs claimed to be owed substantial overtime.
Additionally, Katharine is extremely knowledgeable in the area of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Family and Medical Leave Act, and brings sophisticated, yet easy to understand advice on handling and defending against sexual harassment claims. From helping clients analyze options and making recommendations on how to handle employee relations issues, to representing clients in complex discrimination cases, Katharine always provides creative solutions and passionate advocacy for her clients. She is also very involved in the transportation industry and has successfully litigated several cutting-edge employment law cases which have been of great benefit to transportation industry employers.
DOL Withdraws Opinion Letters Regarding Sleeper Berth Time, Independent Contractor Status
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…
Truck Drivers’ Sleeper Berth Time Is Presumptively Not Compensable Under the FLSA, DOL Concludes
In a welcome reversal of its prior guidance, on July 22, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) concluded that if a truck driver, or driver’s assistant or helper, is completely relieved of duty and is provided with adequate sleeping facilities (including the truck’s sleeping berth), the individual is not “working while riding” and therefore…
Toll Road Ahead: Fourth Circuit Rules Mixed-Fleet Interstate Truck Drivers May Be Entitled to Overtime Pay
Despite the overtime exemption provided by the Motor Carrier Act, interstate trucking employers who operate “mixed fleets” – those with vehicles both over and under 10,000 pounds – may owe overtime pay to drivers of the smaller vehicles, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled. Schilling v. Schmidt Baking Co., 2017 U.S. App.…
Ohio Means Business: New Law Prohibits Cities and Counties From Enacting Paid Sick Leave, Predictive Scheduling, and Minimum Wage Laws
Imagine you operate multiple business locations in Columbus, Ohio where 3 counties comprise the city proper and as many as 11 counties comprise the larger Columbus Metropolitan Area. Now imagine that each of those counties adopts their own local ordinance requiring paid sick leave as well as advance notice (and extra pay) to employees before…