Though the Department of Labor currently is revisiting certain aspects of the FLSA, one aspect that remains unchanged is that “enterprise coverage” of a business under the Act attaches where the business has “employees engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce” and has “annual gross volume of sales made or
enterprise coverage
Brooklyn Federal Court Finds Local Establishment Not Covered by FLSA
By Noel P. Tripp on
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…
Eleventh Circuit Affirms: No Individual Coverage of “Local” Painter of Pleasure Boats
By Noel P. Tripp on
Posted in Coverage
While FLSA coverage—both so-called “enterprise” based coverage and individual coverage of a specific worker—remains broad, such coverage generally does not extend to individuals who do not work for a covered enterprise and do not “directly participate in the actual movement of persons or things in interstate commerce.” In reviewing a trial court decision, the Court…
District of Columbia Federal Court Rules Trade Association Not FLSA Enterprise
By Noel P. Tripp on
Posted in Coverage
As we recently discussed, there are exceptions to the FLSA’s broad coverage provisions. One such FLSA exception pertains to organizations—often not-for-profits—which are not “enterprises”, defined as a person or persons performing related activities “for a common business purpose.” A recent decision from the United States District Court for the District of Columbia is instructive as the…
New York Judge Concludes That Employer with One Employee Not Covered by FLSA
By Noel P. Tripp on
Posted in Coverage
While the FLSA’s coverage is broad, it does not extend to all employment scenarios. In a new decision addressing the common employment scenario where a building owner employs a single worker to serve as a janitor and handle miscellaneous tasks, Magistrate Judge Ramon E. Reyes of the Eastern District of New York ruled that such…
New York Judge: Employee’s Sporadic Use of Credit Card Machine Insufficient to Establish Individual Coverage Under FLSA
By Noel P. Tripp on
Posted in Coverage
When small and medium-sized businesses are sued under the Fair Labor Standards Act, a common litigation issue is whether or not the defendant-employer – or the plaintiff-employee – is covered under the Act, through either its broad “enterprise coverage” or “individual coverage” of the worker’s employment. Where enterprise coverage is not present, typically because the…
District Court Orders Trial To Determine Whether Local Towing Company Is Covered “Enterprise” Under FLSA
By Noel P. Tripp on
Posted in Coverage
Enterprise coverage under the Fair Labor Standards Act is broadly defined, seeking to include in its expansive definition of FLSA covered employers substantially all businesses with greater than $500,000 in gross revenues which have “employees engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce, or that have employees “handling, selling, or otherwise working …
Eleventh Circuit Clarifies Scope of FLSA Enterprise Coverage
By Noel P. Tripp on
Posted in Coverage
As FLSA and other wage lawsuits continue to be prevalent, one threshold issue that often arises with small and/or local businesses, as well as non-profit entities, is whether the employer is an enterprise covered by the FLSA. This issue is relevant because in order for the FLSA to be applicable, either the individual employee must be…