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 … Continue Reading
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
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
Last week, an Indiana federal court dismissed a lawsuit brought by former University of Pennsylvania (“Penn”) athletes against the National Collegiate Athletic Association (“NCAA”) and a number of its member schools over their alleged employment status and corresponding minimum wage protection under the FLSA. Berger, et al. v. NCAA, et al., S.D. Ind., No. 1:14-CV-01710, … 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
This month, two New York federal judges reviewing a claim of misclassification rejected a claim for overtime compensation, agreeing that a business properly classified two translators as independent contractors rather than as “employees” under the Fair Labor Standards Act and the New York Labor Law. See Mateo v. Universal Language Corp., 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS … Continue Reading
Another Court has joined those holding providers of content to online portals are not employees within the meaning of wage-and-hour laws. Joining a decision from the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, which rejected a claim brought by Huffington Post bloggers several years ago, Judge Richard Seeborg of the Northern District of California has … 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
As with the recent uptick in state and municipal paid leave laws, employers in multiple jurisdictions now find themselves faced with a similar national bandwagon in favor of increased state and municipal minimum wage requirements, highlighted by the Los Angeles City Council’s recent decision to ratify a proposal moving that City’s minimum wage to $15 … Continue Reading
Responding to the Governor’s directive, Acting State Labor Commission Mario J. Musolino has empaneled a Wage Board to recommend a minimum wage increase for the fast food industry. Commissioner Musolino issued a determination regarding the inadequacy of the current minimum wage which states, “I am of the opinion that a substantial number of fast food … 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
Visit the Jackson Lewis Workplace Resource Center here for a detailed analysis of the New Jersey Supreme Court’s decision in Hargrove v. Sleepy’s, LLC, 2015 N.J. LEXIS 38 (N.J. Jan. 14, 2015), finding the “ABC test” for contractor status applicable to claims brought under New Jersey state wage statutes.… 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
In a setback for that state’s thriving adult entertainment business, the Nevada Supreme Court yesterday ruled that Sapphire Gentleman’s Club improperly classified its 6000+ semi-nude performers as independent contractors rather than employees under Nevada’s minimum wage law. Terry et al. v. Sapphire Gentlemen’s Club et al., case number 59214, 10/30/14. The Nevada court, citing policy … Continue Reading
As the debate over the minimum wage and the role tip income should play in satisfying the minimum wage obligation for tipped employees continues on the federal and state level, a restaurant in Minnesota recently joined the fray. Rather than raise prices gradually in response to the recent increase to the Minnesota state minimum wage, … Continue Reading
The term “severance pay,” is often used loosely, sometimes mixing together potential obligations under the law with those under employer policies, collective bargaining agreements or benefits plans. In many states, such as New York, there is no obligation to give severance as a matter of state labor law. See generally Glenville Gage Co. v. Industrial … Continue Reading
