Generally, employee-related liability for US-based employees flows from domestic statutes (such as the FLSA) while liability for employing workers in other countries typically flows from that country’s body of law. In a recent decision, the Seventh Circuit rejected an attempt by civil litigants who performed services overseas for a subsidiary of Firestone Natural Rubber Co. to
seventh Circuit
Two Circuit Courts Expansively Interpret The Administrative Exemption
By Noel P. Tripp on
Posted in Exemptions
The applicability of the FLSA’s “administrative” exemption continues to be a primary issue in a significant percentage of the cases comprising the ongoing wave of wage and hour litigation. Recently, two appellate courts, the Courts of Appeals for the Seventh and Third Circuits, issued new opinions endorsing a broader interpretation of this exemption.
In Verkuilen v. …
Supreme Court Declines Request to Consider Whether Half Time Calculation Is Appropriate Method To Calculate Overtime Due To Misclassified Employees
By Noel P. Tripp on
Posted in Damages
As previously discussed here and here, several Circuit courts have recently upheld use of the “half time” calculation of damages in FLSA misclassification cases. Urnikis-Negro v. Am. Family Prop. Servs., — F.3d. —, No. 08-3117, 2010 U.S. App. LEXIS 16126 (7th Cir. 2010); Desmond v. PNGI Charles Town Gaming, L.L.C., 2011 U.S. App. LEXIS…
Seventh Circuit Upholds Pro-Employer Method of Overtime Calculation for Misclassified Employees
By Noel P. Tripp on
Posted in Damages, Regular Rate
The Fair Labor Standards Act requires employers to pay non-exempt employees one and one half times their regular rate of pay for any hours worked in a workweek in excess of 40. United States Department of Labor regulations, as set forth in 29 C.F.R. § 778.114(a), allow an employer to utilize the fluctuating workweek (“FWW”) method…
Circuit Court Reiterates That State Wage and Hour Laws Need Not Mirror FLSA
By Noel P. Tripp on
Posted in Hours of Work
As discussed here, the FLSA contains a provision relating to the compensability of time spent donning and doffing uniforms, when the compensability of such time is addressed in a collective bargaining agreement. 29 U.S.C. § 203(o). However, even where a unionized employer through a collective bargaining agreement is not required to pay for such time, if…
District Court Finds Commercial Window Washing Company To Be a “Retail or Service Establishment”, But Questions Whether Compensation Received Is a “Commission”
By Noel P. Tripp on
Posted in Exemptions
Litigation regarding what constitutes a “retail or service establishment,” under the “7(i)” or “retail sales” exemption continues. We recently reported a district court decision applying the exemption to employees selling precious metals. See La Parne v. Monex Deposit Co., 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 59768 (C.D. Cal. Apr. 29, 2010). Just a couple of months later…
Supreme Court To Decide Whether Internal Verbal Complaints About Alleged Unpaid Wages Constitute Protected Activity Exposing Employers To Retaliation Claims
By Noel P. Tripp on
Posted in Retaliation
The Supreme Court, on March 22, 2010, agreed to answer a question that has divided the circuit courts of appeal—whether the FLSA retaliation provision protects verbal complaints made by employees or only written ones. The Court will review the Seventh Circuit’s decision in Kasten v. Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Corp., 570 F.3d 834 (7th Cir. 2009)…