Wage and Hour Defense Blog

As we wrote here recently, organizations representing freelance journalists and photographers filed suit seeking to enjoin enforcement of California’s controversial independent contractor statute, AB 5, as to them.

While they are not the only ones challenging the new law, their suit is not off to a promising start.

While a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order (“TRO”) to enjoin AB 5 as it applies to independent truckers,  U.S. District Court Judge Philip Gutierrez in Los Angeles denied the freelance journalists and photographers’ request for a TRO on January ...

With the start of the New Year, new state and local minimum wage increases have gone into effect for non-exempt employees across the country.

The chart below summarizes the new minimum wage rates that went into effect on January 1, 2020, unless otherwise indicated.  (More will take effect July 1, 2020.)

On January 1, 2020, California’s new independent contractor statute, known as AB 5, went into effect.  The law codifies the use of an “ABC” test to determine if an individual may be classified as an independent contractor.

The hastily passed and controversial statute has been challenged by a number of groups as being unconstitutional and/or preempted by federal law, including ride-share and delivery companies and freelance writers.

Just hours before AB 5 went into effect, a California federal court in San Diego enjoined enforcement of the statute as to some individuals – ...

AB 5, California’s hastily passed and controversial independent contractor statute, which codifies the use of an “ABC test,” is set to go into effect on January 1, 2020.

Already, the California Trucking Association has filed suit challenging the statute.

As have freelance writers and photographers.

Now, it’s ride-share and delivery companies’ turn to file suit.

Those companies have already commenced the process to create a ballot initiative that would allow voters to decide whether to exempt ride-share and delivery drivers from the “ABC test.”

Now, on December ...

We recently wrote about a new California law set to go into effect on January 1, 2020 that would outlaw mandatory arbitration agreements with employees.

The new law, known as AB 51, would also prohibit arbitration agreements that would require individuals to take affirmative action to be excluded from arbitration, such as opting out.  The law would also appear to extend to jury waivers and class action waivers. And it would include criminal penalties.

An eleventh-hour court order will keep that statute from being enforced, at least for a few days.

On December 29, 2019, just days before ...

We have written previously about California’s new statute, referred to as AB 5, which codifies and expands the “ABC test” for independent contractors set forth in Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court.

A California ballot initiative that would remove ride-share and delivery drivers from application of the “ABC test” is already underway.

And the California Trucking Association has filed suit challenging the statute.

Now, other organizations have challenged the statute. Specifically, organizations representing freelance writers and photographers have ...

As previously discussed, the federal Department of Labor has begun the process of increasing the minimum salary threshold for employees that fall under the “white collar” exemptions. Joining Alaska, New York, and California, Washington State and Maine have now approved higher salary thresholds for employees that fall under the exemptions; Colorado is expected to follow in early 2020.

Effective July 1, 2020, Washington employers will be required to pay a higher salary to satisfy the professional, administrative, and executive exemptions, with gradual increases from July ...

Over the past six months, Congress has made two notable attempts to amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (the “FLSA”).  In July, U.S. Representative Elise Stefanik (R-NY) introduced The Modern Worker Empowerment Act (“MWEA”) with the stated aim of harmonizing the FLSA’s definition of employee with the common law.  And last month, Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI) introduced the Treating Workers with Dignity Act of 2019 (“TWDA”), which would amend the FLSA to require certain compensated breaks.

Modern Worker Empowerment Act

Subject to certain exclusions, the FLSA ...

On December 6, 2019, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals held that judicial approval is not required for offers of judgment to settle Fair Labor and Standards Act (“FLSA”) claims made pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 68(a). This development may provide employers with a valuable strategic tool for use in FLSA cases, at least in the Second Circuit, allowing the parties to include terms in offers of judgment that the courts might disallow were court approval required.

Generally speaking, Rule 68 offers of judgment are a pre-trial mechanism whereby defendants can cap their ...

It seems as though there is a minefield that employers must navigate to ensure that they fulfill their wage and hour obligations to their employees. Employers must somehow comply with overlapping and seemingly contradictory federal, state, district, county, and local requirements. The wave of civil actions that are filed against employers alleging wage and hour violations is not slowing. And given the potential financial consequences for non-compliance, illustrated in part by a $102 million award for technical paystub violations, meeting these requirements must be a ...