Our colleague Jeffrey H. Ruzal recently wrote an article entitled “Offset as Defense to FLSA Suit May Mitigate Unpaid Wage Claims,” which appears in the June 2014 issue of Hospitality Law.
Following is an excerpt:
A federal district court in Michigan recently preserved for trial the question of whether a defendant employer may mitigate its back wage liability by offsetting paid break time, which would effectively extinguish plaintiff employees’ claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
In Hayes, et al., v. Greektown Casino, LLC, et al., No. 12-1552 (E.D. Mich. 03/31/14), a ...
President Obama has spent much of his second term zealously pursuing an increase to the current $7.25 federal minimum hourly wage. While it is not clear whether a federal wage hike is in the offing, many states have recently taken measures to increase their own minimum wage rates. Effective January 1, 2014, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington have all increased their minimum wage rates. There are also five additional states, California, Delaware, Michigan ...
On Feb. 12, 2014 President Obama signed Executive Order 13,658 to raise the minimum wage for workers on federal service and construction contracts from the current $7.25 to $10.10 per hour. On June 12, 2014 the United States Department of Labor announced proposed implementation of the Executive Order with respect to all new and renegotiated federal contracts starting Jan. 1, 2015.
This increased minimum wage would apply to the approximately 200,000 employees working for government contractors and subcontractors, and is another salvo in the President’s push ...
By Michael Kun
Much has already been written about last week’s California Supreme Court decision in Duran v. U.S. Bank Nat’l Ass’n, a greatly anticipated ruling that will have a substantial impact upon wage-hour class actions in California for years to come. Much more will be written about the decision as attorneys digest it, as parties rely on it in litigation, and as the courts attempt to apply it.
In a lengthy and unanimous opinion, the California Supreme Court affirmed the Court of Appeal’s decision to reverse a $15 million trial award in favor of a class of employees who ...
By: Jeffrey M. Landes and Susan Gross Sholinsky
The presentation slides and the recording for the webinar - Creating and Maintaining a Lawful Internship Program - are now accessible for your viewing. If you would like to review, please contact Kiirsten Lederer to obtain instructions.
During this timely and important webinar, we discussed how to minimize both your organization's liability and the risk of wage and hour lawsuits. Specifically, participants walked away with answers to the following questions:
- What are the best practices for recruiting and hiring interns, and what ...
On May 5, 2014, Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley signed a bill increasing the minimum wage to $10.10, in 5 steps by July 1, 2018. This follows recent legislation in suburban Maryland’s Montgomery and Prince George’s counties that will increase county minimum wages to $11.50 in various steps by October 1, 2017. (See our January 20, 2014 blog post.)
Employers in Maryland now face three different local minimum wage requirements, in addition to those imposed by federal law.
Under the new Maryland law, the general state minimum wage, currently the federal ...
In a complimentary webinar on May 22 (1:00 p.m. ET), our colleagues Jeffrey M. Landes and Susan Gross Sholinsky will present a webinar on how to strategically structure internship programs to comply with applicable wage and hour guidelines.
Join us for a discussion on how to minimize both your organization's liability and the risk of wage and hour lawsuits. In particular, below are just a few of the many questions we will address during the webinar:
- What are the best practices for recruiting and hiring seasonal interns, and what critical language should you include (or avoid) in ...
By Kara Maciel
Our national hospitality practice frequently advises restaurant owners and operators on whether it is legal for employers to pass credit card swipe fees onto employees or even to guests, and the short answer is, yes, in most states. But whether an employer wants to actually pass along this charge and risk alienating their staff or their customers is another question.
With respect to consumers, in the majority of states, passing credit card swipe fees along in a customer surcharge became lawful in 2013. Only ten states prohibit it: California, Colorado, Connecticut ...
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Recent Updates
- Federal Appeals Court Vacates Department of Labor’s “80/20/30 Rule” Regarding Tipped Employees
- Time Is Money: A Quick Wage-Hour Tip on … Regular Rate Exclusions
- Michigan’s Supreme Court Has Spoken: Expanded Paid Sick Leave, Increased Minimum Wage and Phased Out Tip Credits
- California Supreme Court Concludes That PAGA Plaintiffs Lack Standing to Intervene in Other PAGA Lawsuits
- Time Is Money: A Quick Wage-Hour Tip on … Offering a Compliant Payroll Debit Card Option to Employees