Wage and Hour Defense Blog

by Kara Maciel

Once again, the U.S. Department of Labor is requesting additional funding from Congress in its 2012 budget proposal to increase its efforts toward regulation and enforcement of wage and hour and employment laws.  While the DOL’s budget proposal would reduce its overall discretionary spending by 5%, the budget cuts will not affect the staff and resources that enforce wage and hour laws.  Instead, the Wage and Hour Division is asking for $241 million – an increase of $13.3 million from last year’s estimated budget. 

In particular, the Wage and Hour Division is seeking ...

By Michael S. Kun, David W. Garland, Douglas Weiner

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has become the latest Circuit Court to weigh in on the subject of whether pharmaceutical sales representatives are covered by the FLSA outside sales exemption.  The result, in Christopher v. SmithKline Beecham, No. 10-15257 (9^th Cir. Feb. 14, 2011), is a resounding victory for employers in the pharmaceutical industry.

The plaintiffs and the Secretary of Labor argued, among other things, that sales representatives in fact do not make sales at all, which places them outside the bounds of the outside ...

EBG colleague Susan Gross Sholinsky recently prepared an Act Now Advisory discussing New York State’s December 21, 2010 opinion letter regarding whether an internship will qualify for an exception to applicable minimum wage rules. The New York State Department of Labor utilizes the United States Department of Labor’s six-step test, but adds an additional five factors to determine whether the internship will be exempt from minimum wage rules. In order to qualify for the exemption, the following eleven factors must be satisfied:

1. The training, even though it includes ...

By: Kara Maciel

Following up on our previous blog posting from November 2, 2010, on December 16, 2010, the New York State Department of Labor issued a new minimum wage order (the “Order”) which will bring immediate changes to the restaurant and hotel industries. Under the Order, employees will be due a higher minimum wage and subject to new tip pooling rules. Meanwhile, employers will need to comply with more stringent recordkeeping requirements. Although employers have until February 28, 2011, to adjust their payrolls, they will still owe their employees back pay as of ...

The United States District Court for the Northern District of California has denied certification of a class action against Joe's Crab Shack restaurants on claims that employees worked off-the-clock, were denied meal and rest breaks, and were required to purchase t-shirts to wear at work.  Because the case was handled by our EpsteinBeckerGreen colleagues Michael Kun and Aaron Olsen, we do not believe it is appropriate to comment on the decision or its implications.  If you would like to read the decision, a copy may be found here.

By Michael Kun and Doug Weiner

It is no secret that employers have been beseiged by wage-hour litigation, including wage-hour class actions and collective actions. It is also no secret that the persons who benefit most from these actions are often plaintiffs' counsel, who frequently receive one-third or more of any recovery. Now, as a result of an unprecedented new program initiated by the the Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division ("WHD"), the WHD will be practically delivering potential plaintiffs to the doors of plaintiffs' counsel -- and the WHD has invited plaintiffs ...

by Michael Kun and Aaron Olsen

In recent years, some plaintiffs' counsel bringing wage-hour claims have have made the strategic decision to bring "hybrid" class actions; that is, actions alleging both federal and state wage-hour claims.  These cases can cause logistical nightmares for the courts, and great benefits for plaintiffs, for two primary reasons: (1) the standard for certification of a class is differerent for federal and state claims, and (2) classes in federal claims are "opt in" classes while those for state claims are "opt out" classes.  Indeed, in bringing ...