Wage and Hour Defense Blog

A number of years ago – 20 perhaps – someone shared with me a study that was conducted by a major university where participants were asked which professions they most distrust.

My recollection is that it was conducted at Duke University, but I could be wrong.  (I do remember distinctly that there were 998 participants in the survey, which still seems like a peculiar number to me.  They couldn’t find two more people?)

In any event, one spot from the top of the list of most distrusted professions (or the bottom, depending on your perspective) was used car salespersons.  Yes, I know, a ...

On August 22, 2019, in Trina Ray et al. v. County of Los Angeles and Trina Ray et al. v. Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services, Case Numbers 17-56581 and 18-55276, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that home care workers may sue Los Angeles County for unpaid overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”).

Until recently, California home care workers (also known as companions) whose wages are paid by state or county programs were exempt from state and federal overtime laws. Beginning on January 1, 2015, however, a new Department of Labor ...

As part of its spring 2019 regulatory agenda, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (“WHD”) will consider a proposed revision to the Fair Labor Standard Act’s (“FLSA”) regulations on calculating overtime pay for workers whose hours fluctuate from week to week.

Generally, non-exempt employees covered by the FLSA must receive overtime pay for hours worked in excess of 40 in a workweek at a rate at least time and one-half their regular rates of pay – the standard calculation of overtime.  However, the FLSA provides an alternative method of calculating ...

As the result of a sweeping “Wage Theft” law (“Law”), which became effective upon enactment on August 6, 2019,  New Jersey employers will face toughened penalties and increased exposure for failure to pay wages, benefits and overtime (collectively “wages”) owed to workers. Employers should take immediate notice because any missteps or mistakes may prove extremely costly. In sum, the Law:

• makes employees eligible to receive 200% liquidated damages for all unpaid wages and benefits and recovery of attorneys’ fees and costs;
• permits employees to bring collective ...

As we have previously written, the California Supreme Court’s decision in Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court dramatically changed the standard for determining whether workers in California should be classified as employees or as independent contractors for purposes of the wage orders adopted by California’s Industrial Welfare Commission. A significant question left open by that ruling was whether Dynamex would apply retroactively.

On May 2, 2019, in Vazquez v. Jan-Pro Franchising International, Inc., the Ninth Circuit concluded that Dynamex in ...

Connecticut appears poised to become the next state to raise its minimum wage to $15 per hour, following the trend set by California, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and most recently Maryland, in addition to numerous local jurisdictions.  Governor Ed Lamont is expected to sign H.B. 5004, which passed the state’s House and Senate earlier this month.

Under the bill, the state’s current minimum wage of $10.10 will increase to $11 on October 1, 2019. From there, it will increase one dollar every eleven months until it reaches $15 on June 1, 2023. Thereafter, increases ...

We are pleased to announce that Epstein Becker Green’s first app - Wage & Hour Guide for Employers - is now available for download in the App Store on iTunes, for both iPhones and iPads.  You can find this complimentary app by searching for “Wage Hour” or clicking here.

The Wage & Hour Guide app enables employers to access up-to-date federal wage and hour guidelines as well as various state guidelines, which can differ by jurisdiction. In addition, users can obtain insights and commentary about the latest wage and hour developments and issues by accessing this blog directly ...