Wage and Hour Defense Blog

On April 1, 2010, Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis announced a new campaign entitled "We Can Help," aimed at assisting low income workers in reporting wage and hour violations to the Department of Labor.    The campaign consists of a new website and 1-800 number, combined with bilingual public service announcements by celebrities such as Esai Morales and Jimmy Smits.

The campaign is primarily targeted at employees in the construction, food service, janitorial, hospitality and health care fields.  Employers in these targeted industries should be congnizant of these stepped up ...

In a recently reported case, Applebee's' servers alleged they spent a "substantial" amount of time performing non-tipped work, such as cleaning and maintenance, and should be paid the minimum wage 29 U.S.C § 206(A)(1)(c) of $7.25 rather than the direct wage 29 U.S.C. § 203(m) of $2.13 the FLSA 29 U.S.C. § 203(t) allows 29 C.F.R. § 516.28 tipped employees.

The New York State Department of Labor ("DOL") has recently made available important new information for employers regarding their obligations under Section 195.1 of the Labor Law including notice of pay rates, pay dates and other information.

As we previously reported (see EBG Client Alerts of December 11, and October 30, 2009), pursuant to Section 195.1 of the Labor Law (the "Statute"), as of October 26, 2009, employers must provide newly hired New York employees with written notice of their: (1) pay rate; (2) overtime pay rate (if they qualify for overtime pay); and (3) regular ...

Another luxury New York hotel is the latest target in a constant stream of wage and hour class actions against the hotel and restaurant industry challenging the industry's practices relating to tip pools and service charges.

by Michael Kun

    The California wage-hour epidemic has entered its second decade.

    While there is little on the horizon to suggest that these cases are about to come to an end, there are a few glimmers of hope now. 

    The first glimmer of hope comes from a case that has been pending before the California Supreme Court since 2008.  California employers continue to await a ruling on meal and rest breaks from the California Supreme Court in Brinker.  A ruling that breaks need only be "made available," not "ensured," may not put an end to meal and rest break class actions, but it should slow them down ...

Florida led the nation in Fair Labor Standards Act lawsuits in 2009. Statistics generated from PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records) show that about 2000 new cases were filed in United States District Courts in Florida last year, far more than in any other state.

In a landmark decision upholding the validity of the employer's mandatory tip pool, on February 23, 2010, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued its opinion in Misty Cumbie v. Woody Woo, Inc. No. 08-35718. The court held that where the employer paid a direct wage of at least minimum wage to restaurant wait staff, requiring them to participate in a tip-pooling arrangement with other restaurant employees does not violate the Fair Labor Standards Act. ("FLSA")..

Last summer fifteen United States senators wrote an open letter to Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis to urge the U.S. Department of Labor ("DOL") to repeal the Domestic Service exemption from the minimum wage and overtime requirements of the ("FLSA") for home health care workers. Secretary Solis has expressed support for the effort to review this exemption, with a view toward closing this "loophole."

by Evan Spelfogel

On February 1, 2010, President Barack Obama released his federal budget for the coming fiscal year, including $117 billion for the United States Department of Labor, of which $25 million was set aside expressly to help the DOL combat employee misclassification. This includes, specifically, identifying and litigating against employers that categorize workers as independent contractors when, in fact, they are employees, and that classify as exempt from overtime those employees who do not meet the requirements of the White Collar Exemptions under Part 541 of the ...

Hazardous occupations are no place for employees under the age of 18. Employers must be certain to prohibit minors from operating power driven wood working machines, metal working machines, bakery machines, fork lifts, balers and compactors, meat slicers, and nail guns. The full list of hazardous occupations are set forth in the Code of Federal Regulations, 29 C.F.R. 570, et. seq. Protecting America's children in the workplace has long been a stated objective of the U.S. Department of Labor, and the civil money penalties for serious violations have recently been strengthened.