Workforce Bulletin

On April 3, 2017, a federal district court in New Jersey rejected the National Labor Relation Board’s (“NLRB”) D.R. Horton and Murphy Oil holdings and upheld employee waivers of class and collective arbitration. In dismissing wage and overtime claims brought by an employee of Chili’s Grill & Bar, District Judge Noel Hillman ruled that such mandatory arbitration agreements do not violate the National Labor Relations Act. Cicero v. Quality Dining, Inc., et al, 1:16-cv-05806 (April 3, 2017).

Judge Hillman noted the issue was pending before the U.S. Supreme Court, and that the ...

One of the most controversial issues in employment law these days involves the position of the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “Board”) that an employer violates the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”) when it requires employees to pursue any dispute they have with their employer on an individual, rather than on a class or collective action, basis with other employees. It is a position that has been adopted by two circuit courts and rejected by three—a conflict that suggests that the issue is ripe for U.S. Supreme Court review.

The NLRB has contended that ...

With the financial crisis and recession behind us, mergers and acquisitions have picked up dramatically over the past several years. In 2015, more than 25,000 M&A deals were announced in the United States, valued at trillions of dollars, primarily involving companies in the hospitality, health care, pharmaceuticals, energy, and technology industries. This year and next, most financial experts foresee an increasing number of these transactions taking place.

In an M&A transaction, the buyer must determine whether it will acquire only the assets of the target company or acquire ...

[caption id="attachment_2672" align="alignright" width="113"] Evan J. Spelfogel[/caption]

On March 31, 2016, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law a bill increasing the statewide minimum wage on a phased in basis over the next five years, to $15.00 per hour in some, but not all New York counties (“Minimum Wage Law”).  This is in addition to a bill enacted on December 31, 2015, that increased the subminimum wage for tipped employees in the hospitality industry from $5 to $7.50 per hour.

The Minimum Wage Law now provides for a tiered increase from the current statewide rate ...

Employers of all industries should be aware of the following five recent developments under New York State and New York City employment law.

1. Increased Minimum Wage

Effective December 31, 2015, three separate minimum wage increases took effect across New York State: (i) the nonexempt employee minimum wage increased from $8.75 per hour to $9.00 per hour; (ii) the minimum salary for executive and administrative exemptions increased from $656.25 per week to $675.00 per week; and (iii) the minimum pre tip wage for tipped employees in the hospitality industry increased to $7.50 per hour ...

On September 11, 2015 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit announced that it joined the Second Circuit in rejecting the U.S. Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) rigid six part test for determining whether unpaid interns were employees and should have been paid minimum wages and overtime for their services. Schumann and Abraham et al v Collier Anesthesia, P.A., Wolford College, LLC, Thomas Cook and Lynda Waterhouse, No. 14-13169, 2015 BL 294459 (11^th Cir. Sept. 11, 2015), citing to Glatt v. Fox Searchlight Pictures, Inc., Nos. 13-4478-cv, 13-4481-cv (2d Cir. July 2 ...

On August 7, 2015 the Second Circuit held that parties cannot enter into private settlements of Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA” or the “Act”) claims without  the approval of either the district court or the Department of Labor. Cheeks v. Freeport Pancake House, Inc., No. 14-299 (2^nd Cir. 2015).

Although other circuits are split on the issue of whether pre-suit agreements to settle FLSA claims are enforceable, this is the first appellate decision to address the issue of whether judicial approval is required to terminate an FLSA lawsuit once it has been filed. See Lynn's Food ...

May 14th marked the one-month anniversary of the effective date of the NLRB’s Amended Representation Election Rules (“amended rules”).  That day, the Regional Directors for NLRB Regions 2 (New York, NY), 22 (Newark, NJ), and 29 (Brooklyn, NY) discussed their offices’ experiences processing representation petitions filed since the amended rules took effect on April 14th.

With respect to the questions of how the amended rules are actually affecting representation petitions and elections, while one month may not be representative, the data to date does offer some ...

By Evan J. Spelfogel

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 ...