Workforce Bulletin

Our colleagues Kara Maciel and Jordan Schwartz, both of Epstein Becker Green, recently cowrote an article for PLC titled "Tipped Employees Under the FLSA."

Following is an excerpt:

Wage and hour lawsuits certainly are not new phenomena, but in recent years, service industry employees have increasingly made claims regarding tips and service charges. In particular, employers in states such as Massachusetts, New York and California have seen a surge in class actions involving compulsory tip pools and distributions of service charges to employees. Commonly targeted employers ...

Our colleagues Kara Maciel and Jordan Schwartz, both of Epstein Becker Green, recently cowrote an article for PLC titled "Tipped Employees Under the FLSA."

Following is an excerpt:

Wage and hour lawsuits certainly are not new phenomena, but in recent years, service industry employees have increasingly made claims regarding tips and service charges. In particular, employers in states such as Massachusetts, New York and California have seen a surge in class actions involving compulsory tip pools and distributions of service charges to employees. Commonly targeted employers ...

By: Kara Maciel and Jordan Schwartz

On September 16, 2013, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced that Harris Health System (“Harris”), a Houston health care provider of emergency, outpatient and inpatient medical services, has agreed to pay more than $4 million in back wages and damages to approximately 4,500 current and former employees for violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act’s overtime and recordkeeping provisions. The DOL made this announcement after its Wage and Hour Division (“WHD”) completed a more than two-year investigation into the ...

By Kara M. Maciel and Jordan B. Schwartz

A broadly worded settlement agreement between the U.S. Department of Justice and Lesley University extends the Americans with Disabilities Act’s protections to individuals with severe allergies. This new, expansive interpretation of the term “disability” could increase potential legal exposure to failure to accommodate claims under the ADA, making it more important than ever to ensure that your restaurants and bars are equipped to provide reasonable accommodations to individuals with severe food allergies.

By:  Kara Maciel

Last week, I had the honor of attending the Resort Hotel Association’s (“RHA”) Annual Conference at The Edgewater Hotel in Seattle.  RHA is comprised of 130 independently-owned resorts, hotels, city clubs and spas in the United States and specializes in insurance programs that address the risks unique to the lodging industry.  For the second year in a row, RHA invited me and my colleague, Jordan Schwartz, to speak on the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) and public accommodations issues that hotel and lodging operators face. The room was packed and ...

By: Kara Maciel and Jordan Schwartz

As discussed in prior blogs, due to confusion surrounding FLSA tip pool requirements, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) Wage and Hour Division enacted a strict rule in 2011 related to proper tip pooling and service charge practices. This rule was met with swift legal challenges, and earlier this week the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon concluded that the DOL had exceeded its authority when implementing its final rule. See Oregon Rest. and Lodging Assn. v. Solis, No. 3:12-cv-01261 (D. Or. June 7, 2013).

Inconsistent ...

By:      Kara Maciel and Jordan Schwartz
As discussed in prior blogs, due to confusion surrounding FLSA tip pool requirements, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) Wage and Hour Division enacted a strict rule in 2011 related to proper tip pooling and service charge practices. This rule was met with swift legal challenges, and earlier this week the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon concluded that the DOL had exceeded its authority when implementing its final rule. See Oregon Rest. and Lodging Assn. v. Solis, No. 3:12-cv-01261 (D. Or. June 7, 2013).

Inconsistent ...