Wage & Hour

  • July 14, 2025

    Honeywell Resolves Ohio Worker's Overtime Pay Dispute

    Honeywell has settled a former Ohio employee's lawsuit alleging that the conglomerate failed to pay her for all hours worked, including automatically deducting lunch breaks she often didn't take and not paying her for time spent undergoing COVID-19 screenings before each shift, court documents show.

  • July 14, 2025

    DC Circ. Says Biden DOL Didn't Improperly Issue H-2A Rule

    The D.C. Circuit has said the Biden administration did not flout notice and comment rulemaking procedures when it issued a rule in 2022 revising the H-2A visa worker program because it pulled the Trump administration's 2021 version of the rule before it became final.

  • July 14, 2025

    Marriott Gets Worker's Wage Suit Tossed, For Now

    A Washington federal judge reconsidered his prior decision sending a Marriott worker's wage and hour suit back to state court, agreeing with the hotel giant's argument that the amount in controversy is above $5 million, and dismissed the proposed class action while allowing the worker to update his claims.

  • July 14, 2025

    NC Bakery Accused Of Denying Workers Overtime Pay

    A Durham, North Carolina-based bakery is being accused of paying its employees a flat hourly rate regardless of how many hours they worked in violation of labor law, according to a proposed collective action filed in North Carolina federal court.

  • July 14, 2025

    11th Circuit Backs DOJ In Disability Bias, FMLA Suit Dismissal

    A former supervisor of education at a Florida federal prison was late in challenging the U.S. Department of Justice's denial of her accommodation request for anxiety and adjustment disorder, the Eleventh Circuit ruled on Monday, upholding a federal court's decision dismissing her suit.

  • July 14, 2025

    Ex-Tech Worker Says Expenses Suit Shouldn't Be Arbitrated

    A customer experience technology company can't force arbitration in a lawsuit alleging remote workers weren't reimbursed for internet service and computers they were mandated to purchase, an ex-employee told a Colorado federal court, arguing the company can't show that she and another worker signed valid arbitration agreements.

  • July 14, 2025

    Home Depot Faces Suit Over Worker Moonlighting Ban

    Home Depot Inc. has been hit with a proposed class action from a former retail worker who alleged that the company is violating Washington state labor laws by banning its lowest-earning employees from moonlighting at second jobs.

  • July 14, 2025

    Calif. Panel Keeps Charter PAGA Case Out Of Arbitration

    Charter Communications can't arbitrate an employee's Private Attorneys General Act suit because parts of the arbitration agreement are "unconscionable," a California appeals panel ruled, relying on the state Supreme Court's decisions addressing the same pact.

  • July 11, 2025

    2025's Bias Class Deals On Track To Best '24, Report Says

    The value of the top settlements in employment discrimination class actions in the first half of 2025 was over $220 million, which is on pace to exceed the value of last year's largest set of deals, according to a new Duane Morris LLP report.

  • July 11, 2025

    Servers Seek Initial OK For $1.75M Deal With NYC Restaurants

    Two Chinese restaurants in Manhattan have agreed to pay $1.75 million to settle a suit accusing them of cheating tipped workers out of tips, the workers told a New York federal court, urging the court to approve the deal.

  • July 11, 2025

    DOL W&H Roundup: Trump 2.0 In Full Swing

    The U.S. Department of Labor is dismantling President Joe Biden's legacy and reconfiguring the Wage and Hour Division with a business-friendly approach, as seen in the agency saying it would not seek liquidated damages against employers and its announcement that it would stop enforcement of an employee-friendly classification rule. Here, Law360 explores these and other developments unfolding at the DOL.

  • July 11, 2025

    $16M Deal Gets OK In Wage Suit Against Wash. Hospitals

    A $16 million deal ending three consolidated suits accusing Providence Health & Services and two related entities of not giving nearly 23,900 meal and rest breaks can proceed, a Washington state judge ruled, finding the deal fair.

  • July 11, 2025

    Mo. Halts Paid Sick Leave, Cost-Of-Living Wage Increases

    Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe has signed a bill repealing paid sick leave benefits and yearly cost-of-living wage increases that were approved by state voters in a ballot initiative.

  • July 11, 2025

    Calif. Panel Says Arbitration Provider Immune From Fraud Suit

    An arbitration provider is immune from a logistics company's suit accusing it of not properly vetting its arbitrators, including one who oversaw a wage and hour suit against the company, a California appeals panel ruled, affirming a lower court's decision to nix the case.

  • July 11, 2025

    Calif. Forecast: Court Weighs Google's $50M Racial Bias Deal

    In the coming week, attorneys should watch for the potential initial sign-off on a $50 million deal between Google and Black workers who alleged the technology giant discriminated against them based on race. Here's a look at that case and other labor and employment matters on deck in California.

  • July 11, 2025

    Logistics Co., Drivers To Mediate Misclassification Dispute

    A logistics provider that helps manage trailers on company grounds will head to mediation to work toward settling a 650-member collective of drivers' suit accusing it of misclassifying them to avoid paying them overtime wages, a filing in Georgia federal court said.

  • July 10, 2025

    Orkin Stiffed Pest Control Workers On Overtime, Suit Says

    Pest control giant Orkin stiffed thousands of employees on overtime pay by requiring them to perform work off the clock through automatically deducted breaks that weren't taken and required participation in unpaid training sessions, according to a Thursday suit filed in Georgia federal court.

  • July 10, 2025

    2-Step Collective Cert. Survives, But Another Test Is Coming

    The fate of the long-standing but recently threatened two-step process for wage and hour collective certification is uncertain after one federal appeals court departed from two others by keeping the analysis intact, while another is expected to decide on the issue soon. Here, Law360 explores the issue.

  • July 10, 2025

    Fitness Cos. Can Arbitrate Health Specialist's Wage Claim

    A fitness company and its subsidiary can arbitrate a health fitness specialist's lawsuit accusing them of paying him and other manual workers bimonthly instead of weekly as New York law requires, a federal judge ruled, saying a valid arbitration agreement exists.

  • July 10, 2025

    Nursing Home Operator Faces Meal Break Suit In Pa.

    A rehabilitation and nursing home operator automatically deducted 30-minute unpaid meal breaks from workers' time even though they were unable to take the breaks in full, a former employee for the company said in a proposed class action in Pennsylvania state court.

  • July 10, 2025

    Publix Pushed For Off-Clock Work, Underpaid OT, Suit Says

    Grocery chain Publix pressured a department manager to work off-the-clock to bolster store profits and shorted him on overtime by failing to incorporate bonus pay into its time-and-a-half calculations of his hourly rate, the worker said in a suit filed in Georgia federal court.

  • July 10, 2025

    Mining Co. Fails To Pay For Preshift Work, Suit Says

    A mining company fails to pay workers for necessary preshift tasks such as donning protective equipment and improperly calculates their overtime wages, a proposed class action filed in Colorado state court said.

  • July 10, 2025

    Ex-Executive Of Cannabis Co. Ascend Alleges Wrongful Firing

    A former executive at New York cannabis company Ascend Wellness Holdings Inc. claims the company cheated him out of $400,000 in unpaid wages, stock payouts, and medical and dental coverage owed to him after it unceremoniously fired him, according to a lawsuit.

  • July 09, 2025

    California Court Allows Worker To Pursue 'Headless' PAGA Suit

    A California appeals court panel held Monday that a worker who dismissed his individual claims against his former employer for civil penalties under California's Private Attorneys General Act can still pursue claims solely on behalf of other aggrieved employees in a so-called headless PAGA action.

  • July 09, 2025

    NY Judge Agrees To Toss Translation Co.'s Defense In OT Row

    A New York federal judge on Wednesday agreed to ax TransPerfect's federal wage law defense in a class action accusing it of not paying overtime, agreeing with a magistrate judge's conclusion that state law has stronger labor protection laws.

Expert Analysis

  • Employers Need Clarity On FLSA Joint Employer Liability

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    A judicial patchwork of multifactor tests to determine joint employment liability has led to unpredictable results, and only congressional action or enactment of a uniform standard to which courts will consistently defer can give employers the clarity needed to structure their relationships with workers, say attorneys at Seyfarth.

  • Calif. Independent Contractor Lessons From Grubhub Suit

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    California courts have been creating little in the way of clarity when it comes to the employment status of gig workers — and a recent federal court decision in Lawson v. Grubhub illustrates how status may change with the winds of litigation, offering four takeaways for businesses that rely on delivery drivers, say Esra Hudson and Marah Bragdon at Manatt.

  • Labor Collusion Loss Will Shape DOJ's Case Strategy

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    Following the U.S. Department of Justice’s recent loss in United States v. Manahe, tallying its trial score record to 0-3 in labor-related antitrust cases over the past year, defendants can expect that the DOJ will try to exclude defense evidence and argue for more favorable jury instructions, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Staffing Company Considerations Amid PAGA Uncertainty

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    The impending California Supreme Court decision in Adolph v. Uber is expected to affect staffing companies, specifically how the proliferation of nonindividual Private Attorneys General Act claims are handled when the individual claim is compelled to arbitration, say Sarah Kroll-Rosenbaum and Harrison Thorne at Akerman.

  • Eye On Compliance: Joint Employment

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    Madonna Herman at Wilson Elser breaks down the key job conditions that led to a recent National Labor Relations Board finding of joint employment, and explains the similar standard established under California case law — providing a guide for companies that want to minimize liability when relying on temporary and contract workers.

  • How Unions Could Stem Possible Wave Of Calif. PAGA Claims

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    Should the California Supreme Court hold in Adolph v. Uber that the nonindividual portions of Private Attorneys General Act claims survive even after individual claims go to arbitration, employers and unions could both leverage the holding in Oswald v. Murray to stifle the resurgence in representative suits, say attorneys at Greenberg Traurig.

  • Tips For Defending Employee Plaintiff Depositions

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    A plaintiff cannot win their employment case through a good deposition, but they can certainly lose it with a bad one, so an attorney should take steps to make sure the plaintiff does as little damage as possible to their claim, says Preston Satchell at LexisNexis.

  • Predictions On Salary Levels In Proposed DOL Overtime Rule

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    In May, the U.S. Department of Labor is expected to propose new salary thresholds for overtime exemptions for both executive, administrative and professional employees and highly compensated earners under the Fair Labor Standards Act, and based on methodologies used in recent DOL rules, it will likely increase both thresholds, says Stephen Bronars at Edgeworth.

  • Water Cooler Talk: Whistleblowing Insights From 'Dahmer'

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    Tracey Diamond and Evan Gibbs at Troutman Pepper chat with DS Smith's Josh Burnette about how the show "Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story" provides an extreme example of the perils of ignoring repeat complaints — a lesson employers could apply in the whistleblower context.

  • Retail Employer Strategies For LA Fair Work Week Ordinance

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    The recently effective Los Angeles Fair Work Week Ordinance changes how employers in the retail trade industry approach scheduling and hiring employees, so they should consider creating new standardized forms and procedures to maintain compliance and avoid penalties, say Thomas Petrides and Charlie Wang at Vedder Price.

  • AI For Advancing Diversity In The Workplace: Friend Or Foe?

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    In the wake of calls for increased workplace diversity, employers are turning to artificial intelligence to automate hiring and cut costs to reach environmental, social and governance objectives, but this technology requires human oversight to minimize biases and discrimination, say Consuela Pinto and Dawn Siler-Nixon at FordHarrison.

  • Handbook Hot Topics: Attendance Policies

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    Employee attendance problems are among the most common reasons for disciplinary action and discharge, which is why a clear policy neatly laid out in an employee handbook is necessary to articulate expectations for workers and support an employer's position should any attendance-related disputes arise, says Kara Shea at Butler Snow.

  • Noncompete Ban Is Key To Empowering Low-Wage Workers

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    The Federal Trade Commission's proposed ban on noncompete clauses is needed because limitations alone have very little practical value to low-wage workers, who will continue to be hurt by the mere existence of these clauses unless they are outlawed, says Brendan Lynch at Community Legal Services of Philadelphia.