Wage & Hour

  • July 18, 2025

    Ohio State, NCAA, Big Ten Beat Ex-QB's NIL Suit

    Ohio State University, the NCAA, The Big Ten Conference Inc. and a media rights licensing company have dodged an antitrust suit from former Buckeye star quarterback Terrelle Pryor alleging they monopolized profits on athletes' names, images and likenesses while denying them compensation.

  • July 18, 2025

    Court Finds Mich. Law Applies To CBAs Silent On Sick Time

    A state court found that a Michigan sick leave law applies to workers and employers covered under collective bargaining agreements that don't mention earned sick time, rejecting an electrical construction industry group's constitutional claims and federal labor law preemption challenge to the statute.

  • July 18, 2025

    Ga. School District Fails To Pay Proper OT, Workers Say

    A Georgia county school district withheld overtime pay from its school resource and campus security officers and pays them at "irregular intervals," the workers allege in a new suit in federal court.

  • July 18, 2025

    Nurses Seek Class Cert. In Colo. Holiday Wage Suit

    A group of nurses asked a Colorado federal court Thursday to certify the proposed class in their suit alleging a healthcare company didn't properly pay holiday overtime wages.

  • July 18, 2025

    Ex-Worker Says Beet Sugar Co. Should Face Wage Suit

    A former machine operator accusing a beet sugar processing company of skimping on his overtime wages and work-related reimbursement costs told a California federal court that the company should have to face his lawsuit. 

  • July 18, 2025

    Midyear Review: Labor And Employment Trends Shaping 2025

    The first half of 2025 saw a shifting labor and employment law landscape that set the stage for a potentially transformative second half of the year. Will a restored quorum jump-start the EEOC? Could the Fair Labor Standards Act be updated to better address remote work? What's next for National Labor Relations Board member Gwynne Wilcox's challenge to her unprecedented removal?

  • July 18, 2025

    4th Circ. Backs $9M Classification Ruling Against Staffing Co.

    A split Fourth Circuit panel will not scrap a $9 million judgment against a medical staffing company that the U.S. Department of Labor won in a suit alleging the company misclassified more than 1,000 nurses.

  • July 18, 2025

    Dunkin' Worker Alleges AI Tip Inquiry Got Her Fired

    A Dunkin' franchise supervisor fired a Connecticut worker who asked when tips were distributed after accusing the employee of raising questions based on inaccurate artificial intelligence search results that did not take company policy into account, the worker alleged in a lawsuit.

  • July 18, 2025

    Pillsbury Atty Fights Sanctions In Nurse Wage-Fixing Case

    A partner with Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP told a Nevada federal court he should not be sanctioned for using a poor choice of words when communicating with the government about the availability of an expert witness during a wage-fixing and wire fraud trial.

  • July 18, 2025

    NY Forecast: Judge Weighs Scope Of Job Corps Cuts Block

    In the coming week, a New York federal judge will hear arguments over how a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision limiting the use of universal injunctions might impact an order blocking the U.S. Department of Labor from suspending the Job Corps program.

  • July 18, 2025

    Equity Firm Settles Former Executive's Gender, Age Bias Suit

    A private equity firm has agreed to settle and close a former executive's suit alleging she was passed over for promotions and paid less than younger men out of bias, and eventually fired for complaining about it, according to a filing Friday in Connecticut federal court.

  • July 18, 2025

    Insurance Co. Can Bring Worker's Wage Claims To Arbitration

    An Illinois federal magistrate judge agreed to send a customer service representative's proposed wage and hour class and collective action to arbitration, finding that the worker's arbitration agreement with a staffing company applied to her claims against the insurance company she's suing.

  • July 18, 2025

    Calif. Pot Workers Sue Farm For $1.25M Over Wage Theft

    A group of cannabis trimmers who are citizens of Colombia, Argentina and Spain have sued cultivator Honeydew Farms LLC and its owners in federal court on Thursday, alleging they were not paid the wages promised because the owners believe the foreign-born workers would not be protected by state or federal law.

  • July 17, 2025

    FedEx Must Face Drivers' OT Suit After Sanctions Bid Fails

    A Massachusetts federal judge on Thursday denied FedEx's motion for sanctions seeking to dismiss one of several overtime lawsuits filed on behalf of drivers who worked for the shipping giant through intermediary employers, rejecting the company's assertion that the litigation seeks to "harass FedEx into settlement."

  • July 17, 2025

    Mortgage Cos.' Wage Deal OK'd Without Waiver Language

    A settlement resolving an overtime suit by former mortgage company workers will move forward, but without language saying the company's owners and its successor waived certain defenses against a former co-owner in his separate New Jersey state court case, a federal judge ruled.

  • July 17, 2025

    Healthcare Co.'s Revised $120K Wage Deal Gets Green Light

    A Connecticut-based healthcare company and its workers can move forward with their second attempt at a wage and hour settlement agreement, a Connecticut federal judge has ruled, finding that the new terms fix concerns he raised over the release of claims when rejecting the initial deal.

  • July 17, 2025

    Colo. Judge Tosses Fertilizer Workers' 'Vague' Wage Suit

    A composting company and its owner can exit an overtime suit brought by two former employees, a Colorado federal magistrate judge has ruled, finding that the ex-workers didn't bring enough evidence to back their claims.

  • July 17, 2025

    Calif. Supreme Court Won't Look At Meal-Break Waivers

    The California Supreme Court declined to weigh in on a case in which veterinarians claimed that the prospective waivers from state meal-break requirements that an operator of veterinary hospitals rolled out were illegal, leaving undisturbed a panel's decision in favor of the hospitals.

  • July 17, 2025

    Food Workers Union Seeks To Enforce PTO Arbitration Award

    A food company is flouting an arbitration award that required it to apply a new policy on paid time off, a union representing grocery and food workers said, urging a Minnesota federal court to enforce the award.

  • July 16, 2025

    Mass. Judges To Mull Dismissals Amid Defender Pay Standoff

    Nearly two months after many court-appointed attorneys in Massachusetts stopped accepting new cases over what they say is poor pay, a solution still appears elusive, even as judges will soon start hearing motions to dismiss cases under an emergency order issued by a state high court justice.

  • July 16, 2025

    Flowers Foods Pushes Justices To Take Up Arbitration Case

    Flowers Foods pressed the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday to take up a case in which the Tenth Circuit decided to keep a distributor's overtime suit out of arbitration, urging the justices to cure a deep circuit split once and for all.

  • July 16, 2025

    Cracker Barrel, Workers Want Full 9th Circ. To Mull Wage Row

    Cracker Barrel servers urged the full Ninth Circuit to reconsider a panel's decision limiting the collective in their wage suit to workers from Arizona, where the case originated, while the company separately requested a rehearing on the grounds that the first step of the collective certification process is improper.

  • July 16, 2025

    WK Kellogg, Kellanova Settle Overtime Suit For $1.5M

    WK Kellogg Co. and Kellanova will pay almost $1.5 million to settle claims that workers didn't receive accurate overtime pay and weren't compensated for preshift COVID-19 temperature checks and other off-the-clock activities, according to Michigan federal court filings.

  • July 16, 2025

    Staffing Firm's Pay Not A Salary, Workers Tell 5th Circ.

    A staffing company's retainer pay plan did not amount to paying its employees on a salary basis, a collective of workers told the Fifth Circuit, urging the appeals court to uphold a Texas federal court decision that they were not overtime-exempt.

  • July 16, 2025

    Gordon Rees Opens Permanent Downtown Cleveland Office

    Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani LLP announced Tuesday the official opening of a permanent office located in Cleveland.

Expert Analysis

  • What 9th Circ. Cracker Barrel Ruling Means For FLSA Cert.

    Author Photo

    The Ninth Circuit's decision in Harrington v. Cracker Barrel suggests a settling of two procedural trends in Fair Labor Standards Act jurisprudence — when to issue notice and where nationwide collectives can be filed — rather than deepening circuit splits, says Rebecca Ojserkis at Cohen Milstein.

  • How Latest High Court Rulings Refine Employment Law

    Author Photo

    The 2024-2025 U.S. Supreme Court term did not radically rewrite employment law, but sharpened focus on textual fidelity, procedural rigor and the boundaries of statutory relief, say attorneys at Krevolin & Horst.

  • Challenging A Class Representative's Adequacy And Typicality

    Author Photo

    Recent cases highlight that a named plaintiff cannot certify a putative class action unless they can meet all the applicable requirements of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, so defendants should consider challenging a plaintiff's ability to meet typicality and adequacy requirements early and often, say attorneys at Womble Bond.

  • What Employers Can Learn From Axed Mo. Sick Leave Law

    Author Photo

    Missouri's recent passage and brisk repeal of Proposition A, which would have created a paid sick time benefit for employees, serves as a case study for employers, highlighting the steps they can take to adapt as paid sick leave laws are increasingly debated across the country, say attorneys at Foley & Lardner.

  • Navigating Court Concerns About QR Codes In FLSA Notices

    Author Photo

    As plaintiffs attorneys increasingly seek to include QR codes as a method of notice in Fair Labor Standards Act collective actions, counsel should be prepared to address judicial concerns about their use, including their potential to be duplicative and circumvent court-approved language, say attorneys at Shook Hardy.

  • FMLA Expansion Sees State Progress Despite Federal Barriers

    Author Photo

    Recent legislative efforts to expand the Family and Medical Leave Act reflect workers' growing demand for work-life balance, but as federal proposals continue to face significant hurdles, states have stepped in, creating a labyrinth of leave laws and compliance headaches for multistate employers, say attorneys at FordHarrison.

  • New Law May Reshape Fla. Employer Noncompete Strategy

    Author Photo

    With Florida's CHOICE Act taking effect this week, employers should consider the pros and cons of drafting new restrictive covenant agreements with longer noncompete or garden leave periods and enhanced enforcement mechanisms, say attorneys at Vedder Price.

  • How Ending OFCCP Will Affect Affirmative Action Obligations

    Author Photo

    As President Donald Trump's administration plans to eliminate the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, which enforces federal contractor antidiscrimination compliance and affirmative action program obligations, contractors should consider the best compliance approaches available to them, especially given the False Claims Act implications, say attorneys at Ogletree.

  • FLSA Interpretation Patterns Emerge 1 Year After Loper Bright

    Author Photo

    One year after the U.S. Supreme Court's monumental decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, four distinct avenues of judicial decision-making have taken shape among lower courts that are responding to their newfound freedom in interpreting the Fair Labor Standards Act through U.S. Department of Labor regulations, say attorneys at Kutak Rock.

  • Handbook Hot Topics: Shifting Worker Accommodation Rules

    Author Photo

    Since President Donald Trump took office, many changes have directly affected how employers must address accommodation requests, particularly those concerning pregnancy-related medical conditions and religious beliefs, underscoring the importance of regularly reviewing and updating accommodation policies and procedures, say attorneys at Kutak Rock.

  • What Calif. Appeals Split Means For Litigating PAGA Claims

    Author Photo

    After two recent California state appeals court rulings diverged on whether a former employee with untimely individual claims under the Private Attorneys General Act can maintain a representative action, practitioners' strategic agility will be key to managing risk and achieving favorable outcomes in PAGA litigation, say attorneys at Buchalter.

  • When Rule 12 Motions Against Class Allegations Succeed

    Author Photo

    Companies facing class actions often attempt early motions to strike class allegations, and while some district courts have been reluctant to decide certification issues at the pleading stage, several recent decisions have shown that Rule 12 motions to dismiss or strike class allegations can be effective, say attorneys at Womble Bond.

  • 5 Insurance Claims That Could Emerge After NCAA Settlement

    Author Photo

    Following the recent NCAA class action settlement that will allow revenue sharing with college athletes, there may be potential management liability for universities, their executive leadership and boards that could expose insurers to tax, regulatory, breach of contract and other claims, says Sarah Abrams at Baleen Specialty.