Wage and Hour Defense Blog

According to Kraft, by enacting Section 203(o) of the FLSA, Congress believed that allowing labor and management to alter donning and doffing compensation through collective bargaining was in the best interest of the employees and that any such agreement should be enforceable despite any potential contradictory State law, consistent with Congress's mandate that collective bargaining be governed exclusively by federal law. Kraft believes the Seventh Circuit's opinion is inconsistent with Supreme Court precedent and misinterprets federal law

by Michael Kun and Aaron Olsen

In recent years, some plaintiffs' counsel bringing wage-hour claims have have made the strategic decision to bring "hybrid" class actions; that is, actions alleging both federal and state wage-hour claims.  These cases can cause logistical nightmares for the courts, and great benefits for plaintiffs, for two primary reasons: (1) the standard for certification of a class is differerent for federal and state claims, and (2) classes in federal claims are "opt in" classes while those for state claims are "opt out" classes.  Indeed, in bringing ...

The New York State Department of Labor recently issued a proposed rule which would combine the current wage orders for the restaurant and hotel industries to form a single Minimum Wage Order for the Hospitality Industry. If adopted, the Wage Order would affect requirements related to the minimum wage, tip credits and pooling, customer service charges, allowances, overtime calculations, and other common issues within the restaurant and hotel industries. Additionally, the Wage Order would provide helpful guidance for traditionally ambiguous wage issues such as the handling of service charges and the definition of an employee uniform for purposes of a laundry allowance.