Wage and Hour Defense Blog

The United States District Court for the Northern District of California has denied certification of a class action against Joe's Crab Shack restaurants on claims that employees worked off-the-clock, were denied meal and rest breaks, and were required to purchase t-shirts to wear at work.  Because the case was handled by our EpsteinBeckerGreen colleagues Michael Kun and Aaron Olsen, we do not believe it is appropriate to comment on the decision or its implications.  If you would like to read the decision, a copy may be found here.

By Michael Kun and Doug Weiner

It is no secret that employers have been beseiged by wage-hour litigation, including wage-hour class actions and collective actions. It is also no secret that the persons who benefit most from these actions are often plaintiffs' counsel, who frequently receive one-third or more of any recovery. Now, as a result of an unprecedented new program initiated by the the Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division ("WHD"), the WHD will be practically delivering potential plaintiffs to the doors of plaintiffs' counsel -- and the WHD has invited plaintiffs ...