Wage and Hour Defense Blog

By Michael Kun

If employers with operations in California believed that they could not possibly face more wage claims than they already do, they can think again.

The California Department of Labor Standards Enforcement (“DLSE”) – the state agency that addresses wage claims – has launched a new website designed to notify employees of their rights and explain how to file claims:

http://www.wagetheftisacrime.com/What-We-Do.html#laborCommissioner

The website provides detailed information about the various types of claims individuals may bring, and how to bring ...

By: Dean Silverberg, Bill Milani, Jeffrey Landes, Susan Gross Sholinsky, Anna Cohen, and Jennifer Goldman

The New York State Department of Labor ("DOL") recently published its long-awaited proposed regulations ("Proposed Regulations") pertaining to the newly expanded categories of permissible wage deductions pursuant to the New York State Labor Law ("Labor Law"). As we previously reported (see the Act Now Advisory entitled "New York Labor Law Significantly Expands the Scope of Permissible Wage Deductions"), the amendments to Section 193 of the Labor Law ("Section 193 ...

By Michael Kun

“Hybrid” wage-hour class actions are by no means a new concept. 

In a “hybrid” class action, the named plaintiff files suit seeking to represent classes under both the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) and state wage-hour laws.  As the potential recovery and limitations periods for these claims are often very different, so, too, are the mechanisms used for each. 

In FLSA claims, where classes can be “conditionally certified” if a plaintiff satisfies a relatively low burden of establishing that class members are “similarly situated” – a ...

By: Kara M. Maciel

Earlier this month, we released our Wage and Hour Division Investigation Checklist for employers and have received a lot of great feedback with additional questions. Following up on that feedback, we will be regularly posting FAQs as a regular feature of our Wage & Hour Defense Blog.

In this post, we address a common issue that many employers are facing in light of increased government enforcement at the state and federal level from the Department of Labor.

QUESTION: “I am aware that my industry is being targeted by the DOL for audits and several of my ...

By: Marisa Ratinoff

A federal judge takes on California's day of rest statutes and finds Nordstrom did not violate the California Labor Code where the plaintiffs voluntarily worked more then six days in a row.  In Mendoza v. Nordstrom, the Central District Court played it as expected by denying the claims of two former Nordstrom employees holding that while an employer may not force an employee to work more than six consecutive days pursuant to Labor Code Sections 551 and 552, the employer will not be found liable where the employee chooses to waive his or her day of rest.   Continuing the ...

By Michael Kun and Aaron Olsen

To the surprise of few, the California Supreme Court has decided to review the Court of Appeal’s decision enforcing a class action waiver in Iskanian v. CLS Transportation Los Angeles, LLC.

We wrote in detail about that decision on this blog earlier this year.

In reaching its conclusion, the Court of Appeals relied on the April 2011 United States Supreme Court’s landmark decision in AT&T Mobility, LLC v. Concepcion.  Whether the California Supreme Court will follow Concepcion or attempt to distinguish it is impossible to predict.   Unfortunately ...

Jeff Landes, Bill Milani, Susan Gross Sholinsky, Dean Silverberg, Anna Cohen, and Jennifer Goldman have prepared an Act Now Advisory on the amendment to Section 193 of New York’s Labor Law, which is scheduled to take effect on Nov. 6, 2012. The amendment expands the list of employee wage deductions that New York employers may lawfully make, so long as the employee authorizes such deductions.

By Michael S. Kun and Aaron F. Olsen

Earlier this week, the California Court of Appeals issued a ruling in Iskanian v. CLS Transportation Los Angeles, LLC that illustrates how the legal landscape in California has shifted in favor of enforcing arbitration agreements with class action waivers.   This, of course, is a welcome development for employers with operations in California, which have been besieged by class action lawsuits alleging wage-and-hour violations for the past 10+ years.

In 2006, the plaintiff in Iskanian filed a putative class action complaint against his ...

The Legal 500 United States, now in its 26th year, collects feedback from more than 180,000 in-house counsel and lawyers to select the leading law firms and lawyers in specific legal practice areas and industries.  The Legal 500 is an independent guide, and firms and individuals are recommended purely on merit. 

In 2012, both of Epstein Becker Green’s founding practices - Health Care and Life Sciences and Labor and Employment - as well as several individual attorneys, were recognized as leaders in their fields of practice.

For more information about the ranking and to read excerpts ...

By:  Kara M. Maciel

The Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division in Norfolk, Virginia has announced that it will be stepping up its compliance audits and enforcement efforts against area hotels. In the past few years, the DOL stated it found violations at about 60% of local hotels. According to the DOL, the agency recently made spot checks at 10 area hotels since April. This is just one part of the agency’s nationwide enforcement program and its “Plan/Prevent/Protect” initiative against the hospitality industry. Common violations assessed by the DOL include:

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