The prohibition against private settlements of FLSA claims was scrutinized again last week, when U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York held that parties could voluntarily dismiss an FLSA lawsuit without obtaining approval of the settlement agreement from the court. Picerni v. Bilingual SEIT & Preschool Inc.
settlement
Waivers and Releases of Massachusetts Wage Claims
By Epstein Becker Green on
Posted in State Wage and Hour Laws, Wage and Hour Policies
On December 17, 2012, in Crocker v Townsend Oil, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court invalidated a settlement agreement, waiver and release to the extent it purported to release claims under the Massachusetts Wage and Hour Laws, but did not expressly include that statute by name among the claims being released. …
In the Name of “Fairness,” a New Jersey Federal Court Strikes the Confidentiality and Release Provisions from a Fair Labor Standards Act Settlement Agreement
By Kara M. Maciel on
By Douglas Weiner and Meg Thering
In one of the many “wrinkles” in Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) litigation, settlements of wage and hour disputes between an employer and its employees are only enforceable if supervised by the U.S. Department of Labor or approved by a court. Courts will approve settlements if they are “fair”; however…
IRS Announces Voluntary Classification Settlement Program
By Kara M. Maciel on
Posted in DOL Enforcement, FLSA Coverage
by Dean L. Silverberg, Jeffrey M. Landes, Susan Gross Sholinsky, and Jennifer A. Goldman
On September 21, 2011, the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") announced a new program that will give businesses the opportunity to resolve prior worker classification issues by voluntarily reclassifying their non-employee workers (such as consultants, freelancers, and independent contractors)…
Settling an FLSA Collective Action? Not So Fast!
By Kara M. Maciel on
Posted in Collective Actions, Ethics
By Amy Traub and Christina Fletcher
Once a settlement has been reached in an FLSA collective action, the defendant-employer typically wants that settlement to go into effect and end the case as soon as possible, so that the company can get past the myriad of distractions brought by the suit. However, as litigants increasingly are finding…
Florida Led Nation in FLSA Lawsuits in 2009
Posted in Wage and Hour Policies
Florida led the nation in Fair Labor Standards Act lawsuits in 2009. Statistics generated from PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records) show that about 2000 new cases were filed in United States District Courts in Florida last year, far more than in any other state.
Continue Reading Florida Led Nation in FLSA Lawsuits in 2009
Wage-Hour Firm Strikes Back Against Federal Judge
Posted in Ethics
Last month I reported that United States District Judge Kenneth L. Ryskamp had sanctioned the Shavitz Law Group, one of the leading plaintiff-side wage-hour firms in Florida, for soliciting plaintiffs in violation of Florida Bar Rules. The case was Hamm v. TBC Corp. and Tire Kingdom, Inc., Case No. 07-80829-CIV-RYSKAMP/VITUNAC.
The Shavitz firm recently struck back, filing a…