The latest news in celebrity chef wage and hour litigation is that eight New York restaurants owned by Mario Batali have agreed to settle $5.25 million to settle a class action lawsuit alleging that they illegally withheld tips from hourly service workers. […]
I read the stories every day: some small business, often a local restaurant or a similar “mom and pop” operation, gets sued or tagged by the Department of Labor for failing to pay minimum wages and overtime to employees. Here’s […]
Do I Have To Pay An Exempt Employee Who Answers E-Mail Or Phone Calls While On FMLA Leave? [Wage & Hour FAQ]
March 5, 2012
Q. A salaried, exempt employee who recently returned from a week of unpaid FMLA leave claims that he is entitled to be paid his full salary for entire week because he responded to a number of work-related e-mails and telephone […]
Louisiana Joins the DOL’s Misclassification Initiative
February 29, 2012
Louisiana is the latest State to sign a Memorandum of Understanding and join forces with the U.S. Department of Labor to combat employee misclassification. These Memorandums of Understanding with state government agencies arose as part of the U.S. Department of […]
Can We Suspend An Exempt Employee Without Pay? [Wage & Hour FAQ]
February 17, 2012
Q. One of our salaried exempt employees appears to have violated our sexual harassment policy. We would like to suspend him without pay for 3 days. Is this allowed under the FLSA? A. Maybe, but check your state’s laws as […]
The Seventh Circuit recently applied the Supreme Court’s Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes decision to class certification in a wage and hour action, and affirmed the certification of two classes. Ross v. RBS Citizens N.A. d/b/a Charter One. The Seventh […]
4th Circuit: FLSA Prohibits Retaliation For Internal Complaints
February 7, 2012
According to the facts described in her complaint, Kathy Minor was hired by Bostwick Laboratiries, Inc. as a medical technologist on December 24, 2007. Just a few months later, on May 6, 2008, Minor claims that she and several co-workers […]
What Does The FLSA Say About Nursing Mothers? [Wage & Hour FAQ]
January 31, 2012
Regular readers may have noticed a decline in the frequency of our updates around the end of the year. That’s because, in addition to the usual holiday and year-end craziness, my wife and I welcomed a new baby on the […]