The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has decided not to seek U.S. Supreme Court review of two U.S. Court of Appeals decisions invalidating the NLRB’s Notice Posting Rule. As you may recall, the rule would have required most private sector employers to post a notice notifying employees of their rights under the National Labor Relations … Continue Reading
Effective January 1, 2014, Florida’s minimum wage will increase from the current rate of $7.79 to $7.93 per hour. Each year, the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity must recalculate Florida’s minimum wage based upon the increase in the federal Consumer Price Index for Urban Earners and Clerical Workers in the Southern Region. Based upon the … Continue Reading
On Tuesday, a federal court judge in New York ruled that Fox Searchlight Pictures violated federal and state wage laws by not paying production interns. The production interns, Eric Glatt and Alexander Footman, worked on the psychological thriller “Black Swan” performing work such as reconciling purchase orders and invoices, drafting cover letters, filing, making copies, arranging … Continue Reading
It is that time of year again and time for the obligatory “get ready for hurricane season” blog posting. Fortunately, it has been a while since we had to run through the hurricane drill. Let’s hope our string of good fortune continues and there is no need to gas up the generators or empty the shelves … Continue Reading
We have blogged in the past whether offering back pay and other expenses to a plaintiff in a lawsuit under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) can “kill” the lawsuit. Some courts have recognized that offering the plaintiff full back pay and expenses makes the lawsuit “moot,” even if the plaintiff rejects the offer. Other … Continue Reading
Whether you have in-house or outside recruiters, make clear what they can and cannot say to your employees. On March 11, 2013, an Administrative Law Judge (“ALJ”) for the National Labor Relations Board made the recommendation that Aerotek, Inc., an employee staffing company, violated the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”) when its recruiters told employees … Continue Reading
On February 13, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, which has jurisdiction over Florida, ruled that liquidated damages for a retaliation claim under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) are discretionary, and not mandatory. Moore v Appliance Direct, Inc. is the first decision on this issue in the Eleventh Circuit, which also covers Georgia and … Continue Reading
A recent case from the federal court in Orlando provides a reminder that sharing pooled tips too widely could violate the Fair Labor Standards Act and expose the employer for failing to pay the minimum wage. In Rubio v. Fuji Sushi & Teppani, Inc., a former server sued the restaurant where she had worked for … Continue Reading
The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed dismissal of a lawsuit under the Fair Labor Standards Act brought by an employee who failed to follow her employer’s policy for reporting uncompensated work time. In Margaret White v. Baptist Mem’l Health Care Corp., the employer, Baptist Memorial Health Care Corp. (“Baptist”), automatically … Continue Reading
The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals recently found no liability for a company that kept accurate time records in the face of a former employee who claimed that he was not paid for overtime hours that he worked at home. In Brown v. Scriptpro, the employer, Kansas-based company ScriptPro LLC, had an automated timekeeping system … Continue Reading
Effective January 1, 2013, Florida’s minimum wage will increase from the current rate of $7.67 to $7.79 per hour. Each year, the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity must recalculate Florida’s minimum wage based upon the increase in the federal Consumer Price Index for Urban Earners and Clerical Workers in the Southern Region. Based upon the … Continue Reading
For over 30 years, the federal courts in Florida (and in other states) have required that settlements of minimum wage and overtime claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) be reviewed and approved either by a court or the US Department of Labor. Now, one court, the Fifth Circuit Court Of Appeals, the federal … Continue Reading
The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, which has jurisdiction over Florida, recently ruled that DHL was not liable for overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) for hours worked by independent drivers it had hired through a third-party contractor. In the case, Layton v. DHL Express (USA), Inc., DHL Express (USA) Inc. contracted with a separate … Continue Reading
The U.S. Supreme Court handed the pharmaceutical industry a huge victory in the battle over whether pharmaceutical sales representatives are entitled to overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). The pharmaceutical industry took the position that its sales representatives were exempt from the FLSA’s overtime requirements as exempt outside salespeople. The sales representatives argued … Continue Reading
In the third of three recent wage and hour class actions brought by unpaid interns against media and entertainment companies (Wang v. The Hearst Corp. and Glatt and Footman v. Fox Searchlight Pictures, Inc.), a former unpaid intern for the “The Charlie Rose Show” has sued Charles Rose and his production company on behalf of all interns … Continue Reading
We have all heard the riddle of whether a tree that falls in a forest with no one present makes a noise. A federal appellate court sitting in Indiana faced a similar question regarding a former employee’s claim for overtime compensation under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). In the case of Kellar v. Summit … Continue Reading
On September 20, we posted, Was Dionne The FLSA Magic Bullet We Thought?, which discussed recent cases under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) where the employer tried to moot the lawsuit by tendering the back pay and liquidated damages claimed by the former employee. As a refresher, in Dionne v. Floormasters Enterprises, Inc., the … Continue Reading
Effective January 1, 2012, Florida’s minimum wage will increase from the current rate of $7.31 to $7.67 per hour. Each year, the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity must recalculate Florida’s minimum wage based upon the increase in the federal Consumer Price Index for Urban Earners and Clerical Workers in the Southern Region. Based upon the … Continue Reading
Has the Eleventh Circuit Court Appeals provided employers with a means to resolve a Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) lawsuit quickly and avoid paying attorneys’ fees or has the plaintiffs bar already revised its litigation strategy? The federal appeals court with jurisdiction over Florida, Georgia, and Alabama recently denied attorneys’ fees to a plaintiff suing … Continue Reading
As discussed in an earlier post (NLRB OKs Employee Bad-Mouthing on Social Media), the National Labor Relations Board is not just in the business of regulating union activity. According to law, two or more employees (regardless of union affiliation) are protected in acting together to improve the conditions of their employment, including wages and hours. This is … Continue Reading
Florida’s minimum wage has increased to $7.31 per hour. The direct wage for tipped employees increased to $4.29 per hour. The six-cent increase is the result of a successful lawsuit brought by a group of Florida workers against the government claiming that it miscalculated the state minimum wage under the state constitution. While 6 cents … Continue Reading
