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By: Dena Moghtader

Seyfarth Synopsis: In a misclassification-to-trial case, the Fifth Circuit affirmed a defense verdict because the plaintiff failed to prove the employer had actual or constructive knowledge of alleged overtime, rejected the theory that “no timekeeping system,” standing alone, creates constructive knowledge for the employer, and upheld the Fifth Circuit pattern jury instruction that employees must notify employers…

Continue Reading No Employer Knowledge, No Overtime: Fifth Circuit Affirms Defense Verdict Where Employee Must Prove Employer Knew of Overtime.

By: Petersen D. Walrod & Kyle D. Winnick

Seyfarth Synopsis: The U.S. Department of Labor has proposed a new independent contractor rule that would guide courts, companies, and workers in their determinations of who must be paid as an employee and who can be treated as an independent contractor under the FLSA and two other statutes.

After much anticipation, the…

Continue Reading DOL Proposes to Readopt the 2021 Independent Contractor Rule with Minor Variations

By: Noah A. Finkel and Cassandra M. Ficano

Seyfarth Synopsis: It has long been established that, to be enforceable, a release of a FLSA claim must be approved by either the Department of Labor or a court. While courts in the Second and Eleventh Circuits have consistently adhered to this precedent, in recent years, a growing number of courts in…

Continue Reading FLSA Releases: When Employers Might Get the Benefit of Their Bargain

By: Ralph Culpepper III and Kevin M. Young

Seyfarth Synopsis: In one of its final rulings of 2025, the Eleventh Circuit in Villarino v. Pacesetter Personnel Services, Inc. affirmed summary judgment in favor of a staffing agency, rejecting minimum wage and compensation claims tied to optional van transportation and pre- and post-shift activities. The court held that deductions for use…

Continue Reading No Free Rides: Eleventh Circuit Upholds Deductions, and Rejects Wait-Time Claims, for Employer-Provided Vans

By: Phillip J. Ebsworth and Sofya Perelshteyn

Seyfarth Synopsis: Second Appellate District affirmed the ruling in a PAGA bench trial finding that the employer’s pay plan was lawful and that the PAGA notice did not include the facts and theories that plaintiffs pursued at trial.

The bench trial focused on the pay plan by which the employer car dealership paid…

Continue Reading PAGA Paraphrased – Mora v. C.E. Enterprises, Inc.

By: Howard M. Wexler, Kyle D. Winnick, and Kimberly I. Garcia

Seyfarth Synopsis: The Third Circuit held that Section 216(b) of the FLSA does not prohibit the release of FLSA claims in an opt-out class-action settlement.

Settling “hybrid” cases in the Third Circuit just became easier for parties asserting claims under both federal and state wage-and-hour laws.

By…

Continue Reading Third Circuit Clarifies that FLSA Claims May Be Released by Absent Class Members

By: Hillary Massey, Kyle A. Petersen, and Molly C. Mooney

Seyfarth Synopsis: The federal government has now shutdown as of midnight on Wednesday, October 1, 2025 with no money flowing to fund non-essential services. Private-sector employers with federal contracts may need to consider cost-saving measures, such as temporary furloughs, reductions in hours, or reduced pay.

With government funding…

Continue Reading When Washington Goes Dark: What Federal Contractors Need to Know About the Shutdown

By: Phillip J. Ebsworth and Paul J. Leaf

Seyfarth Synopsis: The Fifth District Court of Appeal held that under pre-reform PAGA, headless PAGA actions in which plaintiffs seek civil penalties only on behalf of other employees and not for violations they personally experienced are permitted.

The Fifth District Court of Appeal considered the meaning of pre-reform PAGA language stating…

Continue Reading PAGA Paraphrased – CRST Expedited, Inc. v. Super. Ct.

By: Shannon Cherney and Lennon Haas

Seyfarth Synopsis: The Ninth Circuit’s decision in Harrington v. Cracker Barrel underscores the growing importance of personal jurisdiction in limiting the scope of FLSA collective actions.  The court held that employees with no connection to the forum state may not be able to join a lawsuit filed there, even if they share similar claims.  …

Continue Reading Where It’s Filed Really Matters: Jurisdictional Limits in Wage and Hour Litigation

By: Phillip J. Ebsworth and Jeff A. Nordlander

Seyfarth Synopsis: The Second District Court of Appeal held that, under the pre-reform PAGA statute, an individual employee need not have been employed or experienced a Labor Code violation during the one-year PAGA limitations period to have standing to assert a PAGA claim.

In Osuna, the plaintiff submitted a PAGA notice…

Continue Reading PAGA Paraphrased – Osuna v. Spectrum Security Services, Inc.