Photo of Brett C. Bartlett

Brett is chair of Seyfarth Shaw’s Labor & Employment Department in Atlanta, a member of the Department’s National Steering Committee, and a leader in the firm’s National Wage & Hour Litigation Practice Group. Mr. Bartlett devotes the majority of his practice to the defense of complex federal and state wage and hour litigation. He also provides preventative counseling and change management assistance to employers wishing to limit their exposure to investigation and litigation under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and the state laws that require employers to pay overtime and minimum wages to their employees. Mr. Bartlett represents employers across the United States in court litigation and administrative matters arising under federal and state wage and hour laws.

Seyfarth Synopsis: The DOL’s Wage and Hour Division just scrapped its policy of seeking liquidated damages (double damages) in FLSA investigations. Why? Because it probably didn’t have the statutory authority in the first place, and doing so slowed down resolutions. Going forward WHD investigators are no longer allowed to demand liquidated damages in administrative settlements.

The U.S. DOL‘s Wage and

Continue Reading WHD Makes it Clear: Double Damages are (Liqui)Dated

Seyfarth Synopsis: Last week, a Washington healthcare company was ordered to pay 33,000 workers $98.3 million in damages in a class action related to its meal break and timeclock rounding practices.  The vast majority of the awarded damages pertain to missed meal breaks, but the award included an offset of about $1 million to account for the fact that

Continue Reading Washington Healthcare Company Ordered to Pay Workers Almost $100M for Missed Meal Breaks, Unpaid Time