NYDOLAuthored by Robert S. Whitman and Howard M. Wexler

As we all know, the revisions to the FLSA’s “white collar” exemptions will take effect December 1 and will increase the salary level required for the executive, administrative, and professional exemptions to $913 per week (or $47,476 per year).  Avid wage and hour practitioners in New York have been waiting to
Continue Reading NY DOL To Increase Salary Threshold for Exempt Employees

Authored by Robert S. Whitman and Howard M. Wexler

Seyfarth Synopsis: The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York recently announced that cases filed under the FLSA and assigned to Judges Abrams, Briccetti, Carter, Daniels, Ramos, Seibel, and Woods will be ordered directly to mediation, before the initial Rule 16 conference, with limited pre-mediation disclosures. If successful,
Continue Reading SDNY Adopts Pilot Mandatory Mediation Program for FLSA Cases

Authored by Noah Finkel and Cheryl A. Luce

Seyfarth Synopsis: New decision from Northern District of Georgia rejects the DOL’s interpretation of the FLSA tip credit law. Holds that the FLSA does not regulate tips received by employees who are paid at least minimum wage.

Imagine that you are a restaurateur. You employ servers and bartenders who receive tips,
Continue Reading Another Federal Court Thinks the DOL Is Out to Lunch On Tip Credit Rule

Authored by Gerald L. Maatman, Jr. and Jennifer A. Riley

Seyfarth Synopsis: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit served up some welcome relief for employers in Schaefer v. Walker Bros. Enterprises, in which the court rejected Plaintiff’s theory and affirmed a district court’s order granting summary judgment in favor of Defendants.

Many employers, particularly in the hospitality
Continue Reading Seventh Circuit Serves Up Employer-Friendly Recipe For Compensating Tipped Employees

Authored by Abigail Cahak

Seyfarth Synopsis: The Supreme Court dealt a blow to the Department of Labor’s rulemaking procedures, criticizing the agency for explicitly changing its long-standing treatment  of automobile service advisors as overtime exempt while saying “almost nothing” regarding the reasons for the abrupt change.

This week, the Supreme Court dealt a blow to the Department of Labor’s rulemaking
Continue Reading SCOTUS Says DOL Needs to Explain Itself If It Wants Deference to its Regulations

Authored by Hillary J. Massey

Employers have a new tool for opposing conditional and class certification of overtime claims by financial advisors and other exempt employees—last week, a judge in the District of New Jersey denied conditional and class certification of such claims because the plaintiffs failed to show that common issues predominated. The court, pointing to other decisions denying
Continue Reading Advising On Their Own: Financial Advisors’ Class Claims Defeated

EDNY-SealCo-authored by Robert S. Whitman and Howard M. Wexler

Plaintiffs’ counsel frequently speak of the “low” burden necessary at first stage for conditional certification under the FLSA.  However, a recent decision from the Eastern District of New York highlights that plaintiffs may win the battle over conditional certification but still lose the war for final certification at second stage.

In
Continue Reading Doing the “Two Step”: Court Denies Second Stage Certification of FLSA Claims

Co-authored by Steve Shardonofsky and Ashley Hymel

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit recently sided with an ever-increasing line of cases clarifying the type of payments that may be added to a fixed salary without violating the fluctuating workweek method described in 29 C.F.R § 778.114.  The Court distinguished additional hourly-based pay from performance-based bonuses in this
Continue Reading Affirming Common Sense: Appeals Court Rejects Plaintiff’s “Two Rights Make A Wrong” Theory Involving Fluctuating Workweek Method

Authored by Alex Passantino

All around the country, tipping practices have been coming under scrutiny.  Restaurants increasingly have abandoned their use of tip credit — and tipping — partially due to a belief that a higher wage not tied to the fluctuations of tipping is better for morale and operations, and partially due to the complexities of dealing with wage
Continue Reading Ninth Circuit “Tips” Away from Prior Decision, Finds Pooling Rules Applicable

Co-authored by Gerald L. Maatman, Jr., Christina M. Janice, Michael W. Stevens, and Kylie R. Byron

Make no mistake, the role of Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court profoundly impacts the balance of power among the branches of our government.  Now, with the untimely passing of Justice Antonin Scalia on February 13, the void created in the
Continue Reading What Employers Need To Know About Supreme Court Issues After The Passing Of Justice Scalia