Authored by Gena B. Usenheimer
As we previously reported, this past August, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the Department of Labor’s Final Rule imposing sweeping changes to the former companionship exemption under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The group of home care associations that challenged the scope of the new regulations in court recently asked the U.S.
Continue Reading DOL’s New Companionship Exemption to Take Effect on October 13
Co-authored by Richard Alfred, Patrick Bannon and Esther Slater McDonald
In a case that could change how wage and hour class and collective actions are litigated, Tyson Foods, Inc. recently filed its opening Supreme Court brief. Tyson seeks reversal of a $5.8 million judgment in favor of meat processing employees who claimed to have worked off the clock.
As
Continue Reading Supreme Court Briefing Begins in Tyson Foods, Inc. v. Bouaphakeo, A Potential Wage and Hour Blockbuster
Authored by Kara Goodwin
Last week, a federal district court decertified a Rule 23 class of more than 1,000 insurance agents who claimed that Bankers Life and Casualty Co. misclassified them as independent contractors, and, as a result, they were entitled $16.9 million in overtime damages under the Washington Minimum Wage Act. In decertifying the class, the court held that
Continue Reading Agents Can’t Insure Class Treatment – Varied Experiences Require Decertification
Co-authored by Richard Alfred, Patrick Bannon and Esther Slater McDonald
Tyson Foods, Inc. v. Bouaphakeo
The U.S. Supreme Court agreed yesterday to hear an appeal challenging a nearly $6.0 million judgment in a collective and class action case against Tyson Foods, Inc. In Tyson Foods, Inc. v. Bouaphakeo, a wage and hour collective and class action regarding the
Continue Reading Game Changer? The Supreme Court Agrees to Consider Standards for Certifying FLSA Collective Actions and State Law Class Actions
Co-authored by Abad Lopez and Noah Finkel
The Third Circuit put a screeching halt to the contention that drivers must actually cross state lines to be exempt from overtime under the Motor Carrier Act (“MCA”). In Resch v. Krapf’s Coaches, Inc., the court ruled that drivers were exempt from overtime based on the mere possibility of driving across state
Continue Reading Court Puts the Brakes on Overtime for Drivers—No Interstate Trips? No Problem!
Authored by Alex Passantino
Over the past several weeks, we have received an increasing number of questions about the status of the Department of Labor’s revisions to the “white collar” overtime exemptions. As regular readers know, last March, the President directed the Secretary of Labor to begin the regulatory process on those regulations. At that time, the President directed the
Continue Reading Whatever Happened to those Overtime Rules?
Co-authored by Richard Alfred and Patrick Bannon
2014 saw no letup in the deluge of wage and hour litigation. Year-to-year, federal wage and hour lawsuits filed in federal courts increased by another 4.7%, bringing the total increase in federal court wage and hour cases over the past decade to more than 238%. With the increase in litigation in this area,
Continue Reading 2014 Wage Hour Wrap Up
Authored by Alex Passantino
It’s the week before Christmas, and we’ve accepted our mission,
The annual wage hour “sum-up” composition.
And to start it all off, we’ve got something nice,
‘Cause the Supreme Court addressed wage and hour stuff twice.
The year started out with the first one of those;
As Justice Scalia answered “What counts as clothes?”
With
Continue Reading Integral Clothes and Mistletoes: 2014 Year in Review
Authored by Kyle Petersen
For years, employers have been frustrated by lengthy and costly FLSA litigation prompted by little more than conclusory allegations that the plaintiff and a putative class were not paid for all of their overtime work. Since the Supreme Court clarified the federal pleading standards in Twombly and Iqbal, the doors to the courthouse may be
Continue Reading Not So Fast: 9th Circuit Puts the Brakes on Boilerplate, Bare Bones FLSA Complaints
Co-authored by Abad Lopez and Noah Finkel
Even in the face of an apparent victory, a company may be stuck with an unexpected and outsized attorneys’ fees tab. In a recent case that highlights the multifaceted perils of drawn out litigation, the Tenth Circuit affirmed a $3.4 million attorneys’ fees award—even though the jury rejected the majority of plaintiffs’
Continue Reading Bittersweet Victory: Court Affirms $3.4 Million Attorney’s Fee Award Despite Plaintiffs’ Defeat on Majority of Claims