Supreme-Court-seaslCo-authored by Kara Goodwin and Noah Finkel

Pending before the United States Supreme Court is a petition for writ of certiorari asking the Court to determine whether an employer may use payments for bona fide meal periods as an offset/credit against compensable work time. If the Supreme Court accepts the case, it would also provide an excellent opportunity for the
Continue Reading No Good Deed Goes Unpunished – The Supreme Court May Decide Whether Payments for Meal Breaks Can Offset Alleged Off-The-Clock Work

Co-authored by Robert Whitman and Meredith-Anne Berger

Blog readers who have been following the recent wave of wage and hour lawsuits by interns will recall that the Second Circuit, in a major decision issued in early July, held that the “primary beneficiary” test should govern whether interns were properly classified as such or should have been treated as full-fledged
Continue Reading Another Blow to DOL Position on Internships

Authored by Noah Finkel

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had a tough week last week.  It wasn’t just their loss to the Detroit Lions.  Defeats on Sundays are something with which the Bucs have grown accustomed.  Rather, last week the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals held that the Bucs’ attempt to have an adverse judgment against themselves would not end a
Continue Reading Can’t Win For Losing? Try Offering Complete Relief, Not Rule 68

Authored by Barry Miller

How do you classify the outside salesperson who fails to sell?  The administrative employee who can’t or won’t exercise discretion and independent judgment?  The manager who would rather perform manual labor than manage others?  Plaintiffs often stress – and Department of Labor regulations state – that a job description alone doesn’t dictate exempt status; rather, it’s
Continue Reading Great Expectations: Salesman’s Incompetent Performance Does Not Defeat Exempt Status

11th circ.gifAuthored by Jeffrey Glaser

The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals issued a decision last week that could substantially reduce the amount of damages available for FLSA retaliation claims.  In Moore, et al. v. Pak, an Eleventh Circuit panel held that district courts in that circuit (Alabama, Florida and Georgia) have the discretion to deny liquidated damage awards to plaintiffs

Continue Reading Eleventh Circuit Upholds District Court’s Discretion To Deny Liquidated Damages In FLSA Retaliation Claims

N.D. Ala.gifCo-authored by Brett Bartlett and Kevin Young

Last month, we reported on a ruling handed down by Judge Scott Coogler, a U.S. District Court Judge in Alabama, decertifying a nationwide FLSA collective action of store managers who claimed that they were misclassified as overtime-exempt.  As is common in store manager cases under the FLSA, the plaintiffs in that case, Knott

Continue Reading More Than Morgan: Federal Court Decertifies Nationwide FLSA Collective Action Despite Arguments Likening it to Plaintiff-Friendly Result in Morgan v. Family Dollar

N.D. Ala.gifCo-authored by Brett Bartlett and Kevin Young

Any employer that has faced a putative FLSA collective action in Florida, Georgia, or Alabama since 2008 should be aware of Morgan v. Family Dollar Stores, Inc., a case in which the Eleventh Circuit upheld a $35 million trial verdict against the Family Dollar chain and refused to reverse a pretrial decision

Continue Reading A Dutiful Result: Finding Differences in Management Duties, Federal Court Decertifies Nationwide FLSA Collective Action Brought By Dollar Tree Store Managers