Co-authored by Dennis Clifford and Rachel Hoffer
From December 2011 to September 2012, Ambrea Fairchild was living the new All American dream: hired by All American Check Cashing, Inc. as an hourly manager trainee in its Hattiesburg, Mississippi store, Fairchild was soon promoted to manager, a salaried position, in March 2012. But Fairchild performed poorly in her new role; after
Continue Reading Fifth Circuit Rejects Off-the-Clock Bid: That’s Not Fair(child)
Authored by Kevin Fritz
“Erroneous”
“Vindictive”
“Indefensible”
“Disruptive”
“Debacle”
“Belligerent”
“Botched”
“Dubious”
. . . and these words are only from the first seven pages of the opinion.
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals recently slammed the United States Department of Labor with a finding of abusive conduct and ordered an award of significant monetary sanctions for bad faith, harassment,
Continue Reading Fifth Circuit Fires at the Department of Labor with Colorful, Precedential Prose
Co-authored by John L. Collins and Brian Wadsworth
If I settle my employment lawsuit and release “all claims,” does that include wage-hour claims if the subject never came up? Last week, in Bodle, et al. v. TXL Mortgage Corporation, the Fifth Circuit said no.
As wage-hour practitioners know, the law in most circuits makes settlement of wage-hour claims a
Continue Reading General Release May Not Preclude FLSA Claims Says Fifth Circuit
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
Co-authored by Joshua Seidman and Nadia Bandukda
D.R. Horton Who? Who is not the question here, it is why and what is going on with the NLRB saga? Last week, the NLRB filed a petition for rehearing with the Fifth Circuit seeking reconsideration and reversal of the appellate court’s December 2013 decision regarding employee class action waivers.
The Board’s petition
Continue Reading D.R. Horton Rehears a Who: NLRB Files Petition for Rehearing with Fifth Circuit
Authored by Steve Shardonofsky
What happens when an object with greater mass collides with a smaller object? Yes, the smaller object typically bears the brunt of the force and splits into two or more pieces. According to a recent decision by Judge Keith Ellison of the Southern District of Texas, this is exactly what happens when Fifth Circuit precedent collides
Continue Reading TO MOOT OR NOT TO MOOT—THE FIRST FLSA CASE IN TEXAS TO GRAPPLE WITH THE GENESIS HEALTHCARE RULING
Co-authored by Richard L. Alfred and Patrick J. Bannon
Employers that want to use traditional bilateral arbitration to resolve employment disputes won an important victory yesterday: the Fifth Circuit overturned the National Labor Relations Board’s controversial D.R. Horton decision. Nothing in federal labor law, the Fifth Circuit ruled, forbids employers and employees from agreeing to resolve disputes through individual rather
Continue Reading Horton Hears a Reversal: The Fifth Circuit Overturns the National Labor Relations Board’s Controversial D.R. Horton Decision
Authored by Howard Wexler
In a scene reminiscent of a high school calculus class, the Fifth Circuit took out its red pen and reviewed the math a lower court used to determine back pay for employees found to have been improperly classified as exempt from overtime. Unfortunately for the lower court, it flunked the exam: the Fifth Circuit held that
Continue Reading Check Your Math! Fluctuating Workweek Damage Calculation Approved Yet Again
Authored by Steve Shardonofsky
As we blogged here earlier this year, the Fifth Circuit in Martin et al. v. Spring Break ’83 Productions, L.L.C. et al.; No. 11-30671 (July 24, 2012) became the first federal appellate court to enforce a private FLSA settlement. Now, the United States Supreme Court may get a chance to weigh in on this issue
Federal district and appellate courts historically have refused to enforce settlements and/or waivers of FLSA rights without Department of Labor or court approval. We recently blogged here, for example, about a recent ruling from the Southern District of New York that rejected a proposed settlement of overtime claims because the proposed agreement contained a confidentiality clause. In Martin
Continue Reading Fifth Circuit Enforces Private FLSA Settlement And Makes Its Own Summer Blockbuster
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