While we generally look at overtime as a “wage and hour” issue, I am once again reminded of how overtime is connected to other employment statutes. Recently, on an issue of first impression, the First Circuit found that the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) allows a prevailing plaintiff to recover lost overtime as part
We Need Your Vote – ABA Blawg 100!
You can now vote for your favorite wage and hour blog in the ABA Journal’s search for the 100 best legal blogs. We would love to have your support!
We started this blog about a year ago with the purpose of provding employers and lawyers with legal analysis and useful insight for handling those
Wage and Hour Lawsuits Continue to Soar
I read this morning that there have been 7,064 lawsuits filed under the Fair Labor Standards Act so far this year. I believe this is a record for wage and hour violation claims and the year is only half over. This is also nearly sixty more FLSA lawsuits than was filed in all of 2011
Court Rejects Challenge to DOL’s Interpretation That Mortgage Loan Officers are Non-exempt
I wanted to give our readers a quick update on the status of mortgage loan officers. In Mortgage Bankers Ass’n v. Solis, a federal district court in Washington D.C. recently rejected a challenge to the March 2010 DOL administrator’s interpretation that mortgage loan officers do not generally meet the administrative exemption under the FLSA. As
Pharmaceutical Sales Representatives Found to be Exempt by Seventh Circuit
The Seventh Circuit recently weighed in on whether pharmaceutical sales representatives are exempt under the FLSA in Susan Schaeffer-LaRose v. Eli Lilly & Company. In this consolidated case, the Seventh Circuit focused on the administrative exemption in determining that the sales representatives were exempt. Because the Court found that the sales representatives met the
Recent Settlements Agreeing to Pay Overtime for Misclassification of Employees
Misclassification of employees continues to bring a lot of headaches to employers. I have worked with a wide variety of businesses on this issue – from Fortune 500 to “mom and pop” companies. Each has its own way of doing things in this area and monitoring classification compliance is pretty low on the to-do list.
More Store Managers Found to Meet Executive Exemption
On April 3, 2012, a federal district court in South Carolina determined that two Dollar General store managers met the executive exemption from overtime pay under the FLSA. Gooden v. Dolgencorp and Thomas v. Dolgencorp. Granting summary judgment to Dolgencorp, the court held that Gooden’s and Thomas’s primary duties were managerial in nature based
Louisiana Joins the DOL’s Misclassification Initiative
Louisiana is the latest State to sign a Memorandum of Understanding and join forces with the U.S. Department of Labor to combat employee misclassification. These Memorandums of Understanding with state government agencies arose as part of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Misclassification Initiative, with the goal of preventing, detecting and remedying employee misclassification. Louisiana is
Seventh Circuit Weighs In On Commonality Requirement in Class Actions
The Seventh Circuit recently applied the Supreme Court’s Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes decision to class certification in a wage and hour action, and affirmed the certification of two classes. Ross v. RBS Citizens N.A. d/b/a Charter One. The Seventh Circuit held that the district court did not abuse its discretion in certifying two
Does Lady Gaga Owe Assistant OT?
Imagine you are the personal assistant for the world’s most famous artist, Lady Gaga. You have the opportunity to travel the world, meet famous people and watch your boss hit the button to drop the “ball” in Times Square on New Years Eve. What could be better? Well, apparently, being paid overtime.
Recently, Lady Gaga’s