Carly Baratt

Firm/Organization: Epstein Becker & Green, P.C.

Blogs: Financial Services Employment Law, Hospitality Labor and Employment Law, Management Memo, Retail Labor and Employment Law, Trade Secrets & Employee Mobility, Wage and Hour Defense Blog

Latest Articles

Wage and Hour Defense Blog

The New Year Brings New Guidance on FLSA Issues from the U.S. Department of Labor

By Jeffrey H. Ruzal & Carly Baratt

January 15, 2020

In its first installment of opinions letters in 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (“WHD”) addressed two issues under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”): (i) the salary basis requirements in the context of per-project compensation arrangements and (ii) calculation of overtime pay for employees who receive nondiscretionary lump-sum bonus payments earned over time and not tied to a specific period. (A third letter, FMLA2020-1-A, considered FMLA requirements vis-à-vis public employees.) …

Wage and Hour Defense Blog

New State and Local Minimum Wage Increases Have Taken Effect Throughout the Country

By Jeffrey H. Ruzal & Carly Baratt

January 3, 2020

With the start of the New Year, new state and local minimum wage increases have gone into effect for non-exempt employees across the country. The chart below summarizes the new minimum wage rates that went into effect on January 1, 2020, unless otherwise indicated. (More will take effect July 1, 2020.) Jurisdiction Current Minimum Wage New Minimum Wage Alaska $9.89 $10.19 Albuquerque NM (No Benefits) $9.20 $9.35 Albuquerque NM (Benefits) $8.20 $8.35 Arizona $11.00 $12.00 Arkansas…

Hospitality Labor and Employment Law

Hospitality Employers Take Note: Numerous Local Increases to the Minimum Wage Take Effect Now

By Jeffrey H. Ruzal & Carly Baratt

January 2, 2020

With the start of the New Year, employers in the hospitality sector should prepare for new state- and local- minimum wage increases for their non-exempt employees. To help multi-jurisdictional employers easily navigate these changes, we have prepared the chart below, which summarizes the new minimum wage rates that have taken effect on January 1, 2020, unless otherwise indicated. Check back here in June for a summary of the new minimum wage rates that will take…

Wage and Hour Defense Blog

Two Recent Efforts, from Different Political Directions, to Adapt the FLSA to the 21st Century

By Jeffrey H. Ruzal & Carly Baratt

December 19, 2019

Over the past six months, Congress has made two notable attempts to amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (the “FLSA”). In July, U.S. Representative Elise Stefanik (R-NY) introduced The Modern Worker Empowerment Act (“MWEA”) with the stated aim of harmonizing the FLSA’s definition of employee with the common law. And last month, Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI) introduced the Treating Workers with Dignity Act of 2019 (“TWDA”), which would amend the FLSA to require…

Wage and Hour Defense Blog

Second Circuit Approves Offers of Judgment in FLSA Cases

By Jeffrey H. Ruzal, Adriana S. Kosovych & Carly Baratt

December 18, 2019

On December 6, 2019, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals held that judicial approval is not required for offers of judgment to settle Fair Labor and Standards Act (“FLSA”) claims made pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 68(a). This development may provide employers with a valuable strategic tool for use in FLSA cases, at least in the Second Circuit, allowing the parties to include terms in offers of judgment that the courts might disallow…

Wage and Hour Defense Blog

California Court Rules That Mandatory Service Charges May Be Gratuities

By Jeffrey H. Ruzal & Carly Baratt

November 12, 2019

Upsetting what many considered settled precedent, a California Court of Appeal has held that a mandatory service charge may qualify as a “gratuity” under California Labor Code Section 351 that must be distributed to the non-managerial employee(s) who provided the service. In O’Grady v. Merchant Exchange Productions, Inc., No. A148513, plaintiff, a banquet server and bartender, filed a putative class action against their employer for its failure to distribute the entirety of the proceeds…

Wage and Hour Defense Blog

WHD Releases Text of Proposed Revisions to the Fluctuating Workweek Regulations

By Jeffrey H. Ruzal & Carly Baratt

November 7, 2019

On August 26, 2019, we wrote of the plan by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (“WHD”) to update the Fair Labor Standard Act (“FLSA”) regulations on calculating overtime pay for salaried non-exempt workers to allow employers to include additional forms of compensation in the so-called “fluctuating workweek” calculations. Under a fluctuating workweek calculation, an employer divides all of an employee’s relevant compensation for a given workweek by the total number…

Management Memo

DOL Advises: FMLA Leave Should Not Be Delayed, No Exception for Collective Bargaining Agreements

By Jeffrey H. Ruzal & Carly Baratt

September 30, 2019

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (“WHD”) recently issued an opinion letter regarding the designation of FMLA leave in the context of employees covered by collective bargaining agreements (“CBA”) with a union. This opinion letter provides helpful clarification on an issue that is often a source of confusion for employers (as well as for unions). Overview Earlier this year, the WHD advised that once an eligible employee communicates a need to take…

Wage and Hour Defense Blog

Latest Department of Labor Opinion Letter Addresses the FLSA’s Retail/Service Establishment Employee Exemption

By Jeffrey H. Ruzal & Carly Baratt

September 17, 2019

Shopping-Mall-shutterstock_107374190-1280

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (“WHD”) continues to issue guidance at a rapid pace, releasing a new opinion letter regarding the retail or service establishment overtime exemption under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). The letter brings clarity to a recurring issue affecting retailers. FLSA Section 7(i) Exemption As background, FLSA Section 7(i) exempts a retail or service establishment employee from the FLSA’s overtime pay requirements if (i) the employee’s regular rate…

Wage and Hour Defense Blog

Proposed Rule Would Change the FLSA’s Fluctuating Workweek Method of Calculating Overtime Pay

By Jeffrey H. Ruzal & Carly Baratt

August 26, 2019

overtime_clock_shutterstock_553005508_1280x720

As part of its spring 2019 regulatory agenda, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (“WHD”) will consider a proposed revision to the Fair Labor Standard Act’s (“FLSA”) regulations on calculating overtime pay for workers whose hours fluctuate from week to week. Generally, non-exempt employees covered by the FLSA must receive overtime pay for hours worked in excess of 40 in a workweek at a rate at least time and one-half their regular…

Carly Baratt

The New Year Brings New Guidance on FLSA Issues from the U.S. Department of Labor

New State and Local Minimum Wage Increases Have Taken Effect Throughout the Country

Hospitality Employers Take Note: Numerous Local Increases to the Minimum Wage Take Effect Now

Two Recent Efforts, from Different Political Directions, to Adapt the FLSA to the 21st Century

Second Circuit Approves Offers of Judgment in FLSA Cases

California Court Rules That Mandatory Service Charges May Be Gratuities

WHD Releases Text of Proposed Revisions to the Fluctuating Workweek Regulations

DOL Advises: FMLA Leave Should Not Be Delayed, No Exception for Collective Bargaining Agreements

Latest Department of Labor Opinion Letter Addresses the FLSA’s Retail/Service Establishment Employee Exemption

Proposed Rule Would Change the FLSA’s Fluctuating Workweek Method of Calculating Overtime Pay

Stay Connected

Company

Support

New to the Network