Following the example of several other states and municipalities, the Council of the District of Columbia recently enacted (and the Mayor of the District of Columbia recently signed) the Protecting Pregnant Workers Fairness Act of 2014 (the “Act”).  The Act requires employers to provide reasonable workplace accommodations for workers whose ability to perform the functions of a job is limited by pregnancy, childbirth, a related medical condition, or breastfeeding.  The Act was transmitted to Congress…

Employers have long known that the Supreme Court’s decisions in Twombly and Iqbal provide them with a powerful weapon in moving to dismiss broadly worded complaints filled with conclusory allegations but little factual detail.   But courts are only just beginning to apply these higher pleading standards to FLSA claims for minimum wage and overtime. On November 12, 2014, the Ninth Circuit in Landers v. Quality Communications, Inc., joined the First, Second and Third Circuits in…

Washington, D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray quietly signed an amendment to the Wage Theft Prevention Act which will likely take effect in mid-December 2014 – just in time for the holidays.  The amended Act will significantly expand D.C. employers’ obligations to employees, including comprehensive new pay notice requirements for all existing employees and new hires going forward.  The Act also increases penalties and damages for violating various D.C. wage-hour and leave laws, places higher evidentiary burdens…

Last week, President Obama directed the U.S. Department of Labor to revise and modernize the “white- collar” overtime exemptions of the Fair Labor Standards Act to extend overtime benefits to a broader range of workers. This alert summarizes the President’s Memorandum, outlines what employers might expect in the coming months, and reminds employers to remain proactive to avoid potential worker misclassification. Read the full text of this alert.…