Jeffrey H. Ruzal

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

Blogs: Financial Services Employment Law, Hospitality Labor and Employment Law, Wage and Hour Defense Blog

Latest Articles

DOL Proposes New Rule to Determine Joint Employer Status under the FLSA

By Adriana S. Kosovych, Jeffrey H. Ruzal & Steven M. Swirsky on April 10, 2019

In the first meaningful revision of its joint employer regulations in over 60 years, on Monday, April 1, 2019 the Department of Labor (“DOL”) proposed a new rule establishing a four-part test to determine whether a person or company will be deemed to be the joint employer of persons employed by another employer. Joint employer status confers joint and several liability with the primary employer and any other joint employers for all wages due to…

Wage and Hour Defense Blog

New DOL Opinion Letters Address State Law Residential Janitor Exemption and Participation in an Employer’s Optional Volunteer Program

By Jeffrey H. Ruzal & Carly Baratt on March 15, 2019

On March 14, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (“WHD”) released two opinion letters concerning the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). One letter addresses the interplay between New York State’s overtime exemption for residential janitors (colloquially referred to as apartment “supers”) and the FLSA, which does not exempt such employees, and the other addresses whether time spent participating in an employer’s optional volunteer program constitutes “hours worked” requiring compensation under the…

Hospitality Labor and Employment Law

Trend to Watch: State Legislatures Target Restaurants for Mandatory Sexual Harassment Training

By Jeffrey H. Ruzal & Carly Baratt on February 25, 2019

In the New Year, two states – New Jersey and Illinois – have proposed legislation requiring restaurants to adopt a sexual harassment training policy and provide anti-sexual harassment training to employees. While it remains to be seen whether these bills will become law, attempts to target and reform working conditions in the hospitality industry are nonetheless noteworthy, particularly given that unlike New York and California, neither New Jersey nor Illinois have enacted broad legislation requiring…

Wage and Hour Defense Blog

Governor Cuomo Announces Proposal to Crack Down on Wage Theft

By Jeffrey H. Ruzal & Carrie Anderer on February 1, 2019

On January 24, 2019, Governor Cuomo’s office issued a press release announcing a new proposal to be included in the 2020 Executive Budget aimed at cracking down on wage theft and bolstering the State’s efforts to hold accountable employers who attempt to improperly withhold wages. This proposal would increase the criminal penalties for employers who either knowingly or intentionally commit wage theft violations to bring them in line with other forms of theft. Presently, only…

Wage and Hour Defense Blog

New Prime Inc. v. Oliveira: The Supreme Court Applies the Federal Arbitration Act’s Transportation Workers Exclusion to Independent Contractors

By Jeffrey H. Ruzal & Carly Baratt on January 17, 2019

On January 15, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision in New Prime Inc. v. Oliveira, a case concerning the enforceability of arbitration agreements. Petitioner New Prime Inc. (“New Prime”) is an interstate trucking company that engaged Dominic Oliveira to perform work as a driver pursuant to an “Independent Contractor Operating Agreement,” containing both an arbitration clause and a delegation clause giving the arbitrator authority to decide threshold questions of arbitrability. Oliveira…

Wage and Hour Defense Blog

New DOL Opinion Letters Address Varying Average Hourly Rate and Ministerial Exception

By Jeffrey H. Ruzal & Carly Baratt on January 2, 2019

True to its promise last year, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (the “WHD”) continues to issue a steady stream of opinion letters designed to offer practical guidance to employers on specific wage and hour issues solicited by employers. This past week, the WHD issued two new opinion letters concerning the Fair Labor and Standards Act (“FLSA”), where one addresses an employer’s hourly pay methodology vis-à-vis the FLSA’s minimum wage requirement, and…

Wage and Hour Defense Blog

Act Now Advisory: New York Wage Deduction Rules

By Jeffrey H. Ruzal & Ann Knuckles Mahoney on December 12, 2018

On December 7, 2018, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo signed into law an amendment to New York Labor Law (“NYLL”) Section 193 (“NY Wage Deduction Law”) extending the NY Wage Deduction Law, which had expired on November 6, 2018, until November 6, 2020. Introduced in 2012, the NY Wage Deduction Law amended the NYLL to permit employers to make certain deductions from the wages of their employees, including deductions for accidental overpayments, salary advances (including advances of…

Wage and Hour Defense Blog

New York City Sets Minimum Wage for Independent Contractors of Ride-Hailing Companies

By Jeffrey H. Ruzal & Carly Baratt on December 6, 2018

On December 4, 2018, New York City’s Taxi and Limousine Commission (“TLC”) voted to require ride-hailing companies operating in New York City to compensate its drivers who are treated as independent contractors, and not employees, on a per-minute and –mile payment formula, which will result in a $17.22 per hour wage floor. This new rule is scheduled to take effect on December 31, 2018. This new minimum wage for independent contractor drivers who operate vehicles…

Wage and Hour Defense Blog

Act Now Advisory: New York’s Salary Threshold for Exemption Will Increase on December 31, 2018

By Jeffrey H. Ruzal & Nancy Gunzenhauser Popper on November 12, 2018

Effective December 31, 2018, New York State’s salary basis threshold for exempt executive and administrative employees[1] will increase again, as a part of amendments to the minimum wage orders put in place in 2016.[2] Employers must increase the salaries of employees classified as exempt under the executive and administrative exemptions by the end of the year to maintain these exemptions. The increases to New York’s salary basis threshold for the executive and administrative…

Wage and Hour Defense Blog

DOL Issues Field Assistance Bulletin Providing Guidance on Classification of Home Care, Nurse, or Caregiver Registries Under the FLSA

By Jeffrey H. Ruzal & Carly Baratt on July 19, 2018

Last Friday, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued Field Assistance Bulletin No. 2018-4 to help guide the DOL Wage and Hour Division field staff as to the correct classification of home care, nurse, or caregiver registries under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). This is the most recent piece of guidance on a topic first addressed by the DOL in a 1975 Opinion Letter. The bulletin is noteworthy in two respects. First, it confirms that…

Jeffrey H. Ruzal

DOL Proposes New Rule to Determine Joint Employer Status under the FLSA

New DOL Opinion Letters Address State Law Residential Janitor Exemption and Participation in an Employer’s Optional Volunteer Program

Trend to Watch: State Legislatures Target Restaurants for Mandatory Sexual Harassment Training

Governor Cuomo Announces Proposal to Crack Down on Wage Theft

New Prime Inc. v. Oliveira: The Supreme Court Applies the Federal Arbitration Act’s Transportation Workers Exclusion to Independent Contractors

New DOL Opinion Letters Address Varying Average Hourly Rate and Ministerial Exception

Act Now Advisory: New York Wage Deduction Rules

New York City Sets Minimum Wage for Independent Contractors of Ride-Hailing Companies

Act Now Advisory: New York’s Salary Threshold for Exemption Will Increase on December 31, 2018

DOL Issues Field Assistance Bulletin Providing Guidance on Classification of Home Care, Nurse, or Caregiver Registries Under the FLSA

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