The Third Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a federal statute that governs interstate trucking does not preempt the application New Jersey’s ABC test for distinguishing between employees and independent contractors. In Bedoya v. American Eagle Express Inc., New Jersey-based delivery drivers for AEX alleged that the company misclassified them as independent contractors rather than employees in violation of the New Jersey Wage and Hour Law and the New Jersey Wage Payment Law. AEX moved…

On February 4, 2019, a divided panel of the California Court of Appeal issued their majority and dissenting opinion in Ward v. Tilly’s, Inc.  It appears to be a precedent-setting decision in California, holding that an employee scheduled for an on-call shift may be entitled to certain wages for that shift despite never physically reporting to work. Each of California’s Industrial Welfare Commission (“IWC”) wage orders requires employers to pay employees “reporting time pay”…

On February 1, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor publicly designated Keith Sonderling as Acting Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division (“WHD”).  He joined WHD in September 2017 as a Senior Policy Advisor, receiving a promotion to Deputy Administrator last month.  Before joining the Department, he was a shareholder in the Gunster law firm in West Palm Beach, Florida, where he represented businesses in labor and employment matters. During his time with WHD, Sonderling…

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…

In Bernstein v. Virgin America, Inc., a district court in California has ordered Virgin America to pay more than $77,000,000 in damages, restitution, interest and penalties for a variety of violations of the California Labor Code. The award is the latest example of the tremendous amount of damages and penalties that can be awarded for non-compliance with California’s complex wage and hour laws. In 2016, the Bernstein Court granted the plaintiffs’ motion for class certification,…

On January 17, 2019, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy and legislative leaders announced an agreement to raise New Jersey’s minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2024. Under the agreement, and presuming enactment, effective July 1, 2019, the state’s minimum wage for most workers will increase from $8.85 to $10 an hour; thereafter, it will increase $1 an hour every January 1 until reaching $15 on January 1, 2024. For seasonal workers and employees of…

For years, EBG’s free wage-hour app has put federal, state and local wage-laws at your fingertips. One of the most significant developments in wage-hour law in recent years has been the implementation of new state and local minimum wages, many of which just went into effect on January 1, 2019. EBG’s free wage-hour app includes those new 2019 minimum wages. Downloading the app couldn’t be easier. Available without charge for iPhone, iPad, and …