Wage and Hour Defense Blog

Insight and Commentary on Wage and Hour Law Developments Affecting Employers

Blog Authors

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Maxine Adams

Matthew Savage Aibel

Carrie Anderer

Latest from Wage and Hour Defense Blog

Wage and Hour Defense Blog

Illinois State Legislators Authorize Increased Wage Theft Penalties

By James J. Oh & Kathleen A. Barrett

May 28, 2021

On May 25, 2021, both houses of the Illinois General Assembly approved an amendment to the State’s Wage Payment and Collection Act (“the Act”). The change would require employers who violate the Act to pay damages of 5% of the amount of any underpayment of wages, compensation, or wage supplements for each month following the date of payment during which the amount(s) owed remain unpaid. This represents a 150% increase to the penalty, as the…

Wage and Hour Defense Blog

The Ninth Circuit Finds California’s ABC Test Is Not Preempted by the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act

By Kyle D. Winnick

May 14, 2021

For decades, the practice of motor carriers arranging for freight to be transported by independent owner-operators—i.e., independent contractors who drive their own trucks—has been ubiquitous. However, this practice is now under threat in California because of a recent court decision. On April 28, 2021, in California Trucking Ass’n v. Bonta, No. 20-55106 (9th Cir. 2021) (“CTA v. Bonta”), the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit addressed whether the broad preemption language of…

Wage and Hour Defense Blog

DOL Withdraws Independent Contractor Rule

By Corben J. Green

May 10, 2021

As we previously discussed, in early January 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor issued a Final Rule regarding independent contractor status under the Fair Labor Standards Act. On May 5, 2021, in line with the policy goals of the new administration, the Department issued a Final Rule withdrawing the January Final Rule. The withdrawal went into effect on May 6, 2021, upon the publication in the Federal Register (86 FR 24303). The…

Wage and Hour Defense Blog

Time Is Money: A Quick Wage-Hour Tip on … Providing Paid Time Off for COVID-19 Vaccinations

By Dean R. Singewald II

May 7, 2021

With the United States in the midst of dealing with the coronavirus pandemic, there has been focused attention on the rollout of vaccines approved for emergency use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and the actual number of individuals being vaccinated. Presently, 250 million COVID-19 vaccine shots have been administered and individuals 16 years of age and older are eligible to receive the vaccine. Now, in an effort to get more people vaccinated, employers…

Wage and Hour Defense Blog

Why Not Just Make Everybody Hourly?

By Paul DeCamp & Michael S. Kun

May 6, 2021

For more than 80 years, federal law has provided a general right to premium pay for working overtime hours, originally just for covered employees, then later for employees of covered enterprises. The laws of more than 30 states contain a comparable requirement, though in some instances differing in the particulars. This presumptive right to the overtime premium is, of course, subject to the familiar exemption construct whereby individuals whose employment satisfies one or more of…

Wage and Hour Defense Blog

Epstein Becker Green’s Free Wage-Hour App Includes 2021 Changes to Federal, State, and Local Laws

By Michael S. Kun

April 8, 2021

Years ago, Epstein Becker Green (“EBG”) created its free wage-hour app to put federal, state, and local wage-laws at employers’ fingertips. The app provides important information about overtime exemptions, minimum wages, overtime, meal periods, rest periods, on-call time, travel time, and tips. As the laws have changed, so, too, has EBG’s free wage-hour app, which is updated to reflect new developments. No fewer than 46 states (or the localities within them) had changes to their…

Wage and Hour Defense Blog

Time Is Money: A Quick Wage-Hour Tip on … Tracking Employee Working Time

By Paul DeCamp

March 30, 2021

I had planned to focus this month’s installment of “Time Is Money” on the practice of rounding timeclock entries, addressing the history behind the practice as well as factors that make rounding today a riskier proposition than it used to be. Then, while reviewing our previous writings on the subject, I came across my colleague Mike Kun’s treatment of the topic in our July 2019 installment, where he already said pretty much everything I…

Wage and Hour Defense Blog

California Supreme Court Holds That Employers May Not Round Punch Times in the Meal Period Context

By Kevin Sullivan

February 26, 2021

We have previously discussed on this page how rounding practices can be problematic. Now, in Donohue v. AMN Services, LLC, the California Supreme Court has provided yet another reason for employers in California to review their time rounding practices, as well as their meal period practices. As we previously discussed, more than eight years ago in Brinker Restaurant Corp. v. Superior Court, the California Supreme Court clarified many of the general…

Wage and Hour Defense Blog

Video & Podcast: Wage and Hour Enforcement Under President Biden – Employment Law This Week

By Epstein Becker & Green, P.C.

February 25, 2021

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As featured in #WorkforceWednesday: This week on our special podcast series, Employers and the New Administration, we look at how the Biden administration’s approach to wage and hour issues will impact employers. Special podcast episodes air every other #WorkforceWednesday. The Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has already adopted the Biden administration’s commitment to enforcement, its movement against arbitration agreements, and a fresh view on worker classification. What other…

Wage and Hour Defense Blog

Time Is Money: A Quick Wage-Hour Tip on … Complying with the Salary Basis Requirement for Exempt Employees

By Kevin Sullivan

February 22, 2021

A sometimes-overlooked requirement for classifying an employee as exempt from overtime is that, with limited exceptions, the employee must be paid on a “salary basis.” [1] Indeed, when employers fail to pay their exempt employees on a salary basis, they may be subject to lawsuits alleging exempt misclassification. As such, properly paying employees on a salary basis is critical to classifying employees as exempt. The General Rule Among other requirements, in order for an employer…

Wage and Hour Defense Blog

Insight and Commentary on Wage and Hour Law Developments Affecting Employers

Blog Authors

Illinois State Legislators Authorize Increased Wage Theft Penalties

The Ninth Circuit Finds California’s ABC Test Is Not Preempted by the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act

DOL Withdraws Independent Contractor Rule

Time Is Money: A Quick Wage-Hour Tip on … Providing Paid Time Off for COVID-19 Vaccinations

Why Not Just Make Everybody Hourly?

Epstein Becker Green’s Free Wage-Hour App Includes 2021 Changes to Federal, State, and Local Laws

Time Is Money: A Quick Wage-Hour Tip on … Tracking Employee Working Time

California Supreme Court Holds That Employers May Not Round Punch Times in the Meal Period Context

Video & Podcast: Wage and Hour Enforcement Under President Biden – Employment Law This Week

Time Is Money: A Quick Wage-Hour Tip on … Complying with the Salary Basis Requirement for Exempt Employees

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