Wage & Hour Law Update

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Fifth Circuit Reverses Course, Concludes That “Day Rate” Pay Method Fails to Satisfy FLSA’s “Salary Basis” Test for Overtime Exemptions

April 26, 2020

Upon further reflection, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has determined that paying an employee a set amount for each day that he works (i.e. on a “day rate” basis) does not satisfy the “salary basis” component required to qualify as overtime-exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), even if by working a single hour in a given week, the employee will earn at least the weekly minimum salary…

Wage & Hour Law Update

DOL Issues New Opinion Letters Revolving Around the FLSA’s “Regular Rate”

By Gillian G. W. Egan

March 30, 2020

Continuing the practice it reinstituted about two years ago, on March 26, 2020 the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage Hour Division (WHD) issued three new opinion letters, each revolving around the “regular rate” that is used when calculating any overtime pay due to non-exempt employees for work performed in excess of 40 hours in a workweek. A brief summary of those Opinion Letters is as follows: Opinion Letter FLSA2020-3: Should an Alabama City’s End-of-Year Bonus…

Wage & Hour Law Update

Limousine Service Employee Was Properly Classified as Exempt, Second Circuit Holds

By Jaime Sanchez

March 20, 2020

Upholding a jury verdict in favor of the defendant “black car” (limousine service) company, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit concluded that the plaintiff-employee was properly classified as overtime-exempt under both the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and New York Labor Law (NYLL). Suarez v. Big Apple Car, Inc., 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 8683 (2d Cir. Mar. 17, 2020). The Second Circuit has jurisdiction over the federal courts in New York, Connecticut,…

Wage & Hour Law Update

Colorado’s COMPS Order 36 Goes Into Effect, With Some Modifications and Compliance Grace Periods

By Ryan P. Lessman & Jessica Reed-Baum

March 19, 2020

On March 16, 2020, the Colorado Overtime & Minimum Pay Standards (COMPS) Order 36 went into effect, bringing sweeping changes to Colorado’s wage and hour laws. COMPS Order 36 represents a dramatic shift from previous Colorado wage orders, significantly increasing the coverage of the rules, placing greater limitations on exemptions from the overtime requirements, expanding the definition of time worked, and imposing other requirements and potential liability on employers. For a comprehensive look at COMPS…

Wage & Hour Law Update

Settlement or Dismissal of Individual Claims Does Not Preclude Assertion of PAGA Claims, California Supreme Court Holds

By Cary G. Palmer & David T. Wiley

March 16, 2020

Noting the legal and conceptual differences between, as well as the penalties available in, a claim under the state’s Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) and an employee’s individual suit for damages and statutory penalties, the California Supreme Court recently held that an employee may bring a PAGA claim even if the employee has settled or dismissed his or her individual claims. Kim v. Reins International California, Inc., 2020 Cal. LEXIS 1593 (Cal. Mar. 12,…

Wage & Hour Law Update

New Jersey Independent Contractor Bill Based on “ABC” Test Has Failed – For Now

By David M. Walsh

January 23, 2020

On January 14, 2020, the latest session of the New Jersey legislature ended and, with it, so did Senate Bill (SB) 4204. The bill, which in many respects mirrored California’s recently-enacted Assembly Bill (AB) 5, sought to codify the “ABC test” as the proper method for determining whether an individual should be classified as an independent contractor or as an employee for purposes of wage claims and unemployment compensation under state law. However, by ending…

Wage & Hour Law Update

Minnesota Supreme Court Holds Minneapolis Minimum Wage Ordinance to Be Lawful

By Lee A. Lastovich & Gina K. Janeiro

January 23, 2020

The Minnesota Supreme Court, the state’s highest appellate court, has upheld a minimum wage ordinance enacted by the City of Minneapolis in 2017, providing for a higher minimum wage than that provided by state law. Graco, Inc. v. City of Minneapolis, 2020 Minn. App. LEXIS 12 (Minn. Jan. 20, 2020). In June 2017, the Minneapolis City Council enacted that Municipal Minimum Wage Ordinance, providing for higher minimum wage rates for hours worked by employees within…

Wage & Hour Law Update

New York Governor Vetoes “Wage Theft” Lien Bill, Promises Replacement

By Heather C. Hili

January 6, 2020

Concluding that it too broadly defined “employer” and raised a myriad of due process concerns that subjected it to risks of unconstitutionality, on December 31, 2019, Governor Andrew Cuomo vetoed a bill that would have allowed a current or former employee (or the New York State Department of Labor), alleging “wage theft” by an employer, to place a lien on the employer’s interest in real or personal property for the value of the wage claim…

Wage & Hour Law Update

Full Eleventh Circuit Finds that Plaintiffs Lack Standing in Alabama Lawsuit Challenging State Prohibition of Local Minimum Wage Laws

By Thomas A. Davis, Tammy L. Baker & David T. Wiley

December 16, 2019

In a closely-split decision by the full court of appeals, the Eleventh Circuit has held that the plaintiffs lacked standing to pursue their claims against the named defendants in the lawsuit, specifically, the Attorney General for the State of Alabama. As a result, the Court of Appeals had no authority to determine whether the plaintiffs’ equal protection claim might survive on its merits. Lewis v. Governor of Alabama, 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 36857 (11th Cir. Dec.…

Wage & Hour Law Update

The California Supreme Court to Decide Dynamex Retroactivity

By Benjamin A. Tulis & Susan E. Groff

December 3, 2019

The California Supreme Court announced that it would decide whether its April 30, 2018 landmark Dynamex decision is retroactive. The Supreme Court’s determination will have a significant impact on companies utilizing independent contractors in California. In Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court of Los Angeles County, the California Supreme Court adopted the “ABC Test” to for evaluating contractor classifications under California law. On June 20, 2018, the California Supreme Court denied a petition for…

Wage & Hour Law Update

Blog Authors

Fifth Circuit Reverses Course, Concludes That “Day Rate” Pay Method Fails to Satisfy FLSA’s “Salary Basis” Test for Overtime Exemptions

DOL Issues New Opinion Letters Revolving Around the FLSA’s “Regular Rate”

Limousine Service Employee Was Properly Classified as Exempt, Second Circuit Holds

Colorado’s COMPS Order 36 Goes Into Effect, With Some Modifications and Compliance Grace Periods

Settlement or Dismissal of Individual Claims Does Not Preclude Assertion of PAGA Claims, California Supreme Court Holds

New Jersey Independent Contractor Bill Based on “ABC” Test Has Failed – For Now

Minnesota Supreme Court Holds Minneapolis Minimum Wage Ordinance to Be Lawful

New York Governor Vetoes “Wage Theft” Lien Bill, Promises Replacement

Full Eleventh Circuit Finds that Plaintiffs Lack Standing in Alabama Lawsuit Challenging State Prohibition of Local Minimum Wage Laws

The California Supreme Court to Decide Dynamex Retroactivity

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