By: Robert Whitman and Bill Varade Seyfarth Synopsis: In Whiteside v. Hover-Davis, Inc., the Second Circuit upheld the dismissal of an FLSA claim because the plaintiff failed to allege facts sufficient to invoke the three-year limitations period for willful violations. If a plaintiff merely alleges a willful violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), without more, will that suffice to invoke the FLSA’s three-year statute of limitations for willful violations?  The Second Circuit said…

By: Scott Hecker and Kevin Young Gone are the days when the U.S. DOL’s Wage & Hour Division (“WHD”) invited employers to proactively identify and collaborate with the Division to fix their wage and hour missteps. Closed is the chapter in which employers could expect WHD to stand down on the threat of double damages outside of egregious cases. After years of a prior administration focused on compliance assistance, there’s a new guard at the…

By: Noah Finkel Seyfarth Synopsis:  After delaying the effective date of a finalized Trump-era interpretive regulation that would have brought much needed clarity to the definition of employee under the Fair Labor Standards Act, the DOL yesterday formally repealed that guidance. The result is that companies, workers, and courts will continue to struggle in classifying which workers are employees and which ones can be independent contractors. Companies, workers, and courts long have wrestled with how…

By: Ryan McCoy and Andrew Paley Seyfarth Synopsis: Back in January 2020, a federal district court enjoined the State of California from enforcing AB 5 against interstate motor carriers. Now, in a split 2-1 decision, a Ninth Circuit panel has reversed the district court, on the rationale that AB 5 is just another generally applicable labor law that affects all businesses regardless of industry, and is no different from many prior state laws the Ninth Circuit…

By: Louisa J. Johnson Today marks two additional efforts by President Biden’s Administration to reverse the Trump Administration’s rulemaking. This time, two U.S. Department of Labor rules that were both published in the Federal Register as final rules before President Biden’s inauguration are in the crosshairs. One of the rules concerns when a company might be deemed a joint employer of another company’s employees. The other concerns when a worker can be deemed an independent…

The Biden Administration: Enforcement Actions Affecting Labor & Employment Tuesday, March 23, 2021 – 2:00-3:00 p.m. EST The Biden Administration has gotten off to a busy start with a wide array of executive actions and policy directives. In this webinar, Seyfarth subject matter experts will discuss what employers can expect regarding the enforcement in the areas covered by these directives and how that will effect business moving forward. Register today!…

By: Jennifer R. Nunez and David D. Kadue Seyfarth Synopsis: In Donohue v. AMN Services, LLC, a class action seeking meal period premium pay, the California Supreme Court reversed the Court of Appeal and held that employers cannot engage in the practice of rounding time punches in the meal period context, and that time records showing noncompliant meal periods raise a rebuttable presumption of meal period violations. The Facts Kennedy Donohue was a nurse recruiter for…