Companies are facing increasing numbers of wage and hour lawsuits including actions pursuant to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), as well state wage and hour claims, which can include those by independent contractors who allege that they are employees.
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Publications
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10.20.2023Update: California Supreme Court Limits Utility of Arbitration Agreements for PAGA ClaimsPodcastsJoin Heather and Matt to learn more about the current state and utility of arbitration under California’s Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA).
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10.16.2023Update: DOL Issues Guidance on PUMP Act for Nursing WorkersPodcasts
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently issued Field Assistance Bulletin No. 2023-2 to provide guidance to its field staff regarding enforcement of the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act (PUMP Act), passed in 2022.
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10.16.2023Update: NLRB Returns to the Obama-Era Standard for Independent ContractorsPodcastsA recent National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or the Board) decision reverts to an Obama-era standard used to determine a worker’s status as an employee or an independent contractor under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA or the Act).
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02.24.2023Time To Update Arbitration Agreements—Mandatory Arbitration Is Again Permissible in CaliforniaUpdates
California employers with employees and job applicants subject to the Federal Arbitration Act can once again require such individuals to sign arbitration agreements as a condition of employment.
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09.20.2022Recent Large Government Settlements Reflect Unique Risks to Employers for Antitrust ViolationsUpdates
Employers who share information with competitor employers about employee compensation, including wages and benefits, face greater risks of government investigations into violations of antitrust laws, as evidenced by recent legal actions by the U.S. Department of Justice, including an $84.8 million settlement between the DOJ and three poultry processing plants.
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06.16.2022The Pay Equity Landscape: Top Trends for EmployersArticlesSeveral forces are demanding that employers show greater pay transparency, including activist shareholders, government regulations, and societal changes. Perkins Coie attorney Chris Wilkinson and Cary Elliott, a director at Resolution Economics, offer steps companies can take to fulfill their equity goals and avoid lawsuits and fines.
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05.26.2022CA Court Confirms Employers Must Timely Pay and Report Meal Period Premiums or Face Additional PenaltiesUpdatesThe California Supreme Court, on May 23, 2022, issued a seminal opinion in Naranjo v. Spectrum Security Services, Inc., which found that employees can recover penalties for failure to timely pay wages at termination and failure to provide accurate itemized wage statements based on untimely paid or unreported meal and rest period premiums.
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10.05.2021No More Free Flights: Employee Travel Time Is Now Compensable Under Washington LawUpdates
In Port of Tacoma v. Sacks, the Court of Appeals of the State of Washington recently held that all out-of-town employee travel time is compensable under state law.
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10.04.2021ESD Audits: What They Are, How to Prepare, and Best Practices for EmployersUpdates
The Washington State Employment Security Department (ESD) audits records of employers located in Washington to confirm that wages and hours are accurately reported and to ensure compliance with the state’s unemployment insurance laws and rules.
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09.01.2021COVID-19 Vaccine Questions AnsweredUpdatesWith the surge of COVID-19 cases due to the Delta variant, many employers are considering whether to require employees to be vaccinated, how to encourage employee vaccinations, and the implications of vaccine policies for their businesses.
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05.19.2021New Overtime Requirements for Washington Agricultural WorkersUpdatesIn response to last year’s groundbreaking decision by the Washington State Supreme Court in Martinez-Cuevas v. DeRuyter Bros. Dairy, Inc., the state legislature recently passed Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 5172, amending the state’s Minimum Wage Act as it relates to agricultural workers and adopting a phased approach for imposing overtime requirements on agricultural employers.
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05.12.2021The Labor Department’s First 100 Days Under Biden—What to KnowArticlesThe Biden administration is closing in on its first 100 days. Based on the strong progressive agenda of the campaign, it was expected that the Department of Labor would take very bold and aggressive actions out of the gate.
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UPDATED 05.12.2021US Department of Labor Announces Final Rule Regarding Independent ContractorsUpdatesOn January 7, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued its highly anticipated final rule codifying its interpretation of independent contractor status under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
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04.22.2021US Department of Labor Issues Highly Anticipated Cybersecurity Guidance for ERISA PlansUpdates
On April 14, 2021, the US Department of Labor (DOL) released three-part guidance on cybersecurity issues for employee benefit plans, marking its first significant commentary on the issue since its comprehensive, but non-binding, report in late 2016. The DOL’s guidance provides “tips” and “best practices” for ERISA plan sponsors, responsible fiduciaries, recordkeepers, service providers, and participants in appropriately safeguarding non-public plan and participant information against cybersecurity threats.
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03.22.2021The Ninth Circuit Clarifies When California Law Applies to Employees With Remote WorkplacesUpdatesPrior case law established that California’s wage-and-hour laws apply to non-California residents when they perform work in the state of California. In Bernstein v. Virgin America, Inc., the Ninth Circuit addressed whether certain California wage-and-hour laws applied to employees who spent the majority of their working hours outside of California.
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03.22.2021While Rounding Time Entries Can Be Permissible for Working Hours, the California Supreme Court Has Now Held It Is Not Permissible for Break TimeUpdates
California law generally requires that employers provide nonexempt employees an uninterrupted nonworking 30-minute meal period to begin before the end of the fifth hour of work. In a case of first impression, Donahue v. AMN Services, LLC, ___ P.3d ___, 2021 WL 728871 (Cal. 2021), analyzed whether an otherwise-permissible time rounding system could be used to account for break time, without violating the intent of California laws mandating complete meal periods of at least 30 minutes.
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02.18.2021City of Seattle Passes Hazard Pay for Grocery EmployeesUpdatesOn February 3, 2021, Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan signed into law a new ordinance requiring grocery employers to provide their employees an additional $4.00/hour in hazard pay due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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02.03.2021What to Expect in 2021?ArticlesPresident Biden has long been allied with the labor movement, and during his tenure as vice president, the administration pursued policies favorable to organized labor.
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01.20.2021California’s Supreme Court Confirms the Retroactivity of the ABC Test Established in the 2018 Dynamex DecisionUpdatesOn January 14, 2021, the California Supreme Court decided Vazquez v. Jan-Pro Franchising International, Inc., holding that the ABC test used to determine independent contractor versus employee status for purposes of California’s Wage Orders announced in Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court (2018) 4 Cal.5th 903 applies retroactively.
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01.14.2021Panel Upends the Rules of FLSA Collective Actions in the Fifth CircuitUpdatesIn an unexpected shift, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in Swales v. KLLM Transport Services, LLC, ordered courts to abandon the commonly followed “two-step” certification process for collective actions under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Presentations
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12.20.2023State Paid Sick Leave/Paid Time Off Laws New Developments: California, Illinois, Minnesota Laws Impacting EmployersSpeaking EngagementsStrafford / Webinar
Wage & Hour Developments Blog
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US Department of Labor Increases Salary Threshold for Exempt Employees
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a final rule on April 23, 2024, increasing the minimum salary and compensation thresholds for certain overtime exemptions (the Final Rule) under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The Final Rule has a stated effective date of July 1, 2024. The FLSA mandates that employers pay nonexempt employees one-and-a-half times...
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Deadline for California Employer’s Pay Reports Fast Approaches
The deadline to comply with California pay reporting requirements is fast approaching. As reported last year, SB 1162 (codified in section 12999 of the California Government Code) requires private employers having 100 or more total employees to submit an annual report detailing pay, demographic, and other workforce data to the California Civil Rights Department (CRD)...
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The California Supreme Court Clarifies Compensable Time
The California Supreme Court recently issued a decision in Huerta v. CSI Electrical Contractors addressing three questions from the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit regarding Wage Order No. 16 (which applies to certain on-site occupations in the construction, drilling, logging, and mining industries) and the scope of the term “hours worked.”...
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In an important change, beginning on March 20, 2024, employees may file lawsuits, including class actions, against their employers for alleged violations of New York City’s Earned Safe and Sick Time Act (the Sick Leave Law), rather than having to rely on agency enforcement actions. Such lawsuits may be filed within two years after the date...
