Wages & Hours

Court sends class action back to drawing board

09/27/2013

In 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court considered a class action against Walmart that included over a million employees who claimed sex discrimination. The court said the employees didn’t have enough in common to band together in one lawsuit (Walmart v. Dukes). Now federal courts are doing the same with much smaller class-action lawsuits—good news for employers.

Appeals court refuses arbitration bid, cites one-sided, coercive agreement

09/27/2013

A California appellate court has invalidated an arbitration agreement on the grounds that it was unconscionable. The court said it was both one-sided and oppressive.

California minimum wage to hit $10 per hour in 2016

09/18/2013

By 2016, California may have the nation’s highest minimum wage—$10 per hour—after the state Legislature approved a two-step plan to raise the rate from its current $8 per hour.

For OT, it’s the truck’s weight classification–not the load–that counts

09/16/2013

Employers have long relied on the truck weight classification—not the actual weight the truck is carrying—to determine whether a driver received overtime. That was recently challenged in a class-action lawsuit.

Don’t expect to get away with paying undocumented workers less than law requires

09/16/2013

In a case that shows courts are losing patience with employers that hire undocumented workers and then flout wage-and-hour laws, a federal court has zapped an employer almost $285,000 in unpaid wages and penalties, and another $150,000 to pay the former employees’ legal fees.

IRS extends tax-free benefits to all same-sex married couples

09/10/2013

New IRS guidance affirms: Same-sex married employees are entitled to all federal spousal tax benefits, even if they live in a state that doesn’t recognize same-sex marriage.

Wage gap affects women who reach the C-Suite, too

09/10/2013

Women who hold the highest-paid jobs in their companies earn less than their male counterparts at other firms, according to research by Bloomberg News.

2nd Circuit: CEO can be personally liable for FLSA violations

09/06/2013

Here’s a bit of news you may want to pass on to company executives when explaining why they must comply with the letter and the spirit of the FLSA. Tell them they aren’t just putting company assets at risk, but also their own.

Contractor paying back wages to Sandy cleanup employees

09/06/2013

InStar Services Group has agreed to pay $65,000 in back wages to more than 100 employees who did not receive the pay they were promised for cleaning up after Superstorm Sandy.

354 times more

09/05/2013

Compared to the average worker, that’s how much more the CEOs of America’s largest companies earned last year, according to the AFL-CIO.