In E.M.D. Sales, Inc. v. Cabrera, issued on January 15, 2025, the Supreme Court held that the “preponderance of the evidence” standard—and not the more difficult-to-satisfy “clear and convincing evidence” standard—applies when an employer seeks to demonstrate that an employee is exempt from the minimum wage and/or overtime pay provisions of the Fair Labor
Allan Bloom
Allan Bloom is the co-chair of Proskauer’s Labor & Employment Law Department and a nationally recognized litigator and advisor who represents employers, business owners, and management in a broad range of employment and labor law matters. As a litigator, Allan has successfully defended many of the world’s leading companies against claims for unpaid wages, employment discrimination, breach of contract and wrongful discharge, both at the trial and appellate court levels as well as in arbitration, before government agencies, and in private negotiations. He has secured complete defense verdicts for clients in front of juries, as well as injunctions to protect clients’ confidential information and assets.
As the leader of Proskauer’s Wage and Hour Practice Group, Allan has been a strategic partner to a number of Fortune 500 companies to help them avoid, minimize and manage exposure to wage and hour-related risk. Allan’s views on wage and hour issues have been featured in The New York Times, Reuters, Bloomberg and Fortune, among other leading publications. His class-action defense work for clients has saved billions of dollars in potential damages.
Allan is regularly called on to advise operating companies, management companies, fund sponsors, boards of directors and senior leadership on highly sensitive matters including executive and key person transitions, internal investigations and strategic workforce planning. He has particular expertise in the financial services industry, where he has litigated, arbitrated, and mediated disputes for more than 20 years.
A prolific author and speaker, Allan was the Editor of the New York State Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Law Journal from 2012 to 2017. He has served as an author, editor and contributor to a number of leading treatises in the field of employment law, including ADR in Employment Law (ABA/Bloomberg BNA), Employment Discrimination Law (ABA/Bloomberg BNA), Cutting Edge Advances in Resolving Workplace Disputes (Cornell University/CPR), The Employment Law Review (Law Business Research, U.S. Chapter Author), and The Complete Compliance and Ethics Manual (SCCE).
Allan has served as longtime pro bono counsel to Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and The Public Theater, among other nonprofit organizations. He is a past Vice Chair of Repair the World, a nonprofit organization that mobilizes volunteers and their communities to take action to pursue a just world, and a past recipient of the Lawyers Alliance Cornerstone Award for extraordinary contributions through pro bono legal services.
Allan is a Fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers and has been recognized as a leading practitioner by Chambers since 2011.
Employers’ Wage and Hour FAQs: California Wildfires Edition
Wildfires continue to rage across Southern California, leveling entire neighborhoods, forcing evacuations for tens of thousands of people, and posing incredible hardship on businesses and their employees. Below are a few common scenarios employers should know about paying their California employees and maintaining compliance with wage and hour laws:
“Our office was closed for a …
Potential Government Shutdown – What Every Federal Contractor Needs to Know
We appear to be on the precipice of another federal government shutdown. Absent a political compromise, the federal government’s funding will run out on December 21, 2024. During previous government shutdowns, government agencies and departments issued stop-work orders, grinding work on government projects and contracts to a halt. Contractors were then faced with the difficult…
Texas Court Strikes Down Federal Overtime Rule (Again)
For the second time in seven years, a federal court in Texas has struck down a U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) rule aimed at expanding the scope of overtime eligibility to workers across the country. On November 15, 2024, in State of Texas v. United States Dep’t of Labor, Judge Sean D. Jordan of…
Fifth Circuit Affirms DOL’s Right to Set Salary Minimum for White Collar Exemptions
In its September 11, 2024 opinion in Mayfield v. Department of Labor, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that the U.S. Department of Labor’s explicitly delegated authority to “define” and “delimit” the terms of the executive, administrative, and professional (EAP) exemptions includes the power to set a minimum salary…
Texas Federal Court Sets Aside FTC’s Non-Compete Rule, Halting It From Taking Effect on September 4, 2024
On August 20, 2024, in Ryan LLC v. Federal Trade Commission, No. 3:24-cv-00986-E (N.D. Tex.), the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas granted summary judgment to the plaintiffs and ordered the Federal Trade Commission’s (“FTC”) non-compete rule (the “Rule”) to be set aside with respect to all employers nationally and…