Allan Bloom
1-212-969-3880
Allan S. Bloom is a nationally recognized trial lawyer and advisor who represents management in a broad range of employment and labor law matters. As a litigator, Allan has successfully defended a number 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. 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 hundreds of millions of dollars in potential damages.
Allan is regularly called on to advise boards of directors and senior leadership on highly sensitive matters such as executive transitions, internal investigations and strategic workforce planning. He also has particular expertise in the financial services industry, where he has litigated and arbitrated cases, including at FINRA and its predecessors, for more than 20 years.
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The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) issued two new opinion letters on January 8, 2021, bringing the number of “lame duck” wage and hour opinion letters—issued since Election Day 2020—to six. In FLSA2021-1, WHD determined that account managers at a life sciences manufacturer qualify for the FLSA’s administrative exemption. The account … Continue Reading
On January 7, 2021, President-elect Joe Biden announced Boston Mayor Marty Walsh as his nominee for Secretary of Labor. If confirmed, Mayor Walsh would represent a stark contrast to incumbent Labor Secretary, longtime management attorney Eugene Scalia. Walsh served as the president of Laborers’ Union Local 223 prior to being elected Mayor. AFL-CIO President Richard … Continue Reading
From pay equity to an increased minimum wage, pro-worker and pro-union labor policies, and additional anti-discrimination protections, President-elect Biden has touted support for numerous legislative and regulatory proposals that would significantly change the employment and labor law landscape. Bolstered by Democrat victories in the Georgia Senate runoff elections (and the resulting unified Congress, the first … Continue Reading
On December 31, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) issued two opinion letters—one on home-to-office travel time and one on live-in caregivers. Such “lame duck” opinion letters—issued post-Election Day when there is a change in both administration and political party—were at one point in recent memory quite uncommon. The Carter … Continue Reading
On November 3, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (“WHD”) issued new opinion letters addressing the compensability of time spent by employees attending voluntary training programs and in work-related travel. The rules at issue only apply to non-exempt (e.g., overtime-eligible) employees. If the time is considered “hours worked” under the FLSA, … Continue Reading
With Election Day just around the corner, we are highlighting some of the issues facing employers in a series of posts on election-related issues. In our first installment, we looked at employee protections around political speech and activity both in and outside the workplace. In this second installment, we’ll examine employees’ rights to take time … Continue Reading
In this episode of The Proskauer Brief, partners Harris Mufson and Allan Bloom discuss the U.S. Department of Labor’s proposed new rule on independent contractor classification. In recent years, the misclassification of workers as independent contractors has been the subject of a number of private lawsuits and investigations by government agencies. This is true for traditional industries and … Continue Reading
With Election Day just around the corner, we’ll be highlighting some of the issues facing employers in a two-part series on elections and the workplace. In this first installment, we’ll look at employee protections around political speech and activity both in and outside the workplace. In Part 2, we’ll address statutory leave entitlements for employees … Continue Reading
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published a proposed rule in the Federal Register on September 25, 2020 to clarify whether a worker is or isn’t an independent contractor for purposes of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The proposed rule adds a new Part 795 to Title 29 of the Code of Federal Regulations, … Continue Reading
On September 2, 2020, the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that employees bear the burden of proof on whether bonuses should have been included in the regular rate of pay for purposes of calculating overtime compensation under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). The plaintiffs in Edwards v. 4JLJ, L.L.C. alleged that … Continue Reading
In an opinion letter issued on August 31, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor restated its position that an employee’s hours need not fluctuate above and below 40 hours to qualify for the fluctuating workweek (“FWW”) method of calculating overtime pay in 29 C.F.R. § 778.114. Under the FWW method of pay, an overtime-eligible employee … Continue Reading
On August 28, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) published in the Federal Register a final rule that substantially revises its practices with respect to guidance documents. The “Promoting Regulatory Openness through Good Guidance Rule,” referred to as the “PRO Good Guidance Rule,” implements President Trump’s Executive Order 13891, which directed federal agencies to … Continue Reading
On August 24, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (“WHD”) issued a Field Assistance Bulletin (“FAB”) providing guidance on employers’ obligations under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) to track and pay for the hours of compensable work performed by employees who are working remotely. While timely in light of the … Continue Reading
Effective July 1, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) will pull back on seeking liquidated damages in pre-litigation settlements of wage claims and investigations. The change in policy, announced in Field Assistance Bulletin 2020-2, is significant, as liquidated damages can equal 100% of the back pay deemed to be owing, potentially resulting in “double … Continue Reading
For almost 80 years, it has been the law that an overtime-eligible employee whose hours fluctuate from week to week and who agrees to receive a fixed weekly salary covering all hours of work is entitled to a halftime premium for hours worked in excess of 40 per week—not a “time and a half” premium. … Continue Reading
On May 19, 2020, the United States Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) implemented a final rule withdrawing partial lists of establishments that it previously interpreted as either having “no retail concept” or possibly having a retail concept for purposes of the Fair Labor Standards Act’s (FLSA) Section 7(i) overtime exemption for commissioned … Continue Reading
New York State and Washington D.C. have enacted legislation regarding paid time off to vote. The details of these new laws are summarized below. New York Nestled into the FY 2020-21 NY state budget is a revision to the statewide time off to vote law, which was revised in April 2019 to increase paid voting … Continue Reading
As previously announced, the New York City Council has introduced an expansive package of COVID-19 bills that, among other things, propose sweeping protections for “essential” workers. The significance of this proposed legislation cannot be understated as the City Council is proposing a mandated exception to the “at will” employment doctrine, which has served as the … Continue Reading
***Last Updated: May 18, 2020*** On April 9, 2020, Empire State Development (“ESD”) released guidance for determining whether a business or service is “essential” under a series of executive orders issued by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. These orders, which we addressed in a previous post, require that only businesses and not-for-profit entities deemed essential … Continue Reading
On December 6, 2019, a divided Second Circuit panel concluded that settlement proposals in accepted offers of judgment under FRCP 68 are not subject to judicial review and approval. Mei Xing Yu et al. v. Hasaki Restaurant Inc., No. 17-3888 (2d Cir. Dec. 6, 2019). The decision departs from the conventional view that settlements of … Continue Reading
On November 20, 2019, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that the fluctuating workweek (“FWW”) method of calculating overtime pay owed to salaried workers is prohibited by state law. Chevalier v. General Nutrition Centers Inc., Pennsylvania Supreme Court, No. 22-WAP-2018. Under the FWW method of pay, an overtime-eligible employee receives a fixed salary for all hours … Continue Reading
As we previously reported, Nevada has enacted a personal leave law, which, effective January 1, 2020, will require private employers with 50 or more employees in Nevada to provide certain employees working in the state with up to 40 hours of paid leave per year, to be used for any purpose, including non-medical personal reasons. … Continue Reading
As we previously reported, effective October 30, 2019, Westchester County, NY employers are required to provide paid leave to employees who are victims of domestic violence or human trafficking (“safe time”). Leave under the new ordinance will be in addition to paid time off already required to be provided to employees under the Westchester County … Continue Reading
On January 1, 2020, the new federal overtime rule takes effect. Other than in states with already-higher minimum salaries for exemption (which include California and, for certain types of employees, New York), employers will be required to pay most executive, administrative, and professional employees at least $684 per week ($35,568 per year). Are you ready for … Continue Reading
DOL Issues Opinion Letters on Administrative Exemption and Ministerial Exception
By Allan Bloom on Posted in FLSA, Wage and Hour
President-Elect Biden Nominates Marty Walsh for Secretary of Labor
By Allan Bloom and Thomas B. Fiascone on Posted in Biden Administration Coverage
Significant Workplace Changes in Store Under the Biden Administration
By Allan Bloom, Tony Oncidi, Steven Porzio, Dominique Kilmartin, Elizabeth Dailey, Tony S. Martinez and Joshua Fox on Posted in Biden Administration Coverage
Trump DOL Issues Two More “Lame Duck” Opinion Letters, on Home-to-Office Travel Time and Live-In Caregivers
By Allan Bloom on Posted in FLSA, Wage and Hour
DOL’s New Opinion Letters Examine Rules on Voluntary Training Time, Travel Time
By Allan Bloom on Posted in FLSA, Wage and Hour
Election Season and the Workplace, Part 2: Political Leave Laws
By Allan Bloom, Laura Fant and Alex Downie on Posted in Leaves of Absences, Workplace Policies and Procedures
[Podcast]: DOL’s Proposed Rule on Independent Contractors
By Harris Mufson and Allan Bloom on Posted in Independent Contractor, The Proskauer Brief Podcast, Wage and Hour
Election Season and the Workplace, Part 1: Employee “Free Speech” and Political Activities
By Allan Bloom, Laura Fant and Alex Downie on Posted in Workplace Policies and Procedures
DOL Proposes New Rule on Independent Contractor Classification
By Allan Bloom on Posted in FLSA, Wage and Hour
Fifth Circuit Confirms Burden of Proof on Regular Rate Miscalculation Claim
By Allan Bloom on Posted in FLSA, Wage and Hour
DOL Reiterates That Hours Need Not Fluctuate Above and Below 40 in Fluctuating Workweek Method of Pay
By Allan Bloom on Posted in FLSA, Wage and Hour
DOL Announces Substantial Changes to Guidance Practices
By Allan Bloom and Jordan Glassberg on Posted in Wage and Hour
DOL Guidance Reminds Employers of Obligations to Track and Pay For Remote Work
By Allan Bloom on Posted in FLSA, Wage and Hour
DOL To Refrain From Seeking Liquidated Damages in Most Pre-Litigation Settlements
By Allan Bloom and Samantha Shear on Posted in FLSA, Wage and Hour
DOL Amends Regulation on “Fluctuating Workweek” Method of Pay
By Allan Bloom on Posted in FLSA, Wage and Hour
Wage and Hour Division Modifies Rules For FLSA’s Retail Sales Exemption
By Allan Bloom, Rachel Philion and Dominique Kilmartin on Posted in Wage and Hour
New Voting Leave Laws in New York State and Washington D.C.
By Allan Bloom and Arielle E. Kobetz on Posted in Leaves of Absences, Workplace Policies and Procedures
New York City Council Introduces COVID-19 Bills Addressing Essential Workers and Paid Sick Leave Coverage
By Allan Bloom, Harris Mufson, Laura Fant and Jordan Simon on Posted in Coronavirus
New York State Issues Updated Guidance on Essential (And Non-Essential) Businesses
By Allan Bloom, Arielle E. Kobetz and Alex Downie on Posted in Coronavirus
Second Circuit: Offers of Judgment on FLSA Claims Do Not Require Cheeks Review
By Allan Bloom and Dominique Kilmartin on Posted in Wage and Hour
Pennsylvania Supreme Court: Fluctuating Workweek Method of Overtime Pay is Unlawful
By Allan Bloom and Abigail Rosenblum on Posted in FLSA, Wage and Hour
Nevada Labor Commissioner Issues Advisory Opinions Regarding Paid Personal Leave Law
By Allan Bloom, Arielle E. Kobetz and Eric Novak on Posted in Leaves of Absences
Westchester County, New York Issues Guidance and Mandatory Notices for Safe Time Leave Law
By Allan Bloom, Laura Fant and Arielle E. Kobetz on Posted in Leaves of Absences, Workplace Policies and Procedures
Fewer Than 100 Days Until the New Overtime Rule Takes Effect: Is Your Company Ready?
By Allan Bloom on Posted in FLSA, Wage and Hour
