On June 17, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court announced that it will tackle a 6-1 circuit split and decide an important wage and hour issue for employers: what burden of proof an employer must satisfy to demonstrate that its workers are exempt from the minimum wage and overtime requirements imposed by the Fair Labor Standards

Philippe A. Lebel
Philippe (Phil) A. Lebel represents employers in all aspects of employment litigation, including wage and hour, wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment, retaliation, defamation, trade secrets, and breach of contract litigation, in both the single-plaintiff and class- and/or representative-action context, at both the trial and appellate levels, as well as before administrative agencies.
In addition to his litigation work, Phil regularly advises clients regarding compliance with federal, state and local employment laws, and assists a variety of companies and financial firms in evaluating labor and employment issues in connection with corporate transactions. Phil also has experience assisting employers with sensitive employee investigations, cutting edge-trainings, pay equity analyses and comprehensive audits of employment practices.
Phil has assisted clients in a wide array of sectors including in the biotech, education, entertainment, fashion, financial services, fitness, healthcare, high-tech, legal services, manufacturing, media, professional services, retail, sports, and staffing industries, among others.
Phil regularly speaks on emerging issues for employers and has been published or quoted in Law360, the Daily Journal, The Hollywood Reporter, Business Insurance, and SHRM.org regarding a variety of labor and employment law topics.
Before law school, Phil was an intern with the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, during which he assisted on political campaigns in Alabama and Georgia. Phil is a former member of the Board of Directors of the AIDS Legal Referral Panel.

DOL Proposes Updated Overtime Exemptions Rule, Raising Minimum Salary to $55,086
On August 30, 2023, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) released its proposed new rule on the “white collar” overtime exemptions. The new rule, which would be codified in a revised 29 C.F.R. Part 541, will be published shortly as a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the Federal Register, at which time a public comment…
$22 Million FLSA Verdict Illustrates the Significance of Brief Unpaid Work Tasks
On May 9, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) secured its largest Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) jury verdict in history, when a jury in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania awarded $22 million to a class of approximately 7,500 workers for unpaid time spent on pre- and post-shift activities. The case is Su v. East…

Missed Payroll in the Wake of Bank Collapse: Implications and Strategies
In the wake of the recent news of bank failures, businesses—and their investors—are rightly concerned about the implications of a missed or delayed payroll. Let’s look at those implications, and strategies for minimizing risk.
Obligation to Make Payroll
Under federal and most state laws, employers have both timing-of-pay and frequency-of-pay obligations. Under most of these…