Law and the Workplace

Category Archives: Wage and Hour

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Employers Face New Accommodation Requirements For Nursing Mothers

By Tony Oncidi and Ryan McGill on Posted in Accessibility & Accommodation, Biden Administration Coverage, Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation, Wage and Hour, Workplace Policies and Procedures
In our recent blog post, we highlighted legislation that will impact employers this year related to nursing and pregnant employees: the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act (the “PUMP Act”) and the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (the “PWFA”).  As this legislation becomes effective—with the PUMP Act taking effect on April 28, 2023 and the … Continue Reading

$22 Million FLSA Verdict Illustrates the Significance of Brief Unpaid Work Tasks

By Allan Bloom, Philippe A. Lebel, Jonathan Slowik and Morgan Peterson on Posted in FLSA, Wage and Hour, Workplace Safety
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 … Continue Reading

Missed Payroll in the Wake of Bank Collapse:  Implications and Strategies

By Allan Bloom, Philippe A. Lebel, Katrina McCann, David Gobel and Jennifer McGrew on Posted in FLSA, Strategic Corporate Planning, Wage and Hour
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 … Continue Reading

SCOTUS:  Daily Rate Doesn’t Satisfy FLSA’s Salary Basis Test for Exemption, Even If It’s Huge!

By Allan Bloom on Posted in Wage and Hour
It’s always exciting when the Supreme Court takes up a wage and hour issue—at least for us.  Earlier this week, in Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. v. Hewitt, the court tackled the question of whether a daily rate can satisfy the “salary basis” test for exemption under the Fair Labor Standards Act as an executive, … Continue Reading

[Podcast]: NYC Council Considers Expanding the City’s Pay Transparency Law

By Evandro Gigante, Allan Bloom and Laura M. Fant on Posted in The Proskauer Brief Podcast, Wage and Hour
In this episode of The Proskauer Brief, partners Evandro Gigante, Allan Bloom and special employment law counsel Laura Fant discuss the New York City Council’s recently proposed amendments to the city’s pay transparency law. Presently, an employer is only required to include the “base annual or hourly wage or rate of pay” and not other forms of compensation or … Continue Reading

New York State DOL Increases Upstate New York Minimum Wage, Proposes Hike in Upstate Minimum Salary for Exemption

By Allan Bloom on Posted in Salary basis, Wage and Hour
As part of its goal of phasing in a $15 minimum wage for all employees in New York, the State began implementing annual increases in 2016 across all regions.  The annual increases are published by the Commissioner of Labor on or about October 1 of each year, and are based on percentage increases determined by … Continue Reading

Regular Rate Update: California

By Allan Bloom on Posted in FLSA, Wage and Hour
Earlier this month, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit examined whether certain types of employee compensation—shift differentials and holiday premiums—are includable in the “regular rate” for purposes of calculating overtime pay under California law.  You can read our blog about the decision in our California Employment Law Update here. For a crash … Continue Reading

[Podcast]: The New York City Pay Transparency Law Takes Effect

By Evandro Gigante, Allan Bloom and Laura M. Fant on Posted in The Proskauer Brief Podcast, Wage and Hour
In this episode of The Proskauer Brief, partners Evandro Gigante, Allan Bloom and special employment law counsel Laura Fant discuss the New York City Pay Transparency Law, which is set to come into effect on November 1, 2022. The law covers employers with four or more employees and generally requires covered employers who post a job, promotion, … Continue Reading

DOL’s New Independent Contractor Rule: A Return to 2020

By Allan Bloom on Posted in Biden Administration Coverage, FLSA, Independent Contractor, Misclassification, Wage and Hour
It’s been a bumpy road for the federal rules on independent contractor status under the Fair Labor Standards Act. In the courts, the test has always focused on the “economic reality” of the relationship between a worker and the entity that benefits from the services provided to determine whether the worker is an employee or … Continue Reading

What to Do When Your Timekeeping System Crashes

By Allan Bloom on Posted in Wage and Hour
A number of companies suffered collateral damage last winter as a result of a cyber attack on a major provider of time and attendance software.  With your timekeeping systems compromised, how do you determine what to pay your non-exempt employees, particularly with a payroll processing deadline looming? The Governing Principles To properly pay overtime-eligible employees, … Continue Reading

Federal District Court Says Pre-Shift COVID Screening Time Not Compensable

By Allan Bloom on Posted in FLSA, Wage and Hour
In the first reported decision we’ve seen addressing the issue head on, a federal district court in California dismissed a putative collective action claim under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) seeking payment for time spent in pre-shift COVID screening. Prior to clocking in each day, the plaintiff—a non-exempt truck driver whose job duties included … Continue Reading

In Colorado, “Low Wage” Now Means Six-Figures For Non-Competes

By Steven J. Pearlman, Joseph O’Keefe, Daryl Leon and E. Sydney Cone on Posted in Biden Administration Coverage, Non-Competes and Protection of Corporate Assets, Trade Secrets, Wage and Hour
On June 8, 2022, Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed Colorado House Bill 22-1317 (the “Bill”), which was passed by the Colorado Legislature on May 10, 2022. Effective 90 days from the end of the legislative session – on August 10, 2022 – Colorado will join the ranks of Illinois, Washington, and other states that have … Continue Reading

New York State to Fund Bonuses for Certain Healthcare Workers as Part of State Budget

By Edward S. Kornreich, Whitney Phelps and Laura Fant on Posted in Wage and Hour
As part of the Fiscal Year 2023 New York state Executive Budget legislation, $1.2 billion in funding has been allocated for the payment of bonuses for certain “frontline” healthcare workers. With the stated goals to “recruit, retain, and reward health care and mental hygiene workers,” the provision – located within Part D of the Health … Continue Reading

Do We Have to Pay for That?  Part 2—Travel and Commute Time (in a Post-Pandemic World)

By Allan Bloom on Posted in FLSA, Wage and Hour
In this blog series, we look at a variety of activities and discuss whether an employer has to pay its non-exempt (i.e., overtime-eligible) employees for their time spent engaging in them.  We’ll focus on federal law, but as with all wage and hour issues, applicable state and local laws must be considered as well.  Also, … Continue Reading

Massachusetts High Court Clarifies Test to Determine Joint Employer Status under State Wage and Overtime Statutes

By Mark W. Batten and Rebecca Fishbein on Posted in Wage and Hour
On December 13, 2021, the highest state court in Massachusetts ruled that the proper test for determining joint employer status under the state’s wage and overtime statutes is the “totality of the circumstances” test formerly used under the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), and not the more restrictive test of Mass. Gen. L. c. … Continue Reading

New Federal Vaccine Rule:  Wage and Hour Implications

By Allan Bloom on Posted in Biden Administration Coverage, Coronavirus, FLSA, Wage and Hour, Workplace Policies and Procedures, Workplace Safety
UPDATE: On January 13, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court granted applications to stay OSHA’s Emergency Temporary Standard pending review on the merits by the Sixth Circuit, and if writs of certiorari are subsequently sought to the U.S. Supreme Court, pending the Court’s disposition of such writs.  Click here to read more about the Court’s decision.  On … Continue Reading

Do We Have to Pay for That?  Part 1—COVID-19 Vaccination, Testing, and Screening Activities (Updated Jan. 13, 2022)

By Allan Bloom on Posted in Class/Collective Action, FLSA, Wage and Hour
In this blog series, we’ll look at a variety of activities and discuss whether an employer has to pay its non-exempt (i.e., overtime-eligible) employees for their time spent engaging in them.  We’ll focus on federal law, but as with all wage and hour issues, applicable state and local laws must be considered as well.  Also, … Continue Reading

New York Legislates Joint Wage Liability for Construction Industry Contractors

By Allan Bloom and Megan Childs on Posted in Wage and Hour
On September 6, 2021, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law New York Senate Bill S2766, which makes contractors in the construction industry jointly and severally liable for wages owed to employees of its subcontractors.  The groundbreaking new law—which adds new section 198-e to the Labor Law (“§ 198-e”)—continues the expansion of worker rights … Continue Reading

Pennsylvania Employers Must Pay for Time Spent in Security Screenings

By Allan Bloom and Eric Novak on Posted in Class/Collective Action, FLSA, Wage and Hour
On July 21, 2021, answering a question certified by the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court held that time spent by employees waiting to undergo and undergoing mandatory security screening on an employer’s premises is compensable “hours worked” under Pennsylvania law.  The decision from the Commonwealth’s high court, … Continue Reading
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