Recently, in Restaurant Law Center, et al. v. U.S. Dep’t of Labor, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas affirmed the validity of a new Department of Labor (DOL) rule, known as the “80-20-30” or “dual jobs” rule, which limits the ability of employers to satisfy a portion of tipped employees’ wages with earned tips.
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New Jersey Federal Court Grants Reconsideration in Favor of Employer on FLSA Exemption for Highly Compensated Employee
In a recent decision in Perez v. Express Scripts, Inc., the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey determined that plaintiff and a conditionally certified class of 200 members in a misclassification class action were exempt given that they were highly compensated.…
Illinois District Court Rules that Plaintiff’s Affidavits are Insufficient to Certify FLSA Class
In a recent ruling, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois determined that a bartender’s evidence – affidavits from herself and her supervisor – were insufficient to obtain conditional certification on her Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) claim. Plaintiff Alexa Roberts brought suit against One Off Hospitality Group and several of its restaurants and management personnel (“Defendants”)…
EEOC States Employers Must Show Business Necessity to Test Workers for COVID-19
The U.S. Equal Employment Commission (“EEOC”) has recently updated its Technical Assistance Questions and Answers, “What You Should Know About COVID-10 and the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and Other EEO Laws,” (“Q&A) and taken the position that employers may only screen employees for COVID-19 if it is a business necessity that is justified by “current pandemic circumstances and individual workplace…
Virginia Overtime Requirements are Back in Alignment with the FLSA
On April 11, 2022 Governor Glenn Youngkin signed HB 1173 into law, which replaces various provisions of the Virginia Overtime Wage Act (VOWA) with provisions largely consistent with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).…
Massachusetts High Court Rules “ABC” Test Is Inapplicable To Joint Employer Status
On December 13, 2021, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (“SJC”) issued its long-awaited decision determining that the Massachusetts Independent Contractor Statute, G.L. c. 149, § 148B (“Independent Contractor Statute”), which establishes the three-pronged “ABC” test used to classify workers as independent contractors or employees – and provides for a rebuttable presumption that workers are employees unless the purported employer proves…
California DFEH Embraces Tech to Seek Out Fair Chance Act Violations
On October 20, 2021, the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (“DFEH”) issued a press release to announce its plans to use unspecified technology to conduct online searches for statements in job advertisements that violate the Fair Chance Act (“FCA”). According to the DFEH, during a one-day review, it was able to locate over 500 job advertisements that violated…
Ninth Circuit Rules California’s ABC Test is Not Preempted by the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act
In an April 28, 2021 decision, the Ninth Circuit determined that that the application of California’s ABC test (also known as AB-5) to motor carriers is not preempted by the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994. The ABC test is a judicially-created independent contractor test that was ultimately codified via AB-5…
Ninth Circuit Strikes Down California Wage Statement Class Action for Plaintiff’s Failure to Show “Real World Consequences” to Establish Standing
The Ninth Circuit recently overturned a district court’s grant of class certification on a wage statement claim under California Labor Code §226 because there were no “real-world consequences” stemming from the alleged misidentification of the employer’s name on the wage statement.…
Ninth Circuit Determines that Dynamex Independent Contractor Test Applies Retroactively to Franchisors
On May 2, 2019, the Ninth Circuit ruled in Vazquez v. Jan-Pro Franchising International, holding that the new independent contractor test established by the California Supreme Court in its 2018 decision in Dynamex v. Superior Court applies retroactively to franchisors. As a result of this decision, employers and franchisors who have classified workers as independent contractors may see an increase…