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In August 2023, the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona joined “the growing number of courts that have concluded” that judicial approval of Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) settlements “is neither authorized or necessary.” In Evans v. Centurion Managed Care of Arizona LLC[1], the plaintiff asserted individual claims under the FLSA for unpaid overtime and failure to pay minimum wages. Following the parties’ settlement of the plaintiff’s claims on an individual basis, the parties moved for approval of the settlement, submitting to the court a redacted version of the settlement agreement and a joint motion to file portions of the settlement agreement, including the settlement amount, under seal.Continue Reading District of Arizona Addresses Judicial Approval of Individual Fair Labor Standards Act Settlements

As reported earlier this year, California’s state minimum wage increased to $15.50 per hour for all employers on January 1, 2023. However, some California employers may face another minimum wage increase on July 1, 2023. This is due to the adoption by many cities and counties in California of their own local minimum wage rates above the California state minimum wage for employees working within their jurisdiction. If a locality provides a higher minimum wage rate than the state rate, the employer must pay the higher local wage rate.Continue Reading Minimum Wage Increases To Take Place on July 1, 2023, for Some California Localities

In Mathews v. USA Today Sports Media Group, LLC et al., plaintiff Elizabeth Mathews (Mathews) brought a collective action under the FLSA alleging that she was an employee rather than an independent contractor to the defendant. Mathews moved for conditional certification pursuant to the widely followed two-step conditional FLSA certification process adopted in Lusardi v. Xerox Corp, 118 F.R.D. 351 (D.N.J. 1987). Under this approach, an initial collective certification determination is made using a lenient standard—that proposed members of a collective are similar enough to receive notice of the lawsuit so the proposed collective member may decide whether to affirmatively join the lawsuit. In the second step, which occurs after collective certification discovery has been completed, the district court makes a second decision when the employer moves for “decertification” of the collective, using a stricter standard, to determine whether the named plaintiffs and opt-in members are “similarly situated.”Continue Reading Eastern District of Virginia Follows the Fifth Circuit’s One-Step Certification Approach for Collective Actions Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)

As California Governor Gavin Newsom’s administration seeks to finalize the 2023-24 Governor’s Budget, the California Joint Legislative Audit Committee has moved to audit the persistent backlog of wage theft cases at the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement. The audit is set to begin September 1, 2023, absent developments demonstrating to the committee an investigation is…

The U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled in Helix Energy Solutions Group v. Hewitt that a daily-rate worker who earned over $200,000 annually was not exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act’s overtime requirements. In an opinion authored by Justice Elena Kagan, the Court held that compensation based on a daily rate did not satisfy the…

In October 2022, the Supreme Court of Virginia ruled that an individual cannot face personal liability as an “employer” under the Virginia Wage Payment Act (VWPA). The decision both clarifies Virginia law and serves as an important reminder for employers (and their managers and supervisors) that many states can impose personal liability on individuals for wage-and-hour claims.Continue Reading Personal Liability for Wage Claims? Virginia Says ‘No,’ but Other States Say ‘Yes’

On September 5, 2022, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed the Fast Food Accountability and Standards Recovery Act (FAST Recovery Act or A.B. 257). The FAST Recovery Act creates the Fast Food Council, responsible for establishing minimum standards for employees in the fast-food industry, including establishing minimum wages, working hours, and other working conditions related to health and safety in the fast-food industry. The FAST Recovery Act will take effect on January 1, 2023, and will become inoperative on January 1, 2029.Continue Reading California’s FAST Recovery Act Establishes a Council With Broad Authority to Set Standards for Fast Food Workers

This month the United States Department of Labor (DOL) issued a press release announcing its Warehouse and Logistics Worker Initiative (Initiative). See https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/whd/whd20220208-1. The purpose of the Initiative is to increase the DOL’s scrutiny of the warehouse and logistics industry’s practices. Specifically, the Initiative is focused on ensuring that workers:

  • Receive all legally earned wages, including minimum wage and overtime pay;
  • Work in an environment safe from harassment and retaliation; and
  • Are not prevented from taking legally protected leave.

Continue Reading Department of Labor Announces Initiative to Monitor Warehouse and Logistics Worker Pay