Wage & Hour Archives - Page 11 of 12 - Kollman & Saucier P.A.

Supreme Court Agrees to Decide Whether Employees Must be Paid for Time Spent in Security Screenings

Kollman & Saucier

03/06/2014

In January, the Supreme Court affirmed a decision of the Seventh Circuit, which held that steel workers were merely changing clothes when they were “doffing and donning” protective gear and, therefore, that time was not compensable under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). Sandifer v. U.S. Steel Corp., 2014 U.S. LEXIS 799 (Jan. 27, 2014). Sandifer was discussed in a recent post here at the Employment Brief. Little more than a month...

Kollman & Saucier

02/28/2014

Wage & Hour

This is an issue near and dear to my heart (having just successfully obtained denials of Rule 23 and FLSA Collective Action certification motions ). Successful plaintiffs in FLSA actions are entitled to reasonable attorney’s fees and costs. The amount, however, is within the trial court’s discretion. In deciding the amount, the court must calculate the lodestar, or the number of hours reasonably expended on the litigation times a...

Kollman & Saucier

02/14/2014

Wage & Hour

As promised in the State of the Union address, on February 12th, President Obama issued an Executive Order raising the minimum wage to $10.10 for federal contractors and sub-contractors. The Executive Order can be found here, and the accompanying fact sheet can be found here. Citing increased morale and productivity, and lower turnover and absenteeism, the Order will apply to all new covered contracts where the solicitation for the contract...

Darrell VanDeusen

01/29/2014

Supreme Court Decisions, Wage & Hour

The issue of what constitutes “compensable time” under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is, for most employers, not so difficult to figure out: you clock in, you work, you get paid. There are, however, some occupations where things are less clear. What if you have to put on a uniform (a police officer or fast food server)? Well, if you can put it on at home and drive to work, you do not get paid for “doffing and donning,” as it is...

Kollman & Saucier

12/17/2013

Arbitration, Wage & Hour

The Federal District Court in Maryland recently issued a ruling that should give Maryland employers some concern. In Jeffrey B. Mould v. NJG Food Service Inc., et al., the Court examined the effect of an arbitration agreement on an employee’s federal and state wage claims. Most practitioners know that arbitration is generally favored by the courts and is hotly contested by plaintiffs, who prefer to try their claims before a jury. This case...

Kollman & Saucier

11/14/2013

Wage & Hour

Over the past few years, employers have been besieged by "collective actions" filed under federal and state wage and hour laws. These lawsuits aggregate individual claims for unpaid overtime into class actions, thereby making it much more lucrative for a plaintiff's attorney to invest the time and effort into pursuing the case. In Jones v. Xerox Commercial Solutions, LLC, No. 4:13-cv-650 (S.D. Tex., November 6, 2013), a federal court in Texas...

Kollman & Saucier

09/25/2013

Agency Activity, Wage & Hour

On September 12, 2013, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Solicitor M. Patricia Smith issued a letter to the American Bar Association (“ABA”) stating that interns working in private law firms need to be paid in certain circumstances. The ABA specifically inquired into situations in which a law school places a student with a private law firm and acts as an intermediary to monitor the internship’s progress, and in which the law firm provides...

Darrell VanDeusen

08/20/2013

FMLA, Wage & Hour

In a real head scratcher, the Sixth Circuit has held 2-1 that volunteer firefighters are “employees” who are counted for, and therefore get protection under, the Family and Medical Leave Act. Mendel v. City of Gibraltar, 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 16922 (August 15, 2013). The majority made this decision based on the “substantial wages” paid for the services performed. The City of Gibraltar, Michigan has approximately 25 volunteer firefighters...

Kollman & Saucier

08/06/2013

Wage & Hour

On August 5, 2013, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed a lower court decision holding that an employee’s FLSA claims were properly dismissed by the trial court. Dejesus v. HF Mgmt. Servs., LLC, No. 12-4565 (2d. Cir. Aug. 5, 2013). The district court had dismissed Plaintiff’s complaint because it lacked the factual specificity detailing the alleged unpaid overtime hours that she had allegedly...

Kollman & Saucier

05/21/2013

Legal Developments, Legislative Developments, State Law, Wage & Hour

Last week, Maryland Gov. O'Malley signed into law the "Lien for Unpaid Wages Act." This new law, SB 758, allows employees to file a lien against their employer’s real or personal property for unpaid wages allegedly due them. Once the employee files a lien, the employer must file a complaint setting forth its defenses in the Circuit Court where the employer's property is located within 30 days. If the employer fails to do so, the employee will have...

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Supreme Court Agrees to Decide Whether Employees Must be Paid for Time Spent in Security Screenings

Maryland Court Awards Over $400,000 in Attorneys Fees in FLSA Case

President Obama Increases Minimum Wage for Federal Contractors

Supreme Court Unanimous: Steel Workers Were Just Changing Clothes

Maryland Federal Court Denies Arbitration for Wage Claims

Texas Court Strikes Down FLSA Collective Action

DOL Says Law Firms Need Not Pay Interns Doing Pro Bono Work

Volunteer Firefighters are “Employees” for FMLA Coverage

Employee’s Failure to Estimate Overtime Hours May Defeat FLSA Claims

Maryland Governor Signs New Law to Enforce Wage Claims

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Category: Wage & Hour

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