Wage & Hour

  • August 20, 2026

    Remote Worker Rebuts Boot-Up Pay Defense At 6th Circ.

    A remote healthcare call center worker urged the Sixth Circuit to reverse her former employers' partial win in her suit seeking pay for computer boot-up and shutdown time, arguing the companies are wrong to characterize those tasks as noncompensable preliminary activities because they were integral steps in preparing to handle calls.

  • August 20, 2026

    Smoke Shop Chain Misclassified Workers, Owes OT, Suit Says

    A chain of Houston-area smokeshops and their owners allegedly misclassified their employees as independent contractors to avoid paying overtime, according to a worker-led lawsuit filed in Texas federal court seeking unpaid wages for similar employees.

  • August 20, 2026

    LSU Gets Damages Sliced In Attys' Pay Bias Suit

    A Louisiana federal judge has slashed the damages awarded to two former in-house attorneys who won a retaliation verdict against their university employer over gender pay equity complaints, cutting each award from $750,000 to $280,000 while rejecting bids for a new trial or outright dismissal.

  • August 20, 2026

    Elevance Health Gets Final OK On $14.75M Nurse OT Deal

    A Virginia federal court granted final approval Thursday to a $14.75 million global settlement resolving five related suits against Elevance Health by nurses who accused the insurer of misclassifying them as exempt from overtime pay.

  • August 20, 2026

    Cannabis Co. Fights Class Status In Tipped Wages suit

    Cannabis dispensary company Curaleaf Holdings urged an Illinois federal court Tuesday not to allow workers to proceed as a class and collective with their tipped wages claims, saying its tip practices didn't stem from a common corporate policy but rather a patchwork of "legacy practices inherited through serial acquisitions, varying by state, store, manager, and time."

  • August 20, 2026

    Wash. Judge Trims Claims In Construction Wage Suit

    A Washington federal judge has narrowed a carpenter apprentice's amended complaint alleging that a Seattle construction company shorted employees on wages for off-the-clock work, ruling that the claims involving missed rest and meal breaks were preempted by federal law.

  • August 20, 2026

    Guard Says Security Co. Denies Pay For Preshift Work

    A Colorado security guard has sued his employer in federal court, alleging the company denies him and hundreds of other guards pay for preshift work, interrupts meal and rest breaks and contacts workers off the clock.

  • August 20, 2026

    NY Says Contractors' Prevailing Wage Suit Falls Flat

    The State of New York urged a federal judge to toss construction industry groups' challenge to a new prevailing wage requirement for off-site custom fabrication, arguing the law constitutionally applies to work performed beyond state lines and does not impose the sweeping harms employers allege.

  • August 20, 2026

    SkyWest Flight Attendants Denied Class Cert. In Wage Suit

    A California federal judge refused to certify a class of SkyWest flight attendants who accused the airline of inaccurately reporting work hours based on a standard 15-minute post-flight duty period, finding that deciding liability would require individualized inquiries.

  • August 20, 2026

    1st Circ. Revives Water Workers' Prevailing Wage Claims

    Water utility workers who alleged that their employer shortchanged them on prevailing wages won a second chance at their claims after the First Circuit sent the case back to a lower court, finding that a Massachusetts' high court decision knocked out both grounds the lower court had relied on.

  • August 20, 2026

    DOL Wipes Out Contractor Anti-Bias Regulations

    The U.S. Department of Labor on Thursday unveiled the final version of a rule rescinding decades-old regulations that imposed nondiscrimination and affirmative action requirements on federal contractors, erasing the remnants of a 1960s executive order that President Donald Trump nixed.

  • August 19, 2026

    Scribd To Pay $3M To End Wash. Wage Scale Class Action

    Document hosting service Scribd Inc. will pay $3 million to resolve a class action accusing the tech company of violating Washington state law by failing to include pay information on job postings, according to a settlement agreement given preliminary approval by a King County Superior Court judge.

  • August 19, 2026

    A State Law Cheat Sheet For Discrimination Attorneys

    A bill to require companies to disclose when and how artificial intelligence plays a significant role in large layoffs took a step toward becoming law in California, as did a measure that would bring menopause and related conditions under Golden State anti-discrimination law's definition of "sex." Here, Law360 looks at four notable state-level legislative developments so far in August.

  • August 19, 2026

    5th Circ. Backs Class Cert. In Hospital Meal Break Suit

    The Fifth Circuit on Wednesday upheld class certification for psychiatric hospital staff who say they were effectively on call during unpaid meal breaks, rejecting the hospital's bid to unwind the class while dismissing its challenge to certification of a federal wage and hour collective for lack of jurisdiction.

  • August 19, 2026

    Rutgers RAs Sue University Over Unpaid Minimum, OT Wages

    A former Rutgers University resident assistant sued the school in New Jersey federal court Wednesday, alleging the university treats dormitory supervisors as free labor, compensating them primarily with housing and meal benefits while failing to pay minimum wages or overtime for hours worked.

  • August 19, 2026

    Burlington Accused Of Requiring Work During Unpaid Breaks

    Three Burlington Coat Factory current and former employees hit the off-price retailer with proposed nationwide collective and class claims alleging workers were routinely required to perform unpaid work on purported meal breaks.

  • August 19, 2026

    Deloitte Can't Shake Leave Bias Suit From Ex-Manager

    A California federal court has refused to dismiss a proposed class action accusing Deloitte Consulting LLP of penalizing employees through a performance evaluation system that shortchanges the compensation of workers who take parental or pregnancy leave.

  • August 19, 2026

    Prison Phone Co. Says Techs Aren't Owed Public Works Pay

    A prison phone service provider told a New York federal judge that three field service technicians who installed and maintained telecommunications systems in hospitals and prisons did not agree to a "public works" contract and aren't guaranteed higher pay under state labor laws.

  • August 19, 2026

    Bloomberg Campaign, Workers Defend $6M Settlement Notice

    Attorneys for workers and Mike Bloomberg's 2020 presidential campaign urged a New York federal judge to let notice of a proposed $6 million overtime settlement move forward, saying another attorney's challenge rests on "significant factual inaccuracies."

  • August 19, 2026

    Delivery Driver Loses Class Cert. Bid In Misclassification Suit

    A delivery driver who accused a logistics company of misclassifying him and thousands of other California workers as independent contractors cannot get his proposed class certified, a federal court found, finding the variation in the drivers' operations prevents them from resolving their claims on a classwide basis.

  • August 18, 2026

    Uber Eats To Pay $4.4M To End Seattle Wage Theft Claims

    Uber Eats will again fork out millions of dollars to settle allegations from Seattle officials that the food delivery giant failed to pay its couriers what they're owed under municipal app-based worker laws, the Seattle Office of Labor Standards announced Tuesday.

  • August 18, 2026

    Gun Co. Palmetto Shorted Workers On OT, Suit Says

    Firearms retailer Palmetto State Armory cheated hundreds of its call-center employees out of wages by forcing them to perform unpaid tasks before clocking in and shaving overtime hours, according to a proposed class action filed in South Carolina federal court.

  • August 18, 2026

    Belle Tire Wins Arbitration Of Technician's Overtime Claims

    A former Belle Tire alignment technician must individually arbitrate claims that the automotive service company failed to pay overtime and improperly reduced workers' pay rates, a Michigan federal judge ruled, finding the employee agreed to arbitration through onboarding paperwork in 2023. 

  • August 18, 2026

    Jackson Lewis Atty Appointed Privacy, AI Lead Of L&E Global

    Labor and employment firm Jackson Lewis PC announced Tuesday that its attorney Mary T. Costigan was appointed co-leader of data protection and artificial intelligence at L&E Global, an alliance affiliated with Jackson Lewis.

  • August 18, 2026

    Home Care Co. Says DOL Suit Contradicts OT Rulemaking

    A Nebraska home care company accused of overtime violations by the U.S. Department of Labor asked a federal court Tuesday to rule in its favor, arguing the agency is simultaneously trying to undo the regulations it's using to prosecute the case while allowing other employers to operate freely.

Expert Analysis

  • Trending Legal Implications Of Employee Influencer Programs

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    Employee-generated content is rapidly becoming a popular marketing strategy, as illustrated by Starbucks' new TikTok program, but it raises several legal risks for employers, including wage and hour exposure, federal disclosure obligations, and intellectual property concerns, say attorneys at Reed Smith.

  • Flashpoints In Focus: Shifting Workplace Violence Responses

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    Amid recent threats of violence against artificial intelligence company executives and Jewish-owned businesses, employers can use policies, processes and safety controls to help prevent workplace violence and abate its recognized hazards, say attorneys at Seyfarth.

  • Limiting Employer Risk If Calif. Case Upends Time Rounding

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    The California Supreme Court's holdings in recent years suggest that it may tighten the rules for — or even eliminate — time clock rounding when it decides Camp v. Home Depot, so employers should consider taking preemptive steps to guard against large potential liability, says Jacqueline Crispino at the Jhaveri-Weeks Firm.

  • Employer Lessons From Apple Ruling Resolving OT Question

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    In Costa v. Apple, a California federal court recently handed employers a win on a previously unresolved wage and hour question, offering a reminder that favorable outcomes on novel issues often hinge on the specific facts of a company's own program and compliance efforts, say attorneys at Foley & Lardner.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: July Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses four recent rulings involving wage and hour allegations, medical care for incarcerated individuals, oil and gas royalty payments, and nuisance claims.

  • What To Know If DOL Raises Overtime Salary Floor

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    With the U.S. Department of Labor recently rescinding a 2024 rule that increased the minimum salary for the Fair Labor Standards Act's overtime exemptions, employers should assess how a future increase would affect their workforce, paying particular attention to job duties requirements and state laws, says James Coleman at Constangy.

  • DOL Deal Offers FMLA Lesson On Handling Intermittent Leave

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    The U.S. Department of Labor's recent deal with the University of Tennessee paying an employee over $30,000 for alleged violations of the Family and Medical Leave Act offers lessons about responding to intermittent leave requests, avoiding forced resignations and providing required notices, says Jason Knott at Zuckerman Spaeder.

  • Flashpoints In Focus: Handling Religious Objections To AI Use

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    Pope Leo XIV's recent warning about artificial intelligence may increase requests for religious exemptions from workplace AI use, so employers must be prepared to understand the request's scope, determine whether the employee has a religious conflict and distinguish reasonable accommodations from undue hardship, say attorneys at Seyfarth.

  • Examining 3 Notable DOL Moves In The First Half Of 2026

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    With the U.S. Department of Labor addressing independent contractor classification, joint employment and white collar exemptions so far this year, employers must understand this shifting landscape to ensure proper treatment of employees based on their classification and to mitigate enforcement risk, say attorneys at Conn Maciel.

  • Steps For Employers After 7th Circ. BIPA Retroactivity Ruling

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    The Seventh Circuit's recent ruling in Clay v. Union Pacific sharply limits per-scan statutory damages theories in pending Biometric Information Privacy Act cases by retroactively applying a 2024 amendment, but employers should not mistake the holding for a broad safe harbor, say attorneys at Thompson Coburn.

  • Defending Against Remote Work Risks During The World Cup

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    With World Cup matches underway, remote work policies and security measures can help employers manage the risks of employees working from sports arenas and other nontraditional locations, including hours-worked compliance, network security and data protection, says Lisa Burton at Ogletree.

  • How PAGA Proposal Could Expand Calif. Labor Agency's Role

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    The California Labor and Workforce Development Agency's recently proposed regulations governing the Private Attorneys General Act signal a more structured and agency-driven enforcement approach, so risk management will depend on employers' ability to evaluate opportunities for effectuating a cure and navigate a more active administrative process, say attorneys at Lathrop.

  • 3 New Pay Transparency State Laws Raise Compliance Risks

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    Wage transparency measures taking effect in Delaware, Maine and New Jersey add a layer of complexity to the hiring landscape and highlight the need for employers to develop thorough compliance strategies while navigating the laws' ambiguities, say attorneys at Foley & Lardner.