Wage & Hour

Expert Analysis

• 9th Circ. Ruling Raises Bar For Arbitration Pacts Via Email

  

  The Ninth Circuit's recent holding in Rickes v. Thermo Fisher that the mere delivery of an email doesn't establish an employee's assent to the arbitration agreement underscores that rollout processes should both give employees notice of the agreement and create evidence of their assent, say attorneys at Sullivan & Cromwell.

• Flashpoints In Focus: Minimizing Midterm Politics At Work

  

  With the upcoming midterm elections producing a steady stream of controversy, employers would benefit from planning in advance and developing guardrails to ensure that election-related rifts do not jeopardize the company's culture or results, say attorneys at Seyfarth.

• Tackling DOL Tips On When Midday Commutes Are Paid Time

  

  Two recent U.S. Department of Labor opinion letters explain when travel between home and work is compensable, providing wage compliance guidance to employers that want to offer flexible work schedules, and establishing clearer rules as litigation over travel time compensability heats up, say attorneys at Jackson Lewis.

• 9th Circ. Wage Ruling Shows Arbitration Pacts Are Still Useful

  

  After years of uncertainty for California employers, the Ninth Circuit’s recent Cocom v. ABM Aviation decision signals that workplace arbitration agreements remain a powerful and enforceable tool — if thoughtfully drafted and employment-focused, says Benjamin Runge at Thompson Coburn.

• ERC Filing Deadlines Raise Tax Adviser Liability Risk

  

  To minimize their risk, employee retention credit providers and tax advisers should understand that agreements to extend clients’ two-year deadline for challenging disallowances are not effective until the IRS countersigns, and implement an action plan to track filing deadlines and consider other proactive steps, says Michael Williams at CFOMW.

• Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: August Lessons

  

  In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses seven recent rulings from cases involving Class Action Fairness Act jurisdiction, appellate jurisdiction, attorney fees and employment rights.

• Navigating Rising AI Use In Pro Se Employment Suits

  

  As federal pro se employment filings climb, largely due to increased use of artificial intelligence, defense attorneys can combat AI misuse by building AI-specific protective order language, screening documents for hidden prompt injections and seeking sanctions over fabricated citations, says Ashley Prickett Cuttino at Ogletree.

• Trending Legal Implications Of Employee Influencer Programs

  

  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

  

  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

  

  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

  

  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

  

  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

  

  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.