Peering into Hinshaw’s Crystal Ball: How the Trump Administration May Affect Labor and Employment Landscape

With the election of Donald Trump and transition to a Republican administration looming, employers are scrambling to predict what impact Trump will have on labor and employment policy and enforcement initiatives. What employers can expect in the first 12 months of a Trump Administration is unclear, but there likely will be change in the following areas: More ›

Overtime Exemptions Shrink

The hour has arrived. Last summer, the Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor announced substantial revisions to federal regulations delineating who is exempt from overtime pay. After almost a year of waiting (and over 290,000 comments to the draft rule), the DOL announced this week that it will be publishing the final form of its revised overtime regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). This final publication will occur on Monday, May 23, 2016, but the pre-publication version is publicly available now. More ›

Court Revives DOL's Expanded Overtime and Minimum wage Rules for Home Health Care Workers

On August 21, 2015, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in Home Care Association of America v. Weil reversed a lower court decision and upheld the U.S. Department of Labor's (DOL) 2013 regulatory change regarding domestic service workers who provide companionship services or live-in care.  More ›

It may be a Lawyer Doing work at a law firm…but don't call it 'Legal Work'

As e-discovery issues abound, the increased number of contract lawyers combing through massive document productions for privilege and relevance has developed into a cottage industry in the past decade. Companies helping law firms whose clients are embroiled in litigation with huge document productions has spawned new international businesses hiring American lawyers. And like any profitable business innovation, competition follows. Now law firms are bringing these document review lawyers on board and asking them to analyze myriad documents for their clients instead of farming this work to outside companies. But are these document review lawyers performing 'legal work'? The answer may depend on who you ask and why you're asking, but if you ask the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, they will tell you "no." More ›

Department of Labor Significantly Expanding Overtime Eligibility

The Department of Labor (DOL) recently issued proposed new rules that seek to expand overtime wage coverage to more than 4.6 million workers. These proposed rules are not yet final, and the DOL seeks comments. However, now is the time to begin considering how employees are classified, and whether they may continue to be exempt from overtime wages in the future. More ›

Employer Prevails on Misclassification Claim Where Employee Fails to Prove Hours Worked

Greg Holaway worked as a Field Service Engineer for Stratasys, Inc. He was categorized as exempt from the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requiring the payment of overtime. Even though his title was "Engineer," his position was closer to that of a customer service technician who installed machines and maintained previously installed machines. He was responsible for customers in various states. On February 8, 2012, Holaway sent an email to other Field Service Engineers complaining about being expected to work 45 to 60 hour weeks without overtime pay. He was terminated shortly after he sent the e-mail, ostensibly for violating the company's online protocol. More ›

California Court Decertifies wage, Break Claims due to lack of Commonality

Home delivery newspaper carriers brought suit against the publisher for violations of the California Labor Code, arguing that they were not paid overtime wages, the proper minimum wage, and did not receive rest breaks, among other things. Specifically, the carriers claimed that they were improperly classified as independent contractors, though they were actually more akin to employees, and thus should have received the benefits of being an employee (such as receiving overtime wages). More ›

Employees Entitled to Recover Unpaid Wages, Regardless of Immigration Status

Just because an employee does not report income to the IRS or used a fake Social Security card to get his job does not mean an employer can deprive the employee of overtime pay, says the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.  More ›

Seventh Circuit Decertifies Class due to Individualized Damage Calculations

The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals recently issued an opinion upholding a district court’s de-certification of a collective and class action under the Fair Labor Standards Act and Illinois state wage laws. While the opinion did not deal with typical Rule 23 or Section 16 issues, such as commonality or a common employer policy, it is a positive case for employers trying to get out from under lengthy, expensive class litigation. More ›

Illinois Court: Employee Handbook Created “Agreement” to Support Employees’ wage Claim, even Where Disclaimers Prevented “Contract”

A federal district court judge in Northern Illinois has ruled that an employee handbook, while not a “contract”, may still be an “agreement” upon which employees may rely — and sue. In this particular case, the judge denied the employer’s motion to dismiss a claim under the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act (IWPCA), finding that the handbook’s statements regarding compensation were an “agreement” upon which the employees’ could base their claim, despite the handbook’s numerous disclaimers stating that no legally enforceable promise was being made. The ruling, while narrowly applied in this case to support an IWPCA claim, could potentially raise major issues for Illinois employers that rely on such disclaimers to protect themselves against claims based on handbook provisions. More ›