Retail Labor and Employment Law

Retail Labor and Employment Law

News, Updates, and Insights for Retail Employers

Tag Archives: FLSA

Posted on by Epstein Becker & Green, P.C.

Proposed Increases Under New York State’s Overtime Laws: Not Blocked by Federal Overtime Rule Change Injunction

Our colleague Jeffrey H. Ruzal, Senior Counsel at Epstein Becker Green, has a post on the Wage & Hour Defense Blog that will be of interest to many of our readers in the retail industry: “Decision Enjoining Federal Overtime Rule Changes Will Not Affect Proposed Increases Under New York State’s Overtime Laws.”

Following is an excerpt:

As we recently reported on our Wage & Hour Defense Blog, on November 22, 2016, a federal judge in the Eastern District of Texas issued a nationwide preliminary injunction enjoining the U.S. Department of Labor from implementing its new overtime … Continue Reading

Posted on by Laura A. Stutz

U.S. Department of Labor Updates Mandatory FLSA and Polygraph Protection Act Posters

Retail employers should take note that the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) updated its mandatory posters notifying employees of their rights under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) and Employee Polygraph Protection Act (“EPPA”).  The FLSA and EPPA posters no longer identify the civil monetary penalties that may be assessed for violations.  The FLSA poster also provides information regarding the rights of nursing mothers under the FLSA.  Employers are required to post the revised mandatory posters as of August 1, 2016, and may download the revised posters from the DOL’s website.

Employers should review their workplace employment law … Continue Reading

Posted on by Maxine Neuhauser

Proposed DOL Rule To Make More White Collar Employees Eligible For Overtime Pay

My colleagues Michael S. Kun and Jeffrey H. Ruzal at Epstein Becker Green has a Wage and Hour Defense blog post that will be of interest to all retailers: “Proposed DOL Rule To Make More White Collar Employees Eligible For Overtime Pay.”Clock

Following is an excerpt:

More than a year after its efforts were first announced, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) has finally announced its proposed new rule pertaining to overtime. And that rule, if implemented, will result in a great many “white collar” employees previously treated as exempt becoming eligible for overtime pay for work performed … Continue Reading

Posted on by Epstein Becker & Green, P.C.

Supreme Court Holds That Time Spent in Security Screening Is Not Compensable Time

Regarding the Supreme Court’s Integrity Staffing Solutions v. Busk opinion, issued today, our colleague Michael Kun at Epstein Becker Green has posted “Supreme Court Holds That Time Spent in Security Screening Is Not Compensable Time” on one of our sister blogs, Wage & Hour Defense.

Following is an excerpt:

In order to prevent employee theft, some employers require their employees to undergo security screenings before leaving the employers’ facilities. That is particularly so with employers involved in manufacturing and retail sales, who must be concerned with valuable merchandise being removed in bags, purses or jacket pockets.

Often in … Continue Reading

Posted on by Maxine Neuhauser

7-Eleven Franchise Operators’ Overtime & Minimum Wage Lawsuit Given Green Light by NJ District Court

On Epstein Becker Green’s Management Memo blog, I review New Jersey U.S. District Court’s ruling in Naik v. 7-Eleven that four franchise owner-operators may pursue overtime and minimum wage claims against franchisor 7-Eleven under both the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) and the New Jersey Wage and Hour Law (“NJWHL”).

Following is an excerpt from the blog post:

On July 29, 2014 the NLRB’s General Counsel announced a decision to treat McDonald’s, USA, LLC as a joint employer, along with its franchisees, of workers  43 McDonald’s franchised restaurants with regard to unfair labor practices charges filed by unions on … Continue Reading

Posted on by Epstein Becker & Green, P.C.

Decision Holding Supermarket CEO Personally Liable For Damages Under FLSA Stands As Supreme Court Declines Review

 

By Aaron F. Olsen

The United States Supreme Court declined to review the Second Circuit’s decision in Irizarry v. Catsimatidis in which the Court of Appeals affirmed the District Court’s decision holding a Supermarket CEO personally liable for violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

By way of background, in July 2013, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed the District Court’s decision that the CEO of a supermarket chain could be held personally liable for damages in Irizarry v. Catsimatidis.  The District Court had granted summary judgment in favor of plaintiffs in … Continue Reading

Posted on by Epstein Becker & Green, P.C.

DOL to Change Overtime Regulations

By Nancy L. Gunzenhauser

On March 13, 2014 President Obama issued a memorandum instructing the Department of Labor (“DOL”) to review and revise overtime regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”).  Under the FLSA employees are eligible to receive overtime for all hours worked over 40 per week, unless they fall within certain specified exemptions.  The most common of exempt classifications in the retail industry are executive, administrative, and commission sales.

The executive exemption applies to managers and supervisors who direct the work of others and who earn a salary of at least $455 per week. The administrative exemption… Continue Reading

Posted on by Epstein Becker & Green, P.C.

Wage and Hour Update

Our colleague Kara M. Maciel of Epstein Becker Green wrote a wage and hour update in this month’s Take 5 labor and employment newsletter.

Here’s a preview of the five items:

1. IRS Will Begin Taxing a Restaurant’s Automatic Gratuities as Service Charges
2. The New DOL Secretary, Tom Perez, Spells Out the WHD’s Enforcement Agenda
3. DOL Investigates Health Care Provider and Obtains $4 Million Settlement for Overtime Payments
4. Federal Court Strikes Down DOL Tip Pooling Rule
5. Take Preventative Steps When Facing WHD Audits

Read the full article here.

 … Continue Reading

Posted on by Epstein Becker & Green, P.C.

Does A Retailer’s Security Bag Check Violate the FLSA?

by Michael D. Thompson

Apple Inc.’s practice of requiring hourly employees to wait (off the clock) in order to undergo “personal package and bag checks” prior to meal breaks and at the end of shifts is the subject of a purported wage-hour collective action.

According to a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, these security checks take approximately 50 minutes to 1.5 hours per week of uncompensated time to search for “possible store items or merchandise taken without permission and/or contraband.”

The lawsuit seeks to certify a nationwide collective action class under the … Continue Reading

Posted on by Epstein Becker & Green, P.C.

Prepare Employees for Black Friday and Beyond

Black Friday.jpgBy Jennifer Barna

As shoppers and retailers get ready to celebrate “Black Friday” —  the kickoff to what we hope will  be a busy holiday shopping season —  it’s a good time for retail employers to review their policies on timekeeping and to ensure that non-exempt employees know how to record their working time.  Where is it not prohibited by state laws concerning meal and other breaks, employees may sometimes end up missing all or part of an unpaid meal break due to the demands of a busy sales floor. Employers need make sure employees are properly compensated for time … Continue Reading

Posted on by Epstein Becker & Green, P.C.

First Circuit Finds Employees Exempt from Overtime Pay

by Peter M. Panken, Michael S. Kun, Douglas Weiner, and Larissa Lalor-Rosado

Misclassification of employees as exempt from overtime compensation has become a cottage industry for plaintiff’s lawyers and for the United States Department of Labor (“DOL”) in the Obama years.  One of the most difficult issues is whether employees meet the so-called administrative exemption to the Wage Hour laws.  In Hines v. State Room, the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the First Circuit offered some clarity and help to beleaguered employers holding that former banquet sales managers were exempt from overtime requirements under … Continue Reading

Posted on by Epstein Becker & Green, P.C.

Law Moving in Right Direction for “Half-Time” Method of Calculating Damages in FLSA Overtime Cases

By: John F. Fullerton III and Douglas Weiner

The current prevalence of lawsuits for unpaid overtime compensation under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) by employees who claim they were misclassified by their current or former employer as “exempt” from overtime has been well-documented.  These lawsuits continue to present challenges to employers, not just in terms of the burdens and costs of defending the cases, but in the uncertainty of the potential financial exposure. As our colleagues have previously reported (here and here), there are two methods in which the employees can be compensated for the allegedly unpaid … Continue Reading

Posted on by Peter M. Panken

Why Doesn’t the Supreme Court Provide a Pathway Through the Morass of Retaliation Law?

The EEOC has reported that it receives more charges of retaliation than any other type of employment discrimination charge, and that there are thousands of cases involving allegations of illegal retaliation filed every year.  Retaliation is often prohibited by statute, but the Supreme Court has expanded the scope of actionable retaliation lately, holding that there was a cause of action for retaliation even though the statute in question did not expressly cover the situation at issue.

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) prohibits discrimination against an employee “because such employee has filed any complaint” under the Act.  In Kasten v.… Continue Reading

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