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Wages & Hours

Despite high-profile cases, class-action waivers still aren’t silver bullets in California

07/23/2013
For years, many California courts refused to enforce class-action waivers, exposing California businesses to class-action liability regardless of any agreement with employees or customers to forgo class litigation. The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion was supposed to change all that. It didn’t.

California court to decide key arbitration case

07/23/2013
In an important decision on whether employers can limit an employee’s access to an administrative hearing on wage claims, the California Supreme Court has ordered the parties to file supplemental briefs in light of a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision. In American Express Co. v. Italian Colors Restaurant, the U.S. Supreme Court confirmed its long-standing rule that arbitration clauses under the Federal Arbitration Act will be enforced.

Minuscule U.S. pay growth trounces rest of world

07/23/2013
The United States may be mired in a tepid economic recovery, but it’s worse in other countries. One indicator: In 12 of 13 industrial economies surveyed by the nonprofit WorldatWork organization, real salary budgets declined from 2012 to 2013.

Lounge, exotic dancers agree to settle classification lawsuit

07/17/2013
Lure, a “gentlemen’s club” in Min­ne­­apolis, has agreed to pay $300,000 to settle a class-action lawsuit with its exotic dancers, who claimed they were employees, not independent contractors as Lure had contended.

Sick employee wants less overtime? Consider that a request for intermittent FMLA leave

07/17/2013
Don’t try to “create” artificial overtime for a disabled em­­ployee so she’ll be forced to use up her FMLA entitlement. That’s especially true if no one else is required to actually work overtime. Such a tactic will backfire.

Court: If interns perform any work, pay them

07/17/2013
If your organization uses interns—or plans to do so—take note of last month’s ruling in the closely watched “Black Swan” case. A federal court said Fox Searchlight Pictures violated wage-and-hour laws by failing to pay interns who did menial tasks during production of the Oscar-nominated movie.

To pay or not to pay: Interns aren’t just a source of free labor

07/09/2013
It’s summertime, and college interns are filling corporate America’s cubicles. How many of those fresh-faced kids are wage-and-hour lawsuits just waiting to happen?

Starbucks shift bosses tipped, assistant managers stiffed

07/09/2013
The New York Court of Appeal—the state’s highest court—has ruled that Starbucks baristas in New York must share tips with their shift supervisors. Assistant managers, however, are out of luck. The court said they don’t get a cut of the nickels, dimes and quarters left in the jars on the Starbucks counters.

Mere guessing at compensation disparity won’t help employee win EPA lawsuit

07/09/2013
Here’s some good news. A court has quickly dismissed a pay disparity lawsuit that a university mathematics professor filed accusing her university of paying male faculty more than their female colleagues.

What should we do? Our summer intern is suddenly demanding back pay?

07/05/2013
Q. We hired an intern for the summer. She was eager to work for free to add it to her résumé … We told her that after this week we won’t need her. That’s when she said we owe her minimum wage or she’ll complain to the Department of Labor. Do we really have to pay her?