Unpaid Overtime Lawsuits: Reported Settlements & Active Cases

January 6th, 2021 – Burlington Coat Factor Managers Awarded $19 Million In Unpaid Overtime Lawsuit

Cases filed in a New Jersey US District Court against the popular clothing retailer were finally resolved last year. As has been seen in many other unpaid overtime cases, employers were alleged to have used loopholes in the law to deny salaried employees, generally assistant store managers (ASMs), an overtime rate. This is even though they met the state requirements for such increased pay.

The litigation in this particular case, which started as two individual claims and later merged into one, has taken 9 years to reach a conclusion. Both were built on the premise that the tasks performed by the workers should have qualified them for overtime. Most notably, these same tasks were also performed by other employees in other positions which did qualify them for overtime pay.

December 22nd, 2020 – Oklahoma Firefighters Union Alleges Unpaid Overtime

The Chickasha firefighters union in Oklahoma has brought forth an unpaid overtime lawsuit against the City of Chickasha in which they claim that violations to the FLSA have been made. The suit has been filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma.

The Firefighter’s Union alleges that the City has failed to remunerate workers properly for overtime hours worked. More specifically, the suit claims that the City has “consistently failed to include the firefighters’ longevity pay in their overtime rate.”  The Union had reportedly made numerous attempts to contact the City and inform them of the lack of payment. However, none of these received responses or the backpay believed to be due.

On December 3rd of this year, when the annual longevity payment was due to be disbursed to applicable firefighters, the workers once more failed to receive what they believe were due wages. This served as a sort of final straw which led to the filing of the unpaid wages lawsuit. As it stands, the Firefighter’s Union believes that the contract between themselves and the City has been violated. This could spurn further legal battles in parallel with the current unpaid overtime litigation.

November 6th, 2020 – San Francisco Nurses File Lawsuit Against Department of Public Health for Unpaid Overtime

A group of three nurses filed suit in the month of October against the San Francisco Department of Public Health alleging that the department has implemented illegal measures to avoid paying overtime wages. Among the illicit practices were chronic understaffing and forcing nurses to remain at their post even when their shift had ended. Had the nurses chosen to leave, they could have faced disciplinary action and the loss of their licenses.

While the initial claim named just three employees, a local nurses union believes there may be more than 1,300 other nurses who may also be owed unpaid overtime. SEIU Local 1021, the nurse union in question, estimated that there could be 90,000 hours of unpaid overtime due. At this time, no comment has been released by the San Francisco Health Department on the matter. Meanwhile, dozens of nurses have expressed their dissatisfaction via public demonstrations, including one outside San Francisco General Hospital, where many of the nurses are employed.

Public records indicate that the SF Health Department allotted as much as $25.3 million for overtime, with $14.1 million being spent in the first half of 2020.

October 5th, 2020 – Class Action by Minor League Baseball Players is Allowed to Proceed by Supreme Court

Since 2014, Major League Baseball (MLB) has faced a class-action lawsuit alleging that minor league players are being paid less than minimum wage which amounts to $7,500. The suit, which started out as Senne v. Royals, previously expanded to include remuneration (back pay) for both current and past league players. It has now overcome yet another appeal posed by the defendant, MLB, and moved one step closer to granting the players said compensation.

Unfortunately, the class-action still faces obstacles, namely the Save America’s Pastime Act. This piece of legislation that was heavily lobbied-for by MLB, in 2018 did away with minimum wage mandates within the minor leagues. At this time, both The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and the Supreme Court have ruled that the claim is valid and can continue, though it will likely be some time before a final decision is reached.

September 8th, 2020 – UPDATE on Uber & Lyft Employee Classification Lawsuit

On August 10th, a San Francisco Superior Court ruled that both ride-hailing giants would have to begin classifying drivers as employees (rather than contractors) within the entire state. Naturally, this change in employment status also entailed that drivers would become eligible for some benefits and, ultimately, placed unexpected costs on Uber & Lyft’s business models. The companies would have a 10-day period, until August 20th at 11:59 PM, to appeal this decision.

Due to the court ruling, both companies announced that they would be shutting off their service in the entire state until they were able to regroup, make critical decisions and corresponding changes if they were to continue operating. As one could expect, 10 days is not nearly long enough for such massive ride-sharing companies to implement drastic change. In a public report, Lyft explained that “it wasn’t possible to overhaul our business model and operations in ten days” which led to them to announce an imminent cease of service.

Seemingly in light of the service cancellation threats, and likely with the intention of avoiding widespread chaos, on August 20th a California Appeals Court ruled in favor of Uber & Lyft. Both companies promptly made it clear that their services would continue operating for the time being. However, this legal matter is far from resolved.

August 5th, 2020 – Ride-sharing Giants Uber & Lyft Sued by California Labor Commissioner Lilia García-Brower for Wage Theft

Uber and Lyft have long faced pressure from California’s attorney general to reclassify drivers from independent contractors to employees, a change the companies had avoided as it would directly impact their bottom line. However, as of Wednesday, August 5th, they are now facing additional pressure to make the change, this time in the form of a wage theft lawsuit filed by Lilia García-Brower, the Golden State’s labor commissioner.

The lawsuits were presented with the goal of stopping “the two companies from misclassifying their drivers and allow the Labor Commissioner to recover unpaid wages and other compensation that drivers are entitled to.” Both companies have made changes and pushed back against this most recent and many past claims for re-classification, though the perseverance shown by the state’s elected officials show no intentions of backing down.

If the lawsuit were to succeed, hundreds of thousands of drivers, many of whom work for both ride-sharing services, would be affected and potentially liable for compensation in the form of back-pay or more.

July 1st, 2020 – Multi-Panera Franchise Enterprise is Ordered by Judge to Pay Back $4.6 Million in Unpaid Overtime

Covelly Enterprises, which currently manages as many as 300 separate Panera Bred locations, has been ordered by a judge to pay back past and current employees a total of $4.6 million.

The ruling comes after a class action was presented in January of 2018 by a number of Panera assistant managers working in Ohio locations. The case and compensation amount had been previously declared last year, has now received judicial approval and can move forward.

The class-action claim stems from the company’s alleged practice of incorrectly classifying individuals holding the Assistant Manager title as ineligible for overtime pay. This practice reportedly began in the year 2016.

June 2nd, 2020 – Dick’s Sporting Good Faces Class Action Due To Alleged Unpaid Overtime

Eighteen store managers who were employed at Dick’s Sporting Goods stores across 14 separate states have filed an official complaint stating that the employer failed to abide by established laws regarding unpaid overtime. At its foundation, the lawsuit claims that the sporting goods company classified the managers as exempt from overtime wages. It is this classification that is being disputed and which could earn the plaintiffs compensation that covers unpaid wages going back as far as three years.

Dick’s Sporting Goods had previously faced similar accusations and, in 2016, the company settled another unpaid overtime lawsuit to the tune of $10 million. In that case, it was also assistant store managers who organized and filed the class action complaint.

May 14th, 2020 – NJ Construction Company Sued For Alleged Failure To Pay Overtime

The case was filed in a New Jersey federal court against Allstate Interiors Inc., as well as some of their subcontractors, by a collection of as many as 60 potential class members. The official complaint builds upon ‘standard’ FLSA violation claims as well as encroachment of New Jersey State Wage Payment Laws.

The legal dispute includes claims of the workers only being paid a daily rate when, on many occasions, they allege to have worked more than forty hours in a week. Some even reported working as many as 70 hours per week. Some of the claimants also indicated that they were not paid for time spent transporting other workers, nor were they remunerated for gasoline and toll expenses incurred while doing so.

April 22nd, 2020 – Ex-Employee Files Improper Wage Lawsuit Against Wind Creek Bethlehem casino

An official complaint was filed at the end of last month in a US District Court in Pennsylvania by Derrek Cummings. Cummings was employed by the Casino for slightly more than a year as an hourly, non-exempt table dealer. In the suit, the plaintiff states that the employer failed to inform Cummings, as well as other employees, of tip credit provisions. The filing also alleges that improper deductions were made on employee paychecks.

The plaintiff’s attorney is requesting the case be handled as a class-action, though no decision has been made on this yet.

March 17th, 2020 – Cedar Point Intern Files Class Action Unpaid Overtime Lawsuit

Cedar Point, a well-known amusement park in Ohio, is being sued by a former intern. The plaintiff, a woman from Green Springs Ohio, claims that the company didn’t pay her or dozens of others for overtime worked, despite working around 60 hours a week. A company representative stated that there will be no comment since the case is ongoing.

February 10th, 2020 – Texas Roadhouse Sued For Unpaid OT

A woman who worked at a Texas Roadhouse in Erie, PA from 2016 – 2017 has filed a class-action lawsuit claiming that the restaurant chain fails to pay overtime to managers. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court in Erie. The plaintiff alleges that she worked 50 – 70 hours a week without overtime, a policy that applies to all assistant managers in the country.

January 17th, 2020 – Reporter Files Unpaid Overtime Lawsuit Against TV Station

A television reporter in Kentucky has filed a lawsuit against Marquee Broadcasting Inc., alleging that the company, which operates numerous TV stations, failed to pay her for overtime. She further claims that she has been improperly classified as exempt and that the company uses this misclassification as the reason for failing to pay overtime wages.

December 11th, 2019 – McDonald’s Agrees To $26 Million Settlement With California Workers

Around 38,000 California workers are celebrating after plaintiffs reached a settlement agreement with McDonald’s. This settlement ends a class-action lawsuit filed by employees who alleged the company failed to pay minimum wage and overtime pay. The plaintiffs also alleged that they were denied bathroom breaks and rests. The settlement also requires additional training for managers.

November 21st, 2019 – Miners Win $793,000 In Back Wages

A lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Labor against Blackjewel has won mining employees nearly $800,000 in back wages. The lawsuit alleged that the company had failed to pay appropriate wages and overtime pay. At least 500 employees were impacted by this failure to pay.

This lawsuit is important because it asked a judge to force the company to pay, even though the mines are closing and bankruptcy has been filed. Blackjewel must now pay within 90 days.

June 11th, 2019 – Han Dynasty Faces Unpaid Overtime Lawsuits

A lawsuit filed by two men against Han Dynasty alleges that the chain has failed to properly record and pay overtime wages to employees. The lawsuit covers more than 40 employees, both current and former. Both plaintiffs allege that they worked in excess of 60 hours a week, often seven days a week, and were not paid the 1 1/2 times their regular rate for the overtime hours.

April 9th, 2019 – Former Amazon Delivery Drivers Sue For Unpaid Overtime

A group of former delivery drivers for Amazon has filed a lawsuit alleging that they are owed significant amounts in unpaid overtime. According to their legal complaint, each driver was scheduled to work five to six day a week for ten-hour shifts, yet they only were paid for 40 hours. Each driver is alleging that they are eligible for overtime and are owed compensation.

March 12th, 2019 – Steak ‘n Shake Managers Awarded Unpaid Overtime

The Steak ‘n Shake chain has been hit hard with an unpaid overtime verdict. The company has been ordered to pay more than $3 million in overtime pay to managers who never received their fair compensation. The decision to award the managers turned plaintiff was made by a jury who was involved in the recently completed litigation.

February 20, 2019 – Illinois Set To Increase Minimum Wage To $15 By 2025

Illinois has committed to raise the state minimum wage to $15 by 2025. On Tuesday, February 19, 2019, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed a bill that is set to increase the Illinois minimum wage from its current level of $8.25 to $9.25 on January 1, 2010. From there, the minimum wage is scheduled to increase to $10 in July 2020, then ramp up by $1 each year until reaching $15 in 2025. In another high-profile victory for the Fight For $15 campaign, Illinois joins the ranks of California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Washington, D.C., all of which have set in motion plans to reach $15 over the coming years.

To learn more about the bill, click here.

January 4, 2018 – Circle K Settles Overtime Lawsuit For $8.3 Million In Back Wages

National convenience store chain Circle K has entered into an $8.3 million settlement agreement to resolve allegations that it failed to pay overtime wages to store managers. The settlement will go to compensate around 1,100 store managers around the country.

A former store manager in Las Vegas, Charles Grahl, accused Circle K in his original lawsuit of classifying him incorrectly as an overtime-exempt executive employee. Grahl argues that he is not exempt from overtime protections because his job role does not include independent discretion over matters integral to business operations.

To learn more about the story, click here.

December 14, 2018 – Maryland Bus Drivers File Lawsuit For Unpaid Overtime Wages

A group of six bus drivers in Baltimore has filed suit against the Maryland Transit Administration, claiming that they have not been adequately paid overtime since October of 2015. Filed as a collective action (similar to a class action), the case seeks to represent the interests of around 200 bus drivers in the Baltimore area. Since each bus driver in the suit demands restitution in excess of $75,000, the lawsuit could end in a massive damages award. Attorneys for the bus drivers say that a collective bargaining agreement negotiated by the Amalgamated Transit Union obligates the MTA to pay only straight-time wages for overtime hours, contravening the mandates of both federal and state law. “You can’t contract around federal law, or state law for that matter,” says James M. Ray II, an attorney for the bus drivers. To learn more about the case, click here.

November 2, 2018 – AT&T Hit With Call Center Worker Overtime Class Action

A group of call center employees who work for AT&T have filed suit against their employer, accusing the telecom company of shorting them on overtime pay. In their class action, which seeks to represent the interests of approximately 500 workers, the employees allege violations of the Fair Labor Standard Act, including the federal provision that guarantees most workers overtime pay after working more than 40 hours in a single workweek.

The workers say a software program used to tabulate worker pay automatically “rounds” an employee’s hours, shaving off minutes that were worked beyond the employee’s scheduled shift. They also claim that AT&T is not paying them correctly for minutes worked in preparation to the beginning of a scheduled shift. To learn more about the case, click here.

October 16, 2018 – City Of Louisville Ordered To Pay Firefighters $100K In Unpaid Overtime Wages

A group of 17 firefighters and dispatchers have won over $100,000 in unpaid overtime wages. On Tuesday, October 2, 2018, a jury for a Kentucky State court found that the City of Louisville had failed to pay the first responders overtime wages, as provided by state and federal labor law.

The lawsuit’s allegations go back to 2000, when a cohort of 75 firefighters and dispatchers filed suit against Louisville. Over the years, the City has paid out millions of dollars in settlements to resolve the claims. In their lawsuit, the firefighters say they regularly worked over 56 hours in a week, but were not paid a premium overtime wage for their extra hours. To learn more about the story, along with a similar lawsuit filed by firefighters in Florida, follow this link.

September 21, 2018 – Amazon-Affiliated Delivery Drivers Sue Courier Company Over Unpaid Overtime Wages

More than 200 Amazon-affiliated delivery drivers have filed suit against the e-commerce giant, accusing the company of presiding over a system that denies workers earned overtime pay and forces workers to labor under undignified working conditions. In their lawsuit, the drivers claim that Maryland-based courier company TL Transportation pays workers a flat daily rate that fails to account for overtime hours. TL Transportation is one of many courier services that have cropped up to assist Amazon in fulfilling two-day and same-day delivery orders. Amazon’s Prime membership option, which promises about 100 million paying subscribers two-day delivery on millions of products, has given rise to a new ecosystem of courier companies, many of which receive a substantial amount of services from Amazon itself. To find more on the case, click here.

August 23, 2018 – Missouri Jury Awards Prison Guards $114 Million In Unpaid Overtime Wages

After 6 years of litigation, around 13,000 Missouri correctional officers have been awarded nearly $114 million in unpaid overtime wages. The jury verdict, rendered by a Missouri State jury in Cole County, ends years of controversy. Prison guards in Missouri have long argued that they should be paid for tasks performed before and after clocking in, including lengthy security screening checks. The Department of Labor has investigated the Missouri Department of Corrections over the issue on two occasions, at one point concluding that the State had stiffed guards at a Bowling Green prison out of more than $500,000 in earned compensation. To learn more about the case, follow this link.

July 2, 2018 – Cerner Agrees To Settle $4.5M Overtime Lawsuit

Electronic health record giant Cerner has agreed to settle a recent overtime lawsuit after 3 years of litigation, offering $4.5 million in compensation to a group of workers who accused the company of orchestrating several schemes to avoid paying accurate overtime wages. In their lawsuit, certified as a class action in March 2016, two employees at Cerner said their employer intentionally wrote paychecks late to shortchange workers on overtime hours. To find more on the settlement, click here.

June 12, 2018 – Virginia Police Officers Accuse Roanoke Of Concealing Overtime Violations

Two Roanoke, Virginia police officers have filed an wage and hour lawsuit against their employer, the City of Roanoke, claiming the City has failed to pay them overtime in accordance with federal and state law. Their lawsuit, filed as a prospective collective action, seeks to represent the interests of up to 300 current and former law enforcement officials, but has yet to be certified by a court. The two officers accuse Roanoke of forcing them and their colleagues to work off-the-clock without compensation, effectively lowering the amount of hours that would count towards their overtime wages. To learn more about the case, follow this link.

May 16, 2018 – Johnny Depp Hit With Private Security Guard Overtime Lawsuit

Two private security guards are suing Johnny Depp, accusing the film star of requiring them to work in a “toxic” employment environment and violated California labor laws by failing to pay overtime wages. To learn more about the case, click here.

April 9, 2018 – Auto Service Advisors Exempt From Overtime Law, Supreme Court Rules

Auto service advisors are not entitled to overtime wages under the Fair Labor Standards Act, according to a new opinion from the US Supreme Court. Ruling in Encino Motorcars LLC v. Navarro, the nation’s highest court concluded in a 5-4 decision that, as “salesmen primarily engaged in servicing automobiles,” service advisors are exempt from federal laws that extend the right to overtime pay and minimum wage to most American employees. To learn more about the opinion, check out our in-depth post here.

March 9, 2018 – Grubhub Driver Is Independent Contractor, Not Employee, California Judge Holds

In what could be a landmark court decision, a California federal judge has ruled that a former Grubhub delivery driver should be considered an “independent contractor,” rather than an employee. In her ruling, Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Corley found that the driver, an aspiring actor in Los Angeles, controlled most aspects of his working life. The plaintiff has already expressed his intention to appeal the decision. To find more on the case, follow this link.

February 14, 2018 – New Jersey Unpaid Overtime Lawsuit Filed By Ex-Police Officers

Over 70 former police officers are suing Camden, New Jersey, saying that, in the City’s zeal to overhaul its law enforcement department, they were deprived of earned overtime wages. Most of the officers were let go in 2013, when Camden dissolved its City police department in favor of a new County-wide bureau. To learn more about the story, click here.

January 4, 2018 – Connecticut Jury Says IT Giant Denied Overtime For 1,000+ Tech Workers

On December 21, 2017, a jury for the US District Court of Connecticut decided that leading IT contractor DXC Technology (formerly Computer Sciences Corp., or CSC) had knowingly denied over 1,000 “systems administrators” overtime pay, the Washington Post reports. The on-the-ground trouble-shooting specialists had been misclassified as “exempt” employees, a designation that excludes workers from the labor protections of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, the jury found.

December 21, 2017 – 2018 Minimum Wage Increases Are Around The Corner

Alongside 20 municipalities, 18 states are set to increase the minimum wage for 2018, with most changes going into effect on January 1, 2018. To learn if you’ll be affected by a minimum wage rise, click here.

December 6, 2017 – $3 Million Overtime Settlement For California Municipal Workers

The City of Rialto, California will pay hundreds of its employees nearly $3 million to resolve allegations that the municipal government neglected to include all necessary compensation in overtime calculations. The settlement, reported by the San Bernardino Sun, will end a class action lawsuit in which city workers said their overtime pay didn’t include unused medical benefits as required by federal law.

November 21, 2017 – Overtime Lawsuit Accuses Facebook Of “Systematic” Wage Violations

A former employee of Facebook is hitting back against what she describes as the company’s “systematic, companywide” culture of wage theft, suing her old employer for back wages in an Illinois federal court. In her lawsuit, a former client solutions manager at Facebook’s Chicago office accuses the tech giant of improperly classifying some 200 workers as “exempt” from federal and Illinois labor laws. To learn more about the case, read our full story here.

November 8, 2017 – JPMorgan Settles Branch Manager Overtime Suits For $16.7M

JPMorgan Chase has agreed to settle two unpaid overtime lawsuits, consolidated in 2016, for a total of $16.7 million, according to Reuters. Announced on November 6, the bank’s  settlement will resolve the claims of assistant branch managers who say they were misclassified as managerial employees, despite having no managerial duties. JPMorgan Chase is the biggest bank in the US and the sixth largest in the world.

October 6, 2017 – Trash Collectors Win $500,000 In Unpaid Wages Settlement

The City of San Diego has agreed to pay an estimated 220 garbage collectors a settlement of $500,000, resolving allegations that the municipality failed to compensate the workers for lunch breaks that they worked through. To learn more about the settlement, click here.

September 22, 2017 – TGI Fridays Agrees To $19.1M Unpaid Wages Settlement

In what has been dubbed the largest wage and hour settlement ever brokered, the casual dining franchise TGI Fridays has agreed to pay an estimated 28,800 workers $19.1 million in compensation for allegedly unpaid wages. To read our article on the settlement, follow this link.

September 7, 2017 – Texas Federal Judge Strikes Down Efforts To Expand Overtime Rights

A federal judge in Texas last week overturned the Obama-era proposal to expand overtime eligibility to over 4 million salaried workers, saying the Department of Labor had “exceeded its authority” in attempting to double the Fair Labor Standards Act’s salary threshold. Confirming the death of Obama’s ambitious plan, attorneys for the Labor Department withdrew their defense of the rule, saying the agency, under the guidance of President Trump appointees, would not appeal Judge Amos Mazzant’s ruling. Learn more about these recent developments here.

August 22, 2017 – Secret Service Struggles To Settle Agent Overtime Obligations

Secret Service Director Randolph Alles says his agency will not be able to pay overtime wages after September 30, 2017, unless members of Congress can galvanize around a legislative fix to the salary caps established by federal law. Today, federal legislation limits the annual salary of a Secret Service agent to $160,000, a number that includes overtime pay. That cap has already left thousands of agents and uniformed employees with hours and hours of unpaid overtime. To read more, click here.

August 1, 2017 – Trump Administration Moves To Quash Obama-Era Overtime Rule

The Trump Administration’s Department of Labor has taken its first step toward overturning a wage rule, drafted by former President Obama’s labor officials, that would have extended overtime pay to some 4 million workers. As Insurance Journal reports, the Labor Department announced on Tuesday, July 25, 2017 that it would be opening Obama’s proposal up for public comments, a common move before regulations are revised or reversed. In suggestive public statements, the Department has said it’s looking into ways to soften the rule’s effect for business interests, in part by creating different regulations for separate industries and regions of the United States. The Obama Administration’s original scheme would have raised a salary threshold that currently makes workers earning fewer than $23,660 per year ineligible for overtime.

July 24, 2017 – Burberry Settles Retail Overtime Class Action For $2.54 Million

After hearing for years that “Burberry doesn’t pay overtime,” workers at the upscale fashion retailer’s locations in New York State have won $2.54 million in back wages. The apparel giant’s settlement, reported in the New York Post, will go to compensate salespeople and shipping employees who say they were often forced to work “off-the-clock” without pay.

July 3, 2017 – St. Louis Workers Win – Then Lose – $10 Minimum Wage

After two years of legal battle, low-wage workers in St. Louis, Missouri secured the right to a $10 per hour minimum wage. Just as quickly, that hard-won raise was taken away, according to HuffPost. In a rare example of legislative efficiency, Missouri’s legislature passed a bill on June 30th that will force all municipalities in the state to stick with the State’s minimum wage of $7.70.

As many observers have noted, the Missouri Governor’s decision to overturn locally-made decisions appears to conflict with traditional conservative principles. Republicans tend to support delegating authority to municipalities, rather than concentrating power in state-level bureaucracies.

June 20, 2017 – New Jersey Lifeguard Says Ocean City Doesn’t Pay Overtime

A veteran lifeguard in Ocean City has filed a class action lawsuit, accusing the municipality of failing to pay members of the beach patrol overtime, the Gazette of Ocean City reports. Douglas Schmitt, who has worked as a lifeguard in New Jersey for the last 24 years, estimates in his new lawsuit that lifeguards for Ocean City may be owed up to $75,000 a piece in back wages. About 100 lifeguards have worked on an hourly basis for Ocean City since April 25, 2015, the date on which the lawsuit’s claims begin.

June 9, 2017 – Chipotle Overtime Lawsuit Could Impact Wages For Millions Of Workers

A new class action overtime lawsuit has been filed against Chipotle, a chain of “fast casual” restaurants with more than 2,000 locations. Carmen Alvarez, the class action’s lead plaintiff, served as an apprentice at a Chipotle restaurant in New Jersey, according to CNN. While Alvarez frequently worked more than 40 hours every week, her earnings initially exceeded the threshold established by federal overtime law.

That all changed in 2016, when the US Department of Labor revised the nation’s overtime laws, raising the threshold and making Alvarez, along with millions of other workers, eligible to receive overtime pay. Chipotle started paying overtime, but soon stopped, “reversing course” after a federal judge in Texas issued an injunction that prevented the Labor Department’s rule change from going into effect.

A similar scenario played out in workplaces across the country, as employers began doling out overtime wages – and then just as quickly took them away. The crux of the class action, however, is whether or not the Texas judge’s decision should have any effect on workers in other states. Its fate could have a major impact for millions of workers, with shock waves felt in industries far from food service.

May 16, 2017 – DNC Field Organizers Say Democratic Party Refused To Pay Overtime, Minimum Wage

A new class action says the Democratic National Committee neglected to pay earned overtime wages to around fifty national field organizers, the Washington Free Beacon reports. In the lawsuit, Democratic Party field organizers, who worked all over the country in the run-up to the election, accuse the National Committee, along with the Pennsylvania Democratic Party, of paying sub-minimum wages and refusing to shell out overtime, despite workweeks that could amount to 80 hours. The irony, of course, is exquisite, since the Democrats made a $15 minimum wage one of their primary campaign planks this election cycle.

May 3, 2017 – AT&T Training Specialists Win Right To Continue Overtime Class Action

A San Francisco federal judge has denied AT&T’s attempt to have a wage and hour class action dismissed, Reuters reports, allowing the allegations of unpaid overtime leveled by training specialists to proceed.

AT&T argues that the training specialists should be classified as “administrative professionals,” a category of workers who are not usually entitled to overtime pay. Judge Vince Chhabria of the US District Court for the Northern District of California says that question should be decided by a jury. In a ruling issued on April 28, 2017, Judge Chabbria denied AT&T’s petition to dismiss the class action, ruling that a jury must weigh in on the lawsuit’s central question: whether or not the employees used “independent judgment” to decide significant business matters.

April 13, 2017 – PNC Bank Agrees To $16 Million Settlement In Loan Officer Overtime Class Action

Thousands of current and former mortgage loan officers have won a huge settlement in their class action lawsuit against PNC Bank. On Tuesday, April 11, 2017, Pennsylvania District Judge Arthur Schwab approved the bank’s $16 million settlement offer, resolving allegations that the company had advised workers to under-report their overtime hours and incorrectly calculated their wages.

The class of loan officers implicated in the suit covers employees who worked for PNC since August 7, 2012 at locations nationwide, Trib Live reports. The plaintiffs founded their allegations on the Fair Labor Standards Act, a federal law that requires employers to pay most employees an overtime wage for hours worked over 40 in a week.

April 4, 2017 – Disney To Pay $3.8 Million In Back Wages To Florida Resort Workers

The Walt Disney Company has agreed to a blockbuster wage and hour settlement, saying it will pay $3.8 million to reimburse over 16,300 workers in Florida for unpaid wages. Employees of two Disney-owned divisions – Disney Vacation Club Management Corp. and Walt Disney Parks and Resorts US – will be compensated thanks to an investigation conducted by the US Department of Labor.

As Variety reports, federal regulators discovered evidence that resort workers at Florida Disney locations had been subjected to a number of wage violations. Employees’ wages had been reduced to pay for uniform and costume expenses, Labor Department officials say, which often brought their hourly rates below the federal minimum wage. In addition, the Disney resorts failed to compensate workers for tasks performed before and after their officially-scheduled shifts.

March 14, 2017 – IT Worker Class Action Certified In Missouri, Accuses Cerner Of Wage Violations

A Missouri state judge has certified a class action against healthcare IT giant Cerner, filed in 2015 over allegations of blatant employee misclassification and withheld overtime wages. In her class action lawsuit, employee Laura Scott accuses Cerner of classifiying entry-level workers out of the Fair Labor Standards Act’s labor protections under an obscure exemption for high-level systems analysts, KCUR reports. Although “delivery consultants” and “systems analysts” at Cerner have impressive job titles, Scott says their true duties are far more mundane. In fact, the positions require little to no training in systems analysis, software engineering or computer programming, the class action claims.

Scott believes that up to 750 employees at Cerner, headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, may be eligible to receive back wages from their employer. On February 28, 2017, Jackson County Circuit Judge W. Brent Powell allowed the claim to proceed based on Scott’s side of the story, although he admitted that further discovery may ultimately substantiate Cerner’s contentions. Additional Cerner employees will now be able to join the action. The company has already settled three previous lawsuits filed by computer workers over allegations of unpaid overtime.

March 1, 2017 – Hertz Rent A Car Faces Unpaid Overtime Collective Action

A former manager at Hertz Rent A Car has filed a collective action in the US District Court for the Middle District of Florida, saying her old employer “willfully refused to pay overtime wages.” In her complaint, the plaintiff says that she worked at two Hertz locations, in Clearwater and Clearwater Beach, ending her tenure with the company in 2015. During her employment, she claims that her supervisors forced her to perform off-the-clock work, thus depriving her of earned overtime wages.

This practice, however, is systemic at Hertz Rent A Car, the plaintiff says. Court records analyzed by the Naples Daily News show that the plaintiff has also filed a separate lawsuit, in the same court, alleging that she enduring sexual harassment and retaliation in the workplace. When she complained of inappropriate behavior to her superiors, the plaintiffs says that she was first ignored, and then fired in retaliation. Hertz has denied these allegations in court documents, but refrained from speaking with reporters about pending litigation.

February 16, 2017 – No Double Liquidated Damages In Wage & Hour Lawsuits, Second Circuit Appeals Court Rules

When workers win wage and hour lawsuits, the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) allows them to secure “liquidated damages.” Instead of winning only their unpaid back wages, the FLSA can double that compensation. New York State law has a similar provision, allowing damages awarded in wage and hour lawsuits to be doubled.

But what happens when an employer violates both the FLSA and New York State labor laws. Is an employee entitled to triple the damages, by stacking liquidated damages on top of one another? “No” seems to be the answer to that question, according to JD Supra. The US 2nd Circuit of Appeals just ruled on an unpaid overtime lawsuit, deciding that employees are only entitled to one round of liquidated damages and cannot secure liquidated damages under both federal and state laws.

February 3, 2017 – Trump White House Hints At Decrease In Labor Enforcement, Increase In Private Wage & Hour Litigation

Most legal observers believe that, if President Trump keeps good on his word to cut labor regulations, wage and hour lawsuits will only increase during his tenure in the White House. The number of lawsuits based on wage and hour provisions in the federal Fair Labor Standards Act peaked in 2015, at 8,900. While case filings dropped the next year, to 8,300 in 2016, that was still a 329% jump from the amount filed in 2000, Law360 reports. Moreover, the amount of money companies are paying to settle wage and hour class actions has skyrocketed over the last two years, from around $215.3 million in 2014 to over $695.5 million.

Virtually all of these lawsuits are filed as class actions, thanks in large part to a number of recent Supreme Court cases favoring low-wage workers.

January 26, 2017 – New Mexico Labor Department Sued Over Refusing To Investigate Unpaid Wage Claims

New Mexico’s Department of Workforce Solutions has been sued in a proposed class action by three workers and a number of labor advocacy groups that claim the Department has failed to enforce minimum wage and overtime laws.

In a lawsuit filed on January 18, 2017, attorneys from the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty accuse the State’s labor department of refusing to investigate unpaid wage claims in excess of $10,000, instructing low-wage workers, many of whom cannot afford their own legal counsel, to hire private attorneys. As the complaint states, New Mexico’s Department of Workforce Solutions has admitted in the past that it has the authority to investigate larger unpaid wage claims.

“Despite strong bipartisan for these legal protections, this administration chooses to ignore the law and side with the wage thieves,” Marcela Díaz told the Santa Fe New Mexican.  Díaz is executive director for the immigrant rights group Somos Un Pueblo Unido, which was instrumental in campaigning for a 2009 bill that effectively doubled the penalties assessed against wage violators in New Mexico. These strengthened protections, however, are not being honored, according to the new class action.

January 3, 2017 – 21 States Raise Minimum Wage For 2017

An estimated 11.8 million workers will see their wages increase in 2017, according to a new report from the National Employment Law Project. 21 states, including California, New York and Arizona, have minimum wage increases taking effect, as do 29 cities and counties.

To learn more about these changes, click here.

December 15, 2016 – Flowers Foods, Owner Of Wonder Bread, Settles $9 Million Wage & Hour Lawsuit

Flowers Foods, owner of well-known baking brands Sunbeam, Nature’s Own and Wonder, has agreed to pay out $9 million to resolve a lawsuit alleging Fair Labor Standards Act violations. The story was first picked up by the Atlanta Business Chronicle.

Like most commercial baking conglomerates, including Pepperidge Farm, Flowers Foods relies on “independent distributors” to bring its baked goods to market, selling them the exclusive right to distribute Flowers Foods products within a given region.

Flowers Foods has long classified these distributors as “independent contractors,” who aren’t normally entitled to things like the minimum wage, overtime pay and reimbursed business expenses.

In 2012, a group of distributors filed suit against Flowers, claiming that the company had misclassified them under federal law. Despite their nominal “independence,” distributors are in fact employees, the complaint argued, and should thus receive the benefits. Alongside $9 million in back wages, the company’s settlement includes terms that will “strengthen the role of distributors as independent contractors,” HR Dive reports.

December 1, 2016 – Federal Judge Moves To Delay Implementation Of Overtime Rule

A federal judge in Texas has ruled to postpone the implementation of a new Labor Department rule that would see overtime eligibility expanded to an additional 4 to 5 million salaried workers. The overtime rule, which would have doubled the minimum salary threshold for overtime pay, was scheduled to take effect today, December 1, 2016.

The decision, handed down by District Judge Amos L. Mazzant on November 22, 2016, will allow the Court more time to consider the new labor rule’s legality, which has been challenged by over a dozen state governments and several major business organizations. The Court’s next steps, however, will depend in part on the Department of Labor’s reaction to the recent injunction. The federal agency says that it is “considering all of its legal options,” according to the Washington Post.

November 22, 2016 – Texas Judge Considers Request To Postpone New Overtime Rule

Workers across the country are still waiting for a federal district judge in Texas to decide on whether the Department of Labor’s new overtime rules will go into effect as expected on December 1, 2016. Judge Amos Mazzant is currently considering two federal lawsuits, filed by more than a dozen US States and the Chamber of Commerce, that seek to have the Obama Administration’s proposed increase of the overtime salary threshold stopped entirely or postponed.

Most legal pundits say it’s unlikely that Judge Mazzant will prevent the rule from taking effect, Politico reports. He is expected to announce his decision today, November 22, 2016, but no word has yet emerged from the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.

A major pillar in the Obama Administration’s labor agenda, the new rule would see overtime rights extended to between 4 and 5 million mid-wage salaried workers. Business advocates, however, have come out against the proposal with strong disapproval. Many state governments say that Obama’s rule change would create significant financial strain as well.

November 8, 2016 – New York, Chicago & Florida Lead Nation In Pending Wage & Hour Lawsuits

New York, Miami, Orlando, Tampa and Chicago see the highest numbers of wage and hour lawsuits in the country, according to reporting from Crain’s Chicago Business.

Lawsuits invoking the Fair Labor Standards Act, a federal law governing minimum wage and overtime requirements, have soared in recent years, thanks in large part to a changing labor landscape. Larger companies are increasingly willing to partner with smaller staffing firms, leaving many employees misclassified as independent contractors. The most popular jurisdictions for these lawsuits, including New York, Chicago and three Florida metro areas, sit at crossroads between large employers and smaller companies that provide labor.

October 24, 2016 – Bankrupt ITT Tech Hit With $20.2M Claim For Back Wages

ITT Tech filed for bankruptcy in September, but the end of the now-disgraced for-profit college’s legal troubles are nowhere in sight. On September 29, 2016, ex-instructors sought leave to file a claim for $20.2 million in back wages in the college’s bankruptcy case, according to Law360. The lawsuit, initially filed in July in a California state court, is currently seeking class certification.

During its lifetime, ITT Tech charged one of the highest tuition fees in the for-profit academic industry. The institute also issued more loans that ultimately went into default than any other for-profit technical school. In 2014, ITT Tech was ranked at number 2 on Time Magazine‘s list of “The 5 Colleges That Leave the Most Students Crippled By Debt.” Only the University of Phoenix saw more federal student loan recipients default.

In August, the US Department of Education cut off ITT Tech’s federal funding. Soon after, the institute abruptly shuttered operations, putting over 8,000 employees out of work on a single day, September 6, 2016. In a slew of other lawsuits, ex-employees accuse ITT Tech of violating the federal Worker Adjustment Retraining and Notification Act, which requires at least 60 days advance notice if large companies plan mass layoffs.

At its height, the for-profit educational institution operated upwards of 130 campuses in 38 different states.

October 7, 2016 – Amazon Sued Over Employment Status In New Wage & Hour Lawsuit

Three drivers who deliver products for Amazon Flex, the digital commerce giant’s new Uber-style delivery program, believe they should be classified as employees, not independent contractors.

In a lawsuit filed on October 4, 2016, the drivers argue that delivery is an essential component of Amazon’s business. Moreover, the company “exerts control over drivers’ schedules and training,” The Seattle Times reports. Those considerations, the drivers claim, indicates that they should be classified as employees of Amazon. Currently, Amazon Flex drivers are categorized as independent contractors – and have to pay their own vehicle expenses and phone bills. With those work-related costs factored in, wages can actually fall below the legally-required minimum wage, the drivers say.

The lawsuit accuses Amazon of violating federal and state wage and hour laws, which guarantee most employees a minimum wage and overtime pay. Their complaint was filed in the US District Court of Western Washington.

September 22, 2016 – 21 States Sue Department Of Labor Over New Overtime Rule

Authorities from 21 states have filed a lawsuit against the Department of Labor, according to Time, challenging the Obama Administration’s proposed change to federal overtime rules. The rule change seeks to extend mandatory overtime rights to over 4 million workers, which the states say will strain already cash-strapped budgets further.

Set to begin on December 1, 2016, the Department of Labor’s plan would have employers pay overtime wages to all salaried workers making less than $47,500 per year. The current salary threshold is $23,660. But the change will lead to “disastrous consequences for our economy,” says Ken Paxton, the Attorney General for Texas.

Legal observers believe the lawsuit will be largely ineffective, but say the states have a chance of blocking an aspect of the Obama Administration’s scheme, which would see the salary threshold increased automatically on an annual basis.

September 8, 2016 – US Labor Department Settles Unpaid Overtime Lawsuit For $7 Million

Ten years ago, a federal union, the American Federation of Government Employees Local 12, filed an unpaid overtime lawsuit against an unlikely Defendant: the US Department of Labor. The Labor Department, of course, is responsible for enforcing America’s overtime and minimum wage requirements. But in their collective action, filed initially in 2006, federal employees accused the agency of improperly paying overtime and leaving workers uncompensated for “off-the-clock” labor.

On August 12, 2016, the Department of Labor agreed to settle the suit for $7 million, an amount that will likely be split among 2,000 to 3,000 employees, according to Bloomberg’s Bureau of National Affairs. The Department has not admitted any wrongdoing, and denies violating the Fair Labor Standards Act.

The irony has not been lost on legal observers. “Maybe this lawsuit points to the need to clarify the [Fair Labor Standards Act],” said attorney Paul DeCamp. “If the DOL can’t get this right, what chance do other employers have?”

August 24, 2016 – California Judge Rejects $100M Settlement In Alleged Uber Driver Misclassification Lawsuit

In April, the ride-sharing giant Uber finally hammered out a settlement agreement with nearly 400,000 drivers who claimed they were employees of the company, not independent contractors. Along with promising to recognize union-like organizations in California and Massachusetts, the settlement agreement would see Uber pay the drivers $100 million in damages.

But in a major turn of events, the federal judge presiding over the California case has now ruled that the settlement agreement is “not fair, adequate and reasonable,” the New York Times reports. No one seems very happy with Judge Edward M. Chen’s decision. For its part, Uber will have to stay in court, and while some critics considered the settlement’s amount too low, the drivers’ lead attorney says she is disappointed. If the parties aren’t able to reach a revised agreement that seems reasonable to Judge Chen, attorney Shannon Liss-Riordan is prepared to take her case to trial.

August 11, 2016 – Massachusetts Construction Company Will Pay $2.3 Million In Back Wages

A Massachusetts construction company has been ordered to pay more than $2.3 million in back wages and liquidated damages to 478 employees, according to the US Labor Department. The judgement will be shared by Force Corp., a construction business based in Lunenburg, and AB Construction Group, a payroll company set up by the owners of Force Corp.

An investigation by the Department of Labor’s Wage & Hour Division found that Force Corp. and AB Construction Group, as well as the companies’ owners, misclassified the majority of their workers as independent contractors to get around federal laws requiring the payment of overtime and benefits. The agency says both companies also maintained inaccurate time and payroll records.

A civil penalty of $262,900 has also been assessed, since the employers willfully cheated their workers out of wages.

July 28, 2016 – Cafeteria Workers In The Senate Just Won $1M In Back Wages

Wage violations can affect employees in any workplace – even the United States Capitol.

A Labor Department investigation, which touched halls in our nation’s core governmental buildings, discovered that hundreds of cafeteria workers who serve senators and federal employees were being cheated out of pay. Yahoo! Finance reports that the workers, who were employed by two federal contractors, were being misclassified at lower pay rates and forced to work before clock-in. In total, more than 670 cafeteria workers will receive $1,008,302 in back pay.

July 20, 2016 – McDonald’s Class Action Certified

A California judge has certified a class action, potentially extending over 400 workers, filed against five McDonald’s franchises in the Bay Area. While the corporate giant argued that the workers couldn’t prove, on a class-wide basis, that McDonald’s was their employer, district judge James Donato disagreed.

The franchisee against whom the class action was filed has already settled with the workers. Now, the employees are attempting to go one step up the ladder of liability. According to Eater, McDonald’s has long attempted to “shift[…] blame” for alleged wage and hour violations onto its franchisees. Looks like that defense won’t work anymore – at least in this particular case.

June 16, 2016 – New Lawsuit Wants To Hold Parent Company & Franchise Operators Liable For Alleged Wage Theft

Huge corporations are stealing from their workers, according to New York’s Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. Take Domino’s, the national pizza giant, which Schneiderman just sued in a lawsuit that could prove groundbreaking. Like many other companies, especially those in the restaurant business, Domino’s Pizza operates on a franchise model. For years, the legal separation between a parent corporation and its franchises has frustrated government regulators, because parent companies can’t necessarily be held accountable for the illegal behavior of their franchisees.

Schneiderman wants to change that. In his lawsuit, the Attorney General claims that both Domino’s Pizza and its franchises should share equally in the blame for cheating workers out of overtime and tipped wages. The crux of Schneiderman’s argument is Domino’s PULSE software, a payroll program that the pizza empire requires its franchises to use. “Domino’s knew for years that PULSE under-calculated gross wages” but still pushed the software on franchises, the Attorney General writes in court documents.

June 2, 2016 – Obama Administration Raises Salary Threshold, Extending Overtime Rights To 4.2 Million Workers

Every worker making a salary less than $47,476 per year is now entitled to overtime wages, regardless of job duties, under a new wage and hour rule established by President Obama’s Labor Department on May 18, 2016.

For salaried workers, overtime eligibility is based on three factors:

1. making a salary, a predetermined amount of money regardless of hours worked,
2. the amount of that salary and
3. job duties performed

Obama’s new rule, part of his long-standing effort to update the Fair Labor Standards Act’s requirements, raised the so-called “salary threshold” from its previous cut-off of $23,660. An estimated 4.2 million new workers will now be eligible for overtime pay, although critics of the change say many businesses will simply cut existing workers’ hours to avoid the administration’s mandate.

You can learn the details of Obama’s new overtime rule here.

May 17, 2016 – New York’s 60,000 Farmworkers May Soon Win Right To Organize Without Fear Of Retaliation

Last week, the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) filed a lawsuit against the State of New York and Governor Andrew Cuomo, claiming the state’s lack of labor protections for farmworkers violates the state’s constitution. Governor Cuomo agrees, according to Public Radio International. In a statement released on May 10, he wrote:

“Because of a flaw in the state labor relations act, farm workers are not afforded the right to organize without fear of retaliation – which is unacceptable, and appears to violate the New York State Constitution. I agree with the NYCLU that the exclusion of farm workers from the labor relations act is inconsistent with our constitutional principles, and my administration will not be defending the act in court.”

Most American workers are protected by the labor rights guaranteed in the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, granted entitlements like a minimum wage and overtime pay. Farmworkers, who do some of the hardest, most crucial work possible, have long been left out.

While workers on large farms are entitled to the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour, workers on small farms aren’t. Farmworkers don’t have to be paid overtime. Nor are they eligible for workers compensation, despite the obvious dangers of farm work, or paid leave. Farmworkers can unionize, but their right to do so isn’t legally protected. Employers aren’t bound by law to recognize a farmer’s union, and if farmworkers do band together, an employer has every right to fire them all without any consequences.

With Cuomo’s promise not to defend the state’s labor relation laws in court, it looks like all that is about to change soon.

April 27, 2016 – In Maine, A Partisan Dispute Over How High Minimum Wage Should Go

Republicans in Maine’s legislature have introduced a bill to raise the state’s minimum wage, from its current level of $7.50 to an eventual $10 per hour, according to the Associated Press. On January 1, 2017, Maine’s minimum wage will rise again, to $9 per hour. The city of Portland is home to an even higher minimum wage, which is expected to increase to $10.68 per hour in 2017.

State Democrats, however, have called the proposed hike a “ploy,” one intended to divert attention from their own, more ambitious plan. Rather than legislating a minimum wage increase, Democrats hope to put a ballot question to Maine’s citizenry in November, asking residents to back an increase to $12.

Earlier, state Republicans had proposed adding their own ballot question, which would have asked voters to support a $10 minimum wage, to compete with the Democrat-sponsored plan. That idea was shot down by Democrats, who say they also intend to defeat the Republicans’ latest project.

April 2, 2016 – Truck Driver Wins “Double” Wage & Hour Victory In Colorado

That an employer would, out of inattention or choice, decide not to respond to a wage and hour lawsuit seems unlikely. But that’s exactly what happened after William Evans, a truck driver from Michigan, filed suit against his employer, Loveland Automotive Investments. Loveland failed to answer Evans’ complaint, which alleged violations of both the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and Colorado’s Wage Claim Act, so the court handed the driver a default judgment: $7,248.75 in unpaid back wages and $12,685.31 in “liquidated damages” under Colorado’s state wage law. Evans’ request for “liquidated damages” under the FLSA, however, was initially denied.

Liquidated damages compensate employees over-and-above the amount of back wages they lost out on. According to federal law, liquidated damages are intended to compensate workers for the hardship of having their rightfully-earned wages withheld. Under Colorado state law, however, liquidated damages are meant to punish employers who break the law. Granting Evans both, the court reasoned, would be too much.

So Evans appealed his claim up to the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. And he won. The appeals court, in an opinion handed down on December 10, 2015, wrote that because liquidated damages are meant to serve two different purposes under federal and Colorado law, Evans is entitled to both. His final award? $27,182.81.

March 18, 2016 – Obama Nominates Merrick Garland, A Moderate Who “Leans Toward Labor,” For Supreme Court

President Obama has selected his nominee for the Supreme Court: Merrick Garland, a moderate currently serving as the chief judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Valedictorian of his undergraduate class at Harvard, and graduate of Harvard Law School, Merrick has been frequently been described as a “genius.” In an official ceremony announcing the nomination, Obama called Merrick “one of America’s sharpest legal minds,” according to the New York Times.

In selecting a centrist, albeit one who clerked for Supreme Court Associate Justice, and noted progressive, William J. Brennan, Jr., Obama has effectively dared a Republican-controlled Congress to block his choice. Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, however, isn’t biting. Shortly after Obama’s announcement, McConnell took to the Senate floor and delivered a passionate invective against Garland’s nomination. McConnell even called the jurist, telling Garland he would not be welcomed into the senator’s office.

“One consistent thread” in Garland’s decision, writes David Moberg at Working In These Times, “seems to be a deference towards regulatory agencies, letting them make decisions without the Supreme Court always second-guessing or rewriting the law.” If appointed, he may well work to support the National Labor Relations Board, a federal agency promoting workers’ rights to band together (with or without a union) and fight for better working conditions. The NLRB’s power has waned in recent years, due in part to several Supreme Court decisions spearheaded by the late Antonin Scalia. When Merrick has not voted to leave decisions entirely to the National Labor Relations Board, he leans pro-labor, Moberg says.

March 2, 2016 – In Wake Of Scalia’s Death, Supreme Court May Favor Meatpackers Over Corporate Interest

Storm Lake, Iowa is a small, rural town, and over the last two decades, its economy, and the jobs available to its residents, have come to revolve almost entirely around the meatpacking industry. Sara Lee operates a turkey processing plant in Storm Lake, and Tyson Foods, the second-largest meat packaging company in the world, has two factories here.

113,000 people currently work for Tyson in Storm Lake, according to ThinkProgress, more than 10 times the actual population of the town. Most of those workers are paid on a “gang-time” system, compensated only for the hours they spend at their work stations while the production line is moving. One poultry worker is expected to skin up to 14,000 chickens every day, but when the line stops so does pay. Workers at the plant say they’re compensated for only 4 minutes of putting on and taking off their protective clothing. That’s not, however, how long it actually takes, claims Peg Bouaphakeo, who filed a class action lawsuit over alleged wage theft in 2007.

Differences Between Class Members Raise Questions

The class was certified by an Iowa district court, and the case eventually went to trial. Bouaphakeo’s case was built on statistical evidence, which averaged the amount of time workers spent “donning and doffing” their protective clothing to arrive at a total amount of damages.

The sticking point, though, is that workers in the class were required to wear different types of protective equipment, meaning their “donning and doffing” times probably differed, too. Tyson argued that these differences indicate that the class isn’t really a class at all. The workers, according to the company, are in very different situations, and thus shouldn’t be filing a class action at all. Bouaphakeo’s attorneys even conceded that some members of the class had not actually been “injured” by Tyson’s wage practices. Even so, a jury awarded the class members $6 million, which is roughly equivalent to only 2 hours of operating profits for the company.

Tyson appealed that decision, but an appeals court in Iowa upheld the award. Ultimately, the company’s lawyers fought the case all the way to the US Supreme Court, which heard oral arguments on November 10, 2015. The question at issue is whether differences between class members can be ignored, when Plaintiffs use a statistical averaging that implies each class member is identical. Tyson argues that the statistical averaging overestimates how much individual workers actually lost out on. The company also thinks the class itself should be broken up, since some of its members were never underpaid.

Scalia’s Death May Turn Tide

While a decision has not yet been handed down, many pundits believe the recent death of Justice Antonin Scalia may shift the Court’s thinking in favor of the workers. During his career, Scalia repeatedly voted to limit the effectiveness of class action litigation, consistently siding with corporate interests over low-wage workers. His death, and the prospect that President Obama may soon elect a more progressive Justice in his place, has workers around the country hoping for a big win in Tyson Foods, Inc. v. Bouaphakeo.

March 22, 2016 – Supreme Court Rules 6-2 In Favor Of Underpaid Tyson Workers

In a 6 – 2 ruling handed down Tuesday morning, the Supreme Court has upheld a lower court’s decision in the case Tyson Foods, Inc. v. Bouaphakeo. In confirming the $5.8 million verdict against Tyson, who has been accused of failing to pay meat-packing workers for time spent donning and doffing protective equipment, the Court’s most recent decision endorses the use of statistical averages, rather than individual losses, as an adequate foundation for class actions.

The Court’s opinion may have been clinched much earlier, during November’s oral arguments, USA Today writes, when the workers’ argued that an almost 70-year-old Supreme Court precedent applied because Tyson had never kept time records of how long workers spent preparing for their work duties. Without actual numbers, an averaging system could be the only viable way of determining damages, the Court suggested.

February 1, 2016 – New York Jets Settle Cheerleader Wage & Hour Lawsuit For $324,000

Last week, the New York Jets agreed to pay the football team’s cheerleaders a total of $324,000, resolving allegations that the dancers hadn’t been compensated for practices. In their lawsuit, filed in New Jersey, where the team plays, cheerleaders also said they had been forced to pay for their own makeup and haircare.

Speaking with ABC News, attorney Patricia Pierce said: “when you figure all [those out-of-pocket expenses] up, they were making less than minimum wage.” The lawsuit was filed as a class action under the Fair Labor Standards Act, a federal law that affords most US workers the right to overtime pay and a minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. Each plaintiff will receive between $2,559 and $5,913, depending on whether they took part in team calendar photo-shoots and worked more than one season.

Cheerleaders often suffer labor rights abuses, if a spate of recent lawsuits are any indication. In September of 2014, cheerleaders for the Oakland Raiders reached a $1.25 million settlement with the team, over allegations that the organization withheld their pay until the football season ended. In the case, one cheerleader even estimated her hourly wage as $5, after taking into account all of the unpaid practices and out-of-pocket expenses she was forced to bear, according to CBS Sports.

January 4, 2016 – Fourteen States (And One City) Have Raised Their Minimum Wages

While the federal minimum wage hasn’t budged in over 6 years, more than a dozen states have increased their own minimum wages going forward into 2016. One particularly-progressive city, Seattle, has also augmented its lowest legally-acceptable rate. Most of the changes went into effect on January 1st.

Here are the 14 states that have raised the bar for low-wage workers within their borders:

In Seattle, minimum wages will now be determined by a sliding scale system that takes a business’ size into account, but with the low-end set at $10.50, the city’s wages are far higher than the federal rate. The federal minimum wage, set forth in the Fair Labor Standards Act, remains at $7.25 per hour.

To learn more about the minimum wage increases for 2016, check out this post.

December 15, 2015 – Tipped Minimum Wage Violates Human Rights Standards, UC Berkeley Researchers Say

The Fair Labor Standards Act establishes two separate minimum wages: one for employees who are regularly tipped and one for workers who aren’t. That “tiered wage system” violates a number of international conventions on basic human rights, labor researchers at the University of California, Berkeley say.

In a new report, Working Below The Line: How the Subminimum Wage for Tipped Restaurant Workers Violates International Human Rights Standards, the researchers show how America’s two-tiered minimum wage system traps low-wage workers “in conditions of economic and social vulnerability and violates their fundamental human rights.”

Critics of tipping say it disadvantages workers in the service industry, who are forced to rely on the generosity of customers to make a living rather than their own employers. Cultures that tip, they say, allow businesses to underpay their workers legally, while placing the burden of wages on customers.

Tipped restaurant workers are more than twice as likely to live in poverty than other employees, according to the study. In restaurants across the country, nearly twice as many workers of color live in poverty than their white counterparts.