An IHOP franchisee operating in North and South Carolina owes $95,095 in back wages after a DOL investigation found cooks were paid straight time for overtime hours. The agency has recently narrowed when it will pursue liquidated damages, which can…
Employment Law
Wage and hour litigation presents a recurring financial risk, with new data highlighting variability in employer exposure under the FLSA. A recent report from Seyfarth Shaw LLP provides benchmarks for assessing potential liability, forecasting legal spend and evaluating risk concentration…
A federal court found a worker had been misclassified and identified more than 800 hours of potential overtime. But the Fifth Circuit still upheld a jury verdict denying overtime pay. The case draws a clear line between compliance risk and…
A California carwash has agreed to a $1.2M settlement to resolve wage theft allegations, according to the California Labor Commissioner’s Office (LCO). The seven-figure payout averages $52,174 per affected employee across 23 workers, with individual settlements ranging from $8,500 to…
A Little Caesars franchisee will pay $409,457 for federal wage and hour violations, the Department of Labor (DOL) recently announced. The case shows how payroll mistakes turn into expensive liabilities when overtime calculations and recordkeeping controls fall short. Payroll Mistakes…
Who’s an employee and who’s an independent contractor? When making that determination for wage and hour compliance, businesses may soon have fewer restrictions. That’s because the Department of Labor (DOL) recently released a proposed rule on classifying workers, and it’s…
In a single month, federal regulators proposed $831,545 in OSHA penalties connected to workplace fatalities across four states and multiple industries, including construction, agriculture, manufacturing, and industrial energy. Seven employers now face enforcement actions tied to incidents that resulted in…
A Denver-area restaurant is paying nearly $62,000 after a DOL investigation uncovered tip retention and recordkeeping violations in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The case shows how a tip dispute can expand into broader wage-hour liability once…
A $6.2 million California paid sick leave settlement is prompting a closer look at how paid sick leave notices, payroll practices, and labor costs connect. The agreement closes out claims tied to labor practices during the height of the pandemic,…
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division recovered $17,311 in back wages and assessed civil penalties against a Rowland Heights, California restaurant after finding multiple violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act, according to a Dec. 19 press…
A California roofing and painting contractor will pay more than $320,000 after federal investigators found overtime violations tied to unrecorded work hours, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced. An investigation by the DOL’s Wage and Hour Division found Howard…
Think it’s acceptable to agree with other employers not to recruit their employees if they don’t go after yours? If you’ve ever nodded along while two executives agreed, as a professional courtesy, to stop pulling talent from each other’s teams…
