By Trista Brantley, Myla McLeod, Samantha Schwartz, and Anastasia Thumser Mass layoffs have become...
Employees Hit by Mass Layoffs Have Rights Under the WARN Act
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Wage & Hour
Investigation Underway: Labor Practices At Nike
is conducting an investigation into labor practices and policies at...
Sanford Heisler Sharp Files Suit Against Weee! in California Superior Court
PALO ALTO, Calif., March 27, 2023 (GlobeNewswire) -- A team of employment lawyers from Sanford...
Washington, DC’s New Initiative 82 on Wages for Tipped Workers
This blog was co-authored by Serena Bernal On Nov. 8, 2022, Washington, DC voters overwhelmingly...
New York City’s New Pay Transparency Law
On November 1, 2022, New York City’s pay transparency law took effect. The new law, enacted in January 2022, is a major step toward ensuring pay equity for New York City workers because it requires most New York City employers to disclose salary ranges in their job postings. Employee Rights Under the New Pay Transparency Law The new law amends the New York City Human Rights Law (“NYCHRL”), which is one of the broadest employment protection laws in the country.[1] As of last week, all New York City employers that have four or more employees or one or more domestic workers must “include a good faith salary range for every job, promotion, and transfer opportunity advertised.”[2] The requirement applies if just one of the employees works in New York City. The law covers individuals seeking full-time or part-time work, and it also applies to job postings for interns, domestic workers, independent contractors, or any other category of worker protected by the NYCHRL. When posting a job opening, employers now have to state both the minimum and maximum salary an employee could expect to earn at the job.[3] Open-ended salary ranges are insufficient; for example, an employer cannot simply advertise that […]
Adjusted for Inflation, the Federal Minimum Wage at Lowest in Decades
In December 2021, The Brookings Institution released portions of a study that revealed what the wage increases given to frontline workers at 13 “household name” companies actually mean in the bigger economic picture. At Amazon, for instance, the average hourly wage went up 17 percent, from a pre-Covid-19 pandemic $15.75 in January 2020 to $18.50 by October 2021. Employees at Target saw their average wages go up by 11 percent for the same period, from $14.48 to just over $16. But as the Brookings study termed it, these wage increases were “nominal”—that is, they don’t account for inflation, which, in recent months, coming out of the pandemic recession, is at a 40-year high. In fact, the Brookings study found that, given 2021 inflation figures, some of the wage increases amounted to barely a dollar an hour or less. In other words, it is great that such raises are being given, but they are not all that they’re cracked up to be. And they depend upon the employer’s good graces. Things are worse if you don’t work for one of the companies giving voluntary wage hikes. Due to political stalemates, the federal minimum wage remains frozen at a mere $7.25. Adjusted […]
New Yorkers Gain New Legal Protections Headed into 2022
In the last days of 2021, New Yorkers scored several legislative victories expanding legal protections for workers across the City and State. Below, our employment law attorneys explain the types of changes that will be enacted under the new laws in 2022. Legal Protection for Domestic Workers First, the State finally recognized what employment and labor laws have too often ignored: domestic work is work. The state’s main antidiscrimination law, the New York State Human Rights Law (NYSHRL), had expressly omitted domestic workers, leaving them vulnerable to various forms of discrimination and sexual harassment that can occur in the workplace. However, under the new law, domestic workers are no longer excluded. Domestic workers who experience discrimination can now pursue relief with the New York State Division of Human Rights or in court. In addition, part-time domestic workers now must receive paid leave benefits, since the legislature lowered the qualifying threshold from 40 to 20 hours per week. Both new laws, which have already gone into effect, were sponsored by former attorney, Assemblywoman Jenifer Rajkumar. The laws are expected to confer rights on 300,000 state workers, including many women of color. Salary Range Requirement for Job Postings With the second legislative victory, […]
Wage and Hour Laws
An Employee’s Rights Under Wage and Hour Laws The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) guarantees employees the right to fair payment. Many employers ignore these rules to make employees work without fair pay or overtime. You may have wage and hour claims against your employer if they are in violation of payment guidelines, equal pay for equal work principles, or overtime rules. Payment Guidelines According to the FLSA, employers must pay all employees no less than the federal minimum wage, $7.25 per hour. Some states require a higher minimum wage than the federal government. If you work in a state with a minimum wage higher than $7.25, you are entitled to your state’s minimum wage rate. You should double-check your pay stubs to make sure you are getting the amount you deserve. According to the FLSA, your pay must be in the form of dollar amounts or legal forms of compensation that can be converted to dollar amounts, such as food and lodging. Coupons for a free lunch, for example, do not constitute fair pay. Employers in some states can pay less than minimum wage to employees who receive tips by crediting tips received against the minimum rate. Still, if […]
Threatening Employees Based on Their Immigration Status Can Constitute Unlawful Retaliation Under Wage and Hour Laws
When an employee complains about an employer’s violation of wage and hour laws, anti-retaliation protections often kick in to protect the employee from being punished for complaining. Obvious examples of retaliation include firing or demoting the employee who complains. However, an employer’s retaliatory actions may also extend beyond the workplace. In some cases, the employer may try to use the employee’s immigration status as a tool to dissuade them from pursuing their claims. Fortunately, several courts have found that this kind of conduct can constitute unlawful retaliation. Many courts across the country have held that federal and state wage and hour laws prohibit employers from using an employee’s immigration status to threaten them after they complain. Courts have held that the following actions by an employer can give rise to a claim for retaliation: Reporting former employees to the Immigration and Naturalization Service (“INS”) and making false allegations to the government that they were “terrorists” after learning that they had filed a lawsuit under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). Centeno-Bernuy v. Perry, 302 F. Supp. 2d 128, 136 (W.D.N.Y. 2003 Reporting an undocumented employee to the INS after the employee filed a wage claim against the employer with the state […]
Under California’s Broad Definition of “Wages,” Executive-Level Employees May Be Able to Pursue Labor Code Wage Claims to Recover Unpaid Stock Grants, Bonuses, and Other Forms of Compensation
It should be well understood that an employee, including an executive, deprived of compensation promised by the employer and earned by the employee has a potential cause of action for breach of contract. But did you know that such an employee may also have a wage payment claim under applicable labor laws, particularly the California Labor Code? The consequences are significant and should empower individuals to seek recourse for withheld compensation. While federal wage and hour protections are generally limited to minimum wage and overtime, many state counterparts sweep more broadly. For example, employees may be entitled by statute to their promised wages even if there is no minimum wage or overtime violation. They are able to pursue statutory claims for the withholding, denial, or delay in payment of wages earned and due and thereby recover the full compensation owed to them. In California, for instance, the state’s wage payment provisions (Labor Code §§ 200, et seq.) require employers to pay wages in timely fashion and prohibit them from withholding any wage due to the employee, in whole or in part. Except in narrow circumstances, an employer cannot deduct from an employee’s wages or recoup those wages that have already been […]