By Nick A. Lussier and Andrew M. McKinley

Seyfarth Synopsis: On October 13, 2022, the Supreme Court of Virginia analyzed whether individuals may be joint employers under Virginia’s Wage Payment Act. Answering in the negative, the Court held that the statute defined “employer” more narrowly than the FLSA, and thus extended joint employment liability only to entities, not individuals

Continue Reading Supreme Court of Virginia Refuses to Extend Joint Employer Liability to Individuals

Seyfarth Synopsis: Hey, look what our very impressive colleagues in the Wage & Hour Group have made available. Everything you ever wanted to know (and a bunch of stuff you should, but didn’t know) about the FLSA is now available in one book. Order yours today!

The Seyfarth Shaw Wage Hour Litigation Practice Group is pleased to provide you
Continue Reading Now Available! FLSA Handbook February 2021

By Romtin Parvaresh and Daniel C. Whang

Seyfarth Synopsis: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently became the seventh federal appellate court to hold that the standard for “willful” violations under the Family and Medical Leave Act is whether the employer knows or shows reckless disregard for whether its conduct violates the FMLA.

The Ninth Circuit’s
Continue Reading Majority of Federal Courts Now Agree on Standard for Willful Violations of FMLA

By Camille A. Olson, Richard B. Lapp, Louisa J. Johnson, and Andrew M. McKinley

Seyfarth Synopsis: With the growth of the gig economy, the increased desire of some workers to control their own work hours to ensure a work-life balance, and the evolution of the modern workplace to one in which workers rarely retain one full-time
Continue Reading US DOL Issues Final Rule on Independent Contractor Status Under the FLSA

By Alex Passantino

Seyfarth Synopsis: The Department of Labor’s Wage & Hour Division announced its long-awaited proposed rule related to the FLSA’s tip provisions. The rule would implement statutory changes passed in March 2018; it also would elevate certain WHD policy guidance into regulation.

The legislative changes come from the Tip Income Protection Act, which was passed as part of

Continue Reading WHD Releases Proposed Rule on Tipped Employees

By Alexander J. Passantino

Seyfarth Synopsis: The U.S. Department of Labor announced its final rule updating and revising the regulations issued under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) regarding the earnings thresholds necessary to exempt executive, administrative or professional employees from the FLSA’s minimum wage and overtime pay requirements. The Department simultaneously announced its formal rescission of the 2016
Continue Reading Part 541 Salary Level Increases to $684/Week

By Robert Whitman

Seyfarth Synopsis: The Department of Labor has scrapped its 2010 Fact Sheet on internship status and adopted the more flexible and employer-friendly test devised by Second Circuit.

In a decision that surprised no one who has followed the litigation of wage hour claims by interns, the US Department of Labor has abandoned its ill-fated six-part test for
Continue Reading DOL Bids Adieu to Six-Factor Internship Test

By Paul Galligan, Gena B. Usenheimer, and Meredith-Anne Berger

Seyfarth Synopsis: Three Republicans from the House of Representatives hailing from states with paid family and sick leave laws have sponsored the Workflex in the 21st Century Act, signaling increasing frustration with the complexities of multi-state compliance. Representatives Mimi Walters of California, Elise Stefanik of New
Continue Reading Proposed National Paid Leave and Flexible Work Options Law Will Preempt State Leave Laws


By Steve Shardonofsky and Kevin A. Fritz

Seyfarth Synopsis: As employers begin to pick up the pieces following Hurricane Harvey, management will likely encounter questions about employee pay, benefits, and leaves of absence during and after this disaster, and may also have questions about how to help their workers get by during this difficult time. After making sure your workers
Continue Reading Practical Advice for Weathering Pay and Leave Issues Following Hurricane Harvey

By Erin Dougherty Foley and Craig B. Simonsen

Seyfarth Synopsis: Employer is caught by WHD investigator instructing its employees to lie during interviews, and provides falsified records, containing whited-out and edited time records, in order to conform to the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act standards.

In a recent opinion, the Tenth Circuit ruled that a restaurant chain instructed its
Continue Reading What NOT To Do in an Investigation – $2 Million Willful Judgment Affirmed Where Employer “Whited-Out” and Edited Time Records