Wage and Hour

Few areas of the law present more risk to employers than wage and hour law. The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has stepped up the number of its employer investigations, and wage and hour litigation has increased dramatically in recent years.

When a client needs help with federal or state wage and hour issues, our labor and employment attorneys bring a wide range of experience to the table. We help clients actively address wage and hour issues under both federal and state law by conducting compliance audits, assisting with structuring their pay systems, and assisting with wage and hour issues applicable to various government contracts.

Any company with employees has a huge variety of wage and hour issues to address such as determining which employees may be exempt from overtime pay and minimum wages, how certain bonuses and other payments may affect overtime pay, what pre-shift and post-shift activities may be compensable, what travel time may be compensable, what breaks are required, and what breaks are compensable. How an employer pays a worker constitutes a fundamental transaction between an employer and employee, and decisions in that regard can have tremendous repercussions on both the employer and employee.

Litigation is sometimes unavoidable. In those instances, we defend clients on federal and state wage and hour claims. When necessary, we defend clients against class action lawsuits (also known as "collective actions") under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Such actions include cases that may involve thousands of plaintiffs who are seeking allegedly owed overtime pay and minimum wages from employers in industries such as financial services, hospitality, and insurance.

We're there for clients when the DOL becomes involved, as well. We represent companies before the DOL during investigations and audits, defend on a variety of child labor law issues, and obtain opinion letters for clients from the DOL on a variety of novel issues.

Given the more employee-friendly environment that has surfaced in the way of increased federal funding and new legislation, employers should expect the DOL and the other agencies to more aggressively enforce laws in more marginal cases than in the past. Employers should also expect a continued increase in wage and hour litigation. Companies should consider self-audits and other internal compliance reviews to avoid being on the receiving end of agencies' investigations and enforcement actions and private litigation.