The Independent Contractor Conundrum: Make Sure Your Workers Are Classified Correctly

Jordan Dunham
Jordan Dunham
11/04/2023
A few claims have come across my desk lately that boil down to one issue: misclassified independent contractors.  In each case, the employer has classified a worker as an independent contractor but the realities of the relationship show the worker should have actually been classified (and paid) as an employee.  The result is a claim of unpaid wages and/or overtime.  The issue often arises after a seemingly happy worker leaves the business or...
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The U.S. Department of Labor Proposes New Overtime Eligibility Rule

Clifford Geiger
Clifford Geiger
09/08/2023
Federal overtime pay provisions are part of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).  Unless exempt, employees covered by the FLSA must be paid at a time-and-a-half rate for time worked over 40 hours in a work week.  Under current law, workers who are salaried, earn at least $35,568 annually ($684 per week), and work in a bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacity are exempt, meaning they are not entitled to overtime pay.  The...
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Keep Your Religion Off My Tacos: Taqueria Found To Have Retaliated When Workers Were Offered A Priest To Confess Their Workplace Sins

Jordan Dunham
Jordan Dunham
06/26/2023
A Sacramento California restaurant is on the hook for $140,000 in back wages and penalties owed to 35 employees after entering into a consent judgment in the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California.  The consent judgment resolves a case brought by the Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, against Taqueria Garibaldi and its several owners and operators.   As a primer, the Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division (“DOL”)...
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Maryland Minimum Wage To Increase to $15/Hour On January 1, 2024

The legislature has updated the scheduled increases to the State’s minimum wage.  For small employers (those with fewer than 15 employees), the State minimum wage is $12.80 per hour as of January 1, 2023.  For employers with 15 or more employees, the State minimum wage is $13.25 per hour as of January 1, 2023. The minimum wage rate will increase to $15 per hour on January 1, 2024 for all employers, regardless of size. The legislature also...
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The Limits of the FLSA Exemption for “Learned Professionals”

Vincent Jackson
Vincent Jackson
04/06/2023
When flying, many passengers have experienced that moment of turbulence, that disconcerting jolt of the aircraft.  During the precious seconds that follow, you may have offered a quick prayer that the pilot draw on his years of experience, education and expertise to guide the plane to safety.  You may have additionally marveled that any human being could exert control over an object as large and complex as a commercial jet.  Small wonders,...
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Are Kids the Key to Solving the Hiring Crisis?

Mathew Moldawer
Mathew Moldawer
03/31/2023
Since the beginning of the pandemic, certain industries have been hit hard by employees resigning in search of greener pastures – work/life balance and flexible work.  Quit rates were high in industries including the retail, restaurant, and hospitality.  While some businesses and industries have seen a rebound in hiring, hiring in those industries appear to be stagnant.  While incentives such as signing bonuses have been used to attract new...
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Third Circuit Rules Docking PTO Under Production Standard Does Not Run Afoul Of FLSA Exemption

Jordan Dunham
Jordan Dunham
03/20/2023
On March 15, 2023, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals issued its opinion of first impression in Higgins v. Bayada Home Health Care, Inc., Case No.: 21-3286, ___ F.4th ___ (Mar. 15, 2023), affirming the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania decision granting summary judgment in favor of Bayada Home Health Care, Inc. (“Bayada”).  The issue in this case was whether Bayada’s practice of docking accrued paid time off...
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2023 is Here. Are You Paying Your Employees Minimum Wage?

Jordan Dunham
Jordan Dunham
01/22/2023
Although I am a bit late, Happy New Year!  With the new year comes house cleaning, finally picking up those fallen leaves in the yard, and oh yea, minimum wage rate increases.  This blog will give you an update on the various new (or existing) minimum wage rates affecting employers throughout Maryland and elsewhere in the DMV. As a refresher, the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) sets the federal minimum wage rate at $7.25 per hour.  That...
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Mind the Gap Please

Darrell VanDeusen
Darrell VanDeusen
11/10/2022
It’s that time of year when I update my FMLA/Wage and Hour treatise (available as a part of the  Lexis/Nexis Labor and Employment Law set).  I am still surprised by stuff I learn for the first time when I do this.  For example, I had never thought about something called “gap time.”  So, maybe it’s something new (and possibly of interest) to you as well. The FLSA requires employers to pay non-exempt employees both a minimum wage and...
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Board Members Not "Employers" Under Virginia Wage Law

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
11/03/2022
 On October 13, 2022, the Supreme Court of Virginia held that a company's board members are not "employers" who can be held liable for unpaid wages under Virginia Code Section 40.1-29(j). Cornell, et. al. v. Benedict, et.al. (No. 210934). In so holding, the Court ruled that the statute's definition of employer is more narrow than that used in the Fair Labor Standards Act or the Virginia Minimum Wage Act.  The appellants worked as  therapists at...
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