Featured Articles

Reporters are Not "Creative" Professionals

October 25, 2010 14:03

What do you call a reporter who’s “creative” with the news? A liar—or at least, that’s the traditional, “old school” view of journalism. Reporters are supposed to gather, verify, and relay facts. Right? So, how can they fit under the “creative...

Portrait of an Exempt Computer Employee

August 09, 2010 14:58

How can an employer tell which computer employees are exempt from the overtime pay requirements? What does an exempt computer employee look like? They are a rare bird—but occasionally, computer employees may fit into one of the regulation’s exemptions.The computer employee exemption...

Hospital Overtime Case Settled for $8.5 Million

July 08, 2010 16:55

If non-exempt employees work, they are supposed to be paid for their time, as a Boston hospital learned that just settled a class-action overtime lawsuit for $8.5 million. As we discussed last year (Perils of Having Employees Work Through Lunch)employees entitled to overtime pay cannot be permitted...

There's An App for That: DOL of iPhone/iPod/iPad App Helps Many Employees Track and Calculate What They're Owed

May 12, 2011 17:11

Everyone’s an app developer these days, it seems—your poker buddy, your niece in college, the poorly socialized guy in IT, and the would-be software tycoon down the street, for example. Uncle Sam’s gotten into the act, too: the Department of Labor just released a smartphone...

Recent Articles

There's More Than One Way to Sink a Ship

March 05, 2012 17:23

Following an investigation by the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division , Norwegian Cruise Line is being asked to pay $526,602.00 in back wages. The payment will serve to compensate employees who were not paid for overtime work, work done prior to the start of a scheduled shift, and...

The Danger of Unpaid Interns

February 06, 2012 18:55

In another of what appears to be a potential series of internship-related wage and hour violation lawsuits, a former intern is suing the Hearst Corporation, claiming that her unpaid internship violated the Department of Labor’s regulations.As we previously mentioned in our post on the Black...

"Black Swan" Unpaid Interns Raising Legal Issues

January 18, 2012 14:45

Two former interns on the set of the movie “Black Swan” brought a class action lawsuit against Fox Searchlight Pictures, alleging that their work as unpaid interns crossed the line into work for which they should have been compensated.Although provided with an opportunity to get...

Ongoing DOL NY Restaurant Investigation Finding Repeated Violations

December 02, 2011 21:25

In a further example of industry-specific targeting for wage and hour violations, the Department of Labor issued a press release regarding a multi-year investigation of the full-service restaurant industry on Long Island, NY, finding multiple violations in numerous establishments.The Department of...

New Jersey Gas Stations Target of DOL Investigation

November 23, 2011 21:37

The federal Department of Labor recently recovered $1,014,895.00 in back wages for 295 gas station employees in New Jersey, according to a recent DOL News Release. According to the DOL, the stations had engaged in a number of improper pay practices.  Specifically, the stations paid...

New Jersey Inadvertently Eliminates Long-Standing Exemption for Commissioned Sales People and Aligns Exemptions With Federal Law

November 17, 2011 16:40

In an effort to bring its definitions for white-collar employees exempt from the overtime pay regulations into line with the federal definitions, New Jersey inadvertently eliminated a long-standing exemption for commissioned sales people.The New Jersey Department of Labor recently modified its wage...