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Read our Latest Blog Posts
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Federal vs State Labor Laws
Federal Labor Laws vs State Labor Laws and Why the Difference Matters Protecting the legal rights of employees is complicated. One of the biggest complexities involves the overlap of federal labor laws and state labor laws. Generally, when a state’s labor laws are more protective of workers’ rights, then the state law will control for […]
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Connecticut Joins the Right of Recall Movement
There is a trend in pro-employee legal protections emerging in states across the nation. Among these emerging protections are laws under the Right of Recall movement. In brief, when new employment opportunities become available, right of recall legislation requires employers to notify previously laid-off employees of the new openings and to rehire, or recall, those […]
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How much Side Work? The 80/20 Rule Set to Return
In a “win” for workers, the federal Department of Labor has proposed new regulations regarding tipped employees, including reinstatement of the 80/20 rule for side work. The new regulations are more “pro-worker” and would make it more difficult for employers to use the tip credit. See here for the newly proposed regulations. Tip credits can […]
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Where are my Credit Card Tips?
Generally, federal and state labor laws mandate that any tip or gratuity received by an employee is money that belongs exclusively to the employee who earned the tip. There are some well-understood exceptions for such activities as tip pooling arrangements. But, under no circumstances, can an employer share in employee tips or convert such tips […]
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New York Construction Workers
New York Passes Wage Theft Protections for Construction Workers New York recently enacted a new wage theft law aimed at enhancing protections for construction workers. See the news report here. Nationally, wage theft results in the loss by workers of billions of dollars in wages and benefits. Wage theft occurs in every industry but is […]
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Virginia Overtime Law
Virginia Enacts Pro-Worker Overtime Law for Salaried Employees In 2020 Virginia amended its Wage Theft Law, which we wrote about here. This year, to further bolster employee’s rights to be paid a fair wage, Virginia recently enacted a new law called the Virginia Overtime Wage Act (“VOWA”). In most respects, Virginia’s new law is similar […]
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Colorado Vacation Pay
Colorado Says Vacation Pay Must Be Paid Upon Employee Separation Colorado recently joined a growing list of states and localities that mandate employees must be paid the equivalent of their wages for earned-but-unused vacation days when an employee separates from employment. The decision was made by the Colorado Supreme Court in the case of Nieto […]
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Texas Expands Sexual Harassment Laws
New Sexual Harassment Laws The Texas Legislature has recently passed two laws modifying and enhancing protections for workers with respect to sexual harassment in the workplace. The new laws are effective as of September 1, 2021. Tex. Lab. Code, §§ 21.201(g) and 201.202(a-1). Of particular importance are these provisions: Small employers — even those with […]
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Worker Privacy Rights: Biometrics
Beyond the right to be paid and paid fairly, workers have many other rights that are provided and protected by statutes, regulations, and court precedent. For example, under safety statutes and regulations, workers have a right to work in an environment that is reasonably safe and hazard-free. Likewise, workers have a right to work in […]
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Common Wage Theft Schemes
Illegal Wage Theft: Four Common Schemes Illegal wage theft happens when employees do not get ALL of their earned wages. As reported in Teen Vogue and GQ Magazine, studies have shown that millions of workers suffer some form of wage theft every year. A 2017 study estimated the number to be 2.4 million workers for […]
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Connecticut Enacts New Pay Equity Law
Pay Equity Laws are a Growing Trend Among States Generally, in the United States, your employer must pay the same compensation — including wages/salary, benefits and bonuses — for the same work regardless of gender, race, age, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, marital status, veteran status, disability or other protected characteristics. These general protections for […]
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Illinois Punishes Wage Theft
Wage theft by employers is illegal. Wage theft is prohibited by federal law and several states have enacted additional state laws that are designed to further prevent and stop wage theft. Employers can and are punished for engaging in wage theft, even if the wage theft is “accidental.” Wage theft is illegal in all 50 […]
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Have You Been Misclassified as “Exempt” from Overtime? You May be Entitled to Backpay.
Overtime Pay is Generally Required Under federal labor laws, most employees are entitled to be paid the federal minimum wage (which is currently $7.25 an hour). Furthermore, most employees are entitled to be paid overtime when they work more than 40 hours in a week (your employer cannot avoid paying overtime by merely paying workers […]
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Discretionary vs. Non-Discretionary Bonuses: It Matters for Calculating Overtime
Calculating Overtime Pay If you received any sort of bonus payment from your employer, it is possible that your employer failed to pay you the correct amount of overtime. It is common for employers to incorrectly calculate an employee’s rate of pay for purposes of calculating overtime pay. When calculating an employee’s overtime rate, all […]
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What is a Private Right of Action?
What is a Private Right of Action? A “private right of action” is a legal term meaning that an individual rather than a governmental agency has the right to bring a lawsuit to prosecute and punish violation of rights conferred by a statute. Having a private right of action is important to workers. It means […]
