The competing interests of the business community and tipped workers continue to inform public policy decisions about the minimum wage. We have previously written about increases in the minimum wage on the state, county and municipal level. Most recently, the cities of Chicago and Denver tackled this issue and joined the many jurisdictions across the country to approve increases to their minimum wage.
Continue Reading Chicago and Denver Increase Minimum Wage
Illinois joined a handful of other states when its prohibition on employer inquiries into applicants’ prior wage or salary information took effect this week. Under the law, no employers in Illinois can ask about the wage or salary histories of job applicants.
Continue Reading Illinois Bans Employer Inquiries on Salary History, Continues Trend
Earlier this year, a federal court in Illinois decertified a small class of Physicians who alleged gender-based pay discrimination under the Equal Pay Act. Although not a groundbreaking appellate court decision, the opinion does provide a roadmap for employers facing EPA collective actions, which may gain traction in the wake of increasing media attention on pay disparities.
Continue Reading Decertified Class of Physicians Provides Helpful Reminders for EPA Collective Actions
Yesterday, Governor Cuomo signed the last of several bills that massively overhauls New York State’s discrimination and harassment laws. Employers are advised to take a fresh look at their policies and practices to ensure that they are in line with all the recent changes in New York employment laws.
Continue Reading New York Overhauls Discrimination and Harassment Laws in Second #MeToo Wave
The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing last month filed an enforcement action in Los Angeles Superior Court against Riot Games, Inc. to compel compliance with its ongoing investigation into allegations of gender discrimination, sexual harassment, sexual assault, and retaliation. While the identified claims are broad, the primary thrust appears to be the contention that female employees at Riot Games are paid less than their male counterparts.
Continue Reading DFEH Files Enforcement Action For Company’s Alleged Refusal To Cooperate In Systemic Discrimination Investigation
Employers breathed a collective sigh of relief in August 2017, when the Office of Management and Budget announced it was staying the requirement that employers report W-2 wage information in the annual EEO-1 Report. Now, though, the reprieve seems over.
Continue Reading EEO-1 Pay Data Revived By DC Federal Court
This morning, the U.S. Supreme Court punted a key Equal Pay Act case back to the Ninth Circuit because the decision’s author, Judge Stephen Reinhardt, passed away shortly before the decision was formally issued.
Continue Reading Supreme Court Vacates Deceased Judge’s Key EPA Decision
The California Second Appellate District has held that retail employees who were required to “call in” two hours before their scheduled shift to find out if they actually needed to report to work were entitled to reporting time pay.
Continue Reading California Court Holds On-Call Scheduling Means Reporting Time Pay for Employees
The practice of “tip-pooling,” which refers to the sharing of tips between “front-of-house” staff (servers, waiters, bartenders) and “back-of-house” staff (chefs and dishwashers), has been in the news recently as the Trump Department of Labor seeks to roll back a 2011 Obama-era rule limiting the practice under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Continue Reading DOL Expresses Interest in Banning “Tip-Skimming”
Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”) seeking to repeal a 2011 rule that significantly impacted the compensation of hospitality workers. Specifically, the NPRM proposes to allow hospitality employers to control the distribution of the tips they pool assuming their employees are paid the full minimum wage.
Continue Reading Department of Labor Makes It Easier for Employees to Share Tips – Rolls Back Prior Restrictions