The 2025 New York State budget includes a provision that reduces the potential damages available to plaintiffs for violation of the weekly pay requirement of the New York Labor Law....more
5/12/2025
/ Class Action ,
Damages ,
Employee Rights ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Labor Reform ,
New Legislation ,
New York ,
State Labor Laws ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Unpaid Wages ,
Wage and Hour
On January 8, 2025, a New York federal court held that an employee’s refusal to sign a confidentiality and non-disparagement acknowledgement form that was part of a settlement agreement rendered the entire settlement...more
In Perry et al. v. City of New York, the Second Circuit upheld a large jury verdict in favor of a collective of workers regarding off-the-clock work. In doing so, the Court reaffirmed the principle that employers will...more
9/11/2023
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Off-The-Clock ,
Timekeeping ,
Unpaid Wages ,
Wage and Hour
Seyfarth Synopsis: The New York City Council has passed a bill that prohibits employers from considering a person’s actual or perceived height or weight when making employment decisions....more
5/15/2023
/ City of New York ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Rights ,
Job Applicants ,
Labor Reform ,
Local Ordinance ,
New Legislation ,
Wage and Hour
Seyfarth Synopsis: Federal courts within the Second Circuit have held that merely alleging a pay frequency violation under New York Labor Law § 191 is insufficient for standing under Article III of the United States...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Second Circuit held that dismissals without prejudice of FLSA claims are subject to the same judicial or agency scrutiny as dismissals with prejudice of FLSA claims....more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Arbitration agreements with class and collective action waivers can help employers limit litigation exposure, especially to wage and hour claims. In recent years, however, in light of the “Me Too”...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: A recent Second Circuit decision casts doubt on the usefulness of national statistics to support a claim of hiring disparities at the pleading stage of litigation. Unless the national population mirrors the...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Second Circuit has held that the standard for final FLSA collective action certification is less stringent than the standard for class action certification under Rule 23....more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Second Circuit held that attorneys’ fee awards in FLSA settlements are not limited by principles of “proportionality” between the fees and the amount of the settlement or subject to a 1/3 cap....more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Second Circuit held that FLSA settlements pursuant to Rule 68 Offers of Judgment do not require judicial approval. The Court distinguished such settlements from Rule 41 stipulated dismissals, which...more
12/10/2019
/ Carve Out Provisions ,
Confidentiality Agreements ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Court Approval ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Interlocutory Appeals ,
Offer of Judgment ,
Rule 41 ,
Rule 68 ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Settlement Negotiations ,
Stipulated Judgment ,
Unpaid Overtime ,
Unpaid Wages ,
Wage and Hour
Seyfarth Synopsis: Furthering a recent trend, a judge in the District of Massachusetts denied a motion for conditional certification because there was no personal jurisdiction over non-Massachusetts entities with respect to...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: A New York appellate court recently held that New York employers may be liable for liquidated damages for failure to pay employees on a timely basis, even where the employees have been paid in full....more
9/20/2019
/ Appeals ,
Construction Industry ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Failure To Pay ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Labor Regulations ,
Liquidated Damages ,
Payment Schedules ,
State and Local Government ,
Unpaid Wages ,
Wages
Seyfarth Synopsis: A new decision in the Southern District of New York held that the N.Y. prohibition of mandatory, pre-dispute arbitration of sexual harassment claims is preempted by the Federal Arbitration Act....more
7/2/2019
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Federal v State Law Application ,
Labor Regulations ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Motion to Compel ,
Preemption ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws
A New York federal court once again denied a motion for conditional certification of a nationwide collective action against Barnes & Noble. ...more
7/3/2018
/ Barnes and Noble ,
Conditional Certification ,
Discovery ,
Employment Litigation ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Job Descriptions ,
Misclassification ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Retail Market ,
Wage and Hour
Seyfarth Synopsis: The New York Court of Appeals holds that the state’s class action rules require notice of settlements to be sent to putative class members – even though no class has been certified....more
12/14/2017
/ Appeals ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Class Members ,
Employment Litigation ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Litigation Strategies ,
Notice Requirements ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Settlement ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Wage and Hour
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Second Circuit has upheld summary judgment against magazine interns seeking payment as “employees” under the FLSA.
In an end-of-semester decision that may represent the final grade for unpaid interns...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The New York Court of Appeals, on a question certified by the Second Circuit, announced the standard for punitive damages in claims under the New York City Human Rights Law.
...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: A judge in the Southern District of New York held that FLSA off-the-clock claims could not proceed collectively because the employer’s policy enforcement and approval of overtime compensation varied by...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Second Circuit will soon decide key issues for FLSA practitioners: whether settlements pursuant to an Offer of Judgment are subject to court review and approval, and whether the standards for final...more
10/26/2017
/ Chipotle Grill ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Collective Actions ,
Employee Definition ,
Employment Litigation ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Food Service Workers ,
FRCP 23 ,
FRCP 23(f) ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Misclassification ,
Offer of Judgment ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Rule 68 ,
Settlement Agreements ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
Seyfarth Synopsis: The majority of courts have held that releases of FLSA rights require approval by a court or the US Department of Labor. A recent case in the Southern District of New York highlights a dilemma employers...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: A New York federal court denied a motion for conditional certification of a nationwide collective action against Barnes & Noble. The ruling highlights that, even though the burden for “first stage”...more
5/4/2017
/ Barnes and Noble ,
Conditional Certification ,
Employment Litigation ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Job Descriptions ,
Misclassification ,
Retail Market ,
Unpaid Overtime ,
Wage and Hour ,
Young Lawyers