Wage and Hour, Employment Litigation, Affirmative Defenses

Sixth Circuit Upholds Pay Differential in Equal Pay Act Case: Budget Constraints and Market Forces at Play

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,... on 4/23/2025

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit recently upheld a jury verdict against a school psychologist who alleged she was paid less than a male colleague in violation of the Equal Pay Act. Notably, the court found that...more

Clocking In: What Employers Need to Watch for in Recent Court Decision on Unpaid Working Time

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP on 8/18/2023

For decades, the Department of Labor (DOL) has recognized the impracticability of requiring Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) nonexempt employees to clock in exactly at the beginning of their scheduled shifts. In most...more

Salary Negotiation Can Provide Affirmative Defense to Equal Pay Act Claim as “Factor Other Than Sex”

Littler on 12/10/2021

A female applicant applies for a position that was widely advertised. During her interview she insists on being paid $100,000. The employer agrees to her salary demand although it employs a male doing substantially similar...more

Employers Gain Defense Against Unmanageable PAGA Claims

CDF Labor Law LLP on 9/13/2021

In a case of first impression, last week, the Second District California Court of Appeal held that judges have inherent authority to limit, and even strike, unmanageable PAGA claims. ...more

California Superior Court Grants Class Certification in Equal Pay Case

Littler on 6/12/2020

On April 30, 2020, Judge V. Raymond Swope of San Mateo Superior Court granted plaintiffs’ motion for class certification in Jewett et al. v. Oracle America, Inc. In doing so, the court certified a class of more than 4,100...more

9th Circuit Holds that Prior Salary is Not a Defense to An Equal Pay Act Claim

Proskauer - California Employment Law on 3/2/2020

Yesterday, the full Ninth Circuit held that an employer cannot rely on an individual’s prior salary to justify a wage disparity between a male and female employee. In Rizo v. Yovino, a female math teacher brought a claim...more

Pay Equity Update: Oregon Legislature Amends Equal Pay Law

Stoel Rives - World of Employment on 8/15/2019

SB 123, just passed by the legislature and signed by Governor Brown, makes several amendments to Oregon’s pay equity law. Most notable are the revisions to the limited affirmative defense available to employers in litigation....more

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