Articles Posted in Wage and Hour Disputes

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The term “wage theft” refers to a broad range of unlawful employment practices that deprive employees of wages they have earned. This might include under-reporting of hours worked, underpayment for reported hours, illegitimate paycheck withholdings, requiring employees to work extra hours without pay, or even outright theft of tips. Employment statutes at the federal and state levels, such as the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), 29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq., and the New Jersey Wage and Hour Law (NJWHL), N.J. Rev. Stat. § 34:11-56a et seq., require employers to pay a minimum wage, pay extra for overtime, and keep detailed payroll records. None of these protections, however, applies to independent contractors, who are defined as independent of any one employer but are also just as susceptible to wage theft. A bill pending in the New York City Council would remedy this situation for independent contractors, including thousands of people who identify as freelancers, within the city.

The FLSA requires employers to maintain payroll records for all exempt and non-exempt employees. These records must include personal information like name and address, and non-exempt employee records must identify hourly rates, days worked, and hours worked each day, amounts owed for regular and overtime hours, itemized amounts deducted from paychecks, and dates and amounts of all paychecks. 29 C.F.R. §§ 516.2, 516.3. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) enforces these regulations.

Payroll records assist regulators investigating alleged wage theft, as well as employees asserting claims for themselves. Employees can bring claims for underpayment or non-payment of wages under the minimum wage and overtime provisions of the FLSA and the NJWHL, and the WHD and New Jersey officials may also enforce these laws on workers’ behalf. In addition to civil liability for back wages and other damages, penalties under the FLSA include a fine of up to $10,000 and, for repeat offenders, imprisonment for up to six months. 29 U.S.C. §§ 215(a)(2), 216(a).

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A New Jersey federal judge approved a settlement in a lawsuit brought by Essex County corrections officers, alleging underpayment of overtime. Davis, et al. v. Essex County, No. 2:14-cv-01122, opinion (D.N.J., Dec. 1, 2015). The plaintiffs asserted causes of action under both the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), 29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq.; and the New Jersey Wage and Hour Law (NJWHL), N.J. Rev. Stat. § 34:11-56a et seq. They brought suit on behalf of themselves and other employees with similar claims, as allowed by the FLSA. The parties eventually came to an agreement regarding unpaid wages, liquidated damages, costs, and attorney’s fees. The court reviewed the settlement to ensure that it satisfied the FLSA’s requirements regarding collective actions. It certified a class of plaintiffs and approved a settlement totaling $300,000.

Both the FLSA and the NJWHL require employers to pay overtime compensation to certain employees. This generally applies to hourly workers who do not hold a managerial or executive position. An employer must pay a rate of time-and-a-half for any time worked more than 40 hours during a calendar week. See 29 U.S.C. § 207, N.J. Rev. Stat. § 34:11-56a4. A common example of an overtime claim involves an employer who requires employees to perform certain tasks while they are “off the clock,” such as changing into or out of uniform. Since this task is mandatory, it is legally considered part of the employee’s job. If it pushes the amount of time spent at work over 40 hours in a week, the employee is entitled to overtime pay.

An employee can collect unpaid overtime, court costs, and other damages under the FLSA and the NJWHL. Individual employees may not have a large enough claim for a lawsuit to be feasible, which is where a type of lawsuit known as a collective action comes into play. Much as in a class action, see Fed. R. Civ. P. 23, one or more plaintiffs can sue on behalf of a class of individuals who are in similar situations and have similar legal claims. 29 U.S.C. § 216(b). An employee who might be owed thousands of dollars in overtime pay is more likely to get the employer’s attention if the lawsuit includes hundreds or thousands of their co-workers. Plaintiffs must consent to be part of a collective action under the FLSA, while many class actions require class members to “opt out.”

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A former intern for the company founded by Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, commonly known as the Olsen Twins, has filed a putative class action against the company in a Manhattan state court. Lalani v. Dualstar Entm’t Group, LLC, No. 158205/2015, complaint (N.Y. Sup. Ct., N.Y. Co., Aug. 7, 2015). The lawsuit alleges that the company unlawfully classified workers as interns and therefore did not pay them any wages. It asserts causes of action under state minimum wage law. People employed as interns often forego wages in favor of academic credit or specific job training. Courts are beginning to enforce the right of interns to be treated as paid employees if they are not receiving an educational benefit from the job. See, e.g. Glatt v. Fox Searchlight Pictures, No. 1:11-cv-06784, mem. order (S.D.N.Y., Jun. 11, 2013) (finding that production interns on the film Black Swan were entitled to compensation).

The Olsen Twins first became famous by jointly playing the character Michelle Tanner on the ABC sitcom Full House from 1987, when they were barely one year old, until 1995. They reportedly founded Dualstar, the defendant in the present case, at age six in 1993. Since then, they have built a massive business that includes films, clothing, and other products, and that is valued at around $1 billion.

According to her complaint, the lead plaintiff worked for the defendant from May through September 2012. Her job duties included office administrative tasks and support of paid employees. She claims that she worked five days a week for approximately 50 hours each week and received no compensation for the work she performed. She also received no “academic or vocational training” through her work for the defendant. Lalani, complaint at 5.
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Workers in New Jersey have several methods of asserting their rights under federal, state, and local employment laws. While retaining the services of an employment law attorney offers an individual the best opportunity to work with an experienced professional through all of the steps of the legal process, certain government agencies sometimes pursue civil claims against employers on employees’ behalf. The Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently announced that it is holding a substantial sum of money obtained in enforcement actions against employers around the country, including more than $7 million owed to nearly 10,000 New Jersey workers that remains unclaimed.

The DOL’s regional office in Philadelphia announced in mid-August 2015 that the WHD is holding $7,157,792 obtained from New Jersey private-sector employers, mostly through settlement agreements. This money constitutes back pay owed to 9,953 employees. The WHD and other agencies are often able to notify workers of the availability of money obtained through an enforcement action. If an individual has moved out of state, changed their name through marriage, or even just switched jobs, however, the agency may not be able to locate them.

A website maintained by the DOL entitled “Workers Owed Wages,” or simply “WOW,” includes a search function that allows workers to see if the DOL has collected money from their employer. They may then search their own name to see if they are entitled to payment. The site has reportedly helped people around the country claim over $800,000–a small amount in comparison to the amount that remains unclaimed in New Jersey alone. If money remains unclaimed for three years after collection, the U.S. Treasury can keep it.
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The wage gap has become a matter of serious concern for many in this country. Various reports show income rising for many business executives, while wages stagnate, or even decline, for most working people. Employment statutes at the federal, state, and local levels protect workers against a wide range of untenable employment situations and unjust acts by employers, but this does not include a wide disparity in pay between a company’s low-level employees and its chief executive officer (CEO). The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a final rule in early August 2015 requiring publicly traded companies to disclose the ratio between CEO salary and median employee compensation. This rule implements a provision of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (Dodd-Frank), Pub. L. 111-203, but it has been the subject of substantial criticism from the business sector. It might not have an immediate impact on improving employees’ workplace rights, but it could be an important step in that direction.

Employees in New Jersey are generally protected from workplace discrimination and harassment, based on factors such as race, sex, religion, and national origin, by the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (NJLAD), N.J. Rev. Stat. § 10:5-1 et seq., and Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq. The NJLAD includes additional categories of protection, such as sexual orientation and gender identity. The New Jersey Wage and Hour Law (NJWHL), N.J. Rev. Stat. § 34:11-56a et seq., sets a statewide minimum wage and establishes rules for overtime compensation. At the federal level, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), 29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq., performs a similar function, albeit with a lower minimum wage.

These laws could work together to protect employees in a situation where certain employees receive lower pay than other employees with the same or similar qualifications, performing the same or a similar job, if the disparity is related to one or more of the categories protected from discrimination. Nothing in state or federal law says that a CEO’s pay cannot be higher than an employee’s pay, and despite some particularly heated political rhetoric, no one is suggesting a rule like that. The issue is that many workers put in 40 or more hours of work per week, and yet they struggle to make ends meet, even frugally. The SEC’s regulation does not directly address this issue, nor issues of employee wage complaints, but it helps put these issues closer to the front burner, so to speak.
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The United States generally lags behind many other nations when it comes to various employment benefits, particularly paid leave. Allowing employees to take time off when they are sick, without having to worry about losing pay, seems like a sensible policy, but sick leave is entirely voluntary for most employers around the country. Workers without paid sick leave can put other workers’ health at risk by coming in when they should be recuperating at home. Only a handful of states and cities have laws requiring employers to provide paid sick leave, but the situation may be improving. At least eight New Jersey cities have enacted paid sick leave ordinances, and a pending New Jersey bill would require paid sick leave and would allow employees to file civil claims for violations.

Laws like the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), 29 U.S.C. § 2601 et seq., require covered employers to allow qualifying employees to take up to 12 weeks of leave during a 12-month period for personal or family medical reasons. Many employees do not qualify for FMLA coverage, however, such as when they have not accrued enough work history with their employer, or the employer is too small to be covered. The FMLA and many state laws also do not require the leave to be paid.

Currently, only four states require paid sick leave: California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Oregon. Eligibility requirements for coverage vary from state to state, with the minimum number of employees ranging from a high of 50 in Connecticut to coverage of nearly all employers in Oregon. Employees may bring private lawsuits against their employers for violations of these laws in Massachusetts and Oregon, and the California Attorney General can enforce the law on employees’ behalf.
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The question of whether an individual is an “employee” or an “independent contractor” determines whether or not they enjoy the protection of a wide range of employment laws at the city, state, and federal levels. Employees of covered employers are protected by laws related to minimum wage, overtime pay, and other matters. Independent contractors, however, are generally considered to be self-employed, and in a mere contractual relationship with the employer. Employers clearly have an interest in classifying people as independent contractors whenever possible, but some workers have begun to push back. One place where this is occurring is among the cheerleading squads of professional football teams, who claim that they are employees of the teams, not independent contractors. Multiple lawsuits, including one in New Jersey, are asserting claims for wage violations, and a bill pending in the California Legislature would formally grant “employee” status to professional sports team cheerleaders.

A putative class action filed in a New Jersey court alleges that the New York Jets football team underpays its cheerleading squad. Krystal C. v. New York Jets LLC, No. L-004282-14, complaint (N.J. Super. Ct., Bergen Co., May 6, 2014). The plaintiff alleges that the team entered into an “Employment Agreement” with her, identifying them as “Employer” and “Employee,” respectively. She claims that she was paid $150 per game at which she performed, and $100 for each team-sponsored “outside event” sponsored by the team at which she was present on the team’s behalf. The amount of work required of her, however, was allegedly so extensive that it rendered the pay she actually received substantially lower than the state minimum wage, often as little as $3.77 per hour.

The plaintiff in Krystal C. does not directly raise the question of misclassification in her complaint, but her factual allegations depict a level of control over the cheerleaders’ work duties that fits the legal definition of an employer-employee relationship. The claimed class consists of current and former cheerleaders for the Jets employed within two years of the date she filed the complaint. She is claiming violations of the New Jersey Wage and Hour Law, N.J. Rev. Stat. § 34:11-56a et seq., and is asking the court to award all wrongfully withheld pay to the class members. As of early May 2015, the case is still pending in a New Jersey Superior Court.
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Numerous laws at the federal, state, and city levels protect employees from a wide range of adverse acts by employers, including discrimination, harassment, withholding of pay, and unreasonable or excessive work hours. Whether the remedies offered by a particular law are available to you depends on two factors: whether your employer is an “employer” within the meaning of this specific law, and whether you are considered an “employee” or an “independent contractor.” The definitions of “employee” and “independent contractor” vary from one state to another, but they are critically important to assessing a potential employment law claim. Many laws are limited to employers with a minimum number of employees. The definition of “employee” in a given situation, by determining how many employees an employer has, could also determine whether or not it is subject to certain employment statutes. As more and more employers seem to be trying to classify workers as independent contractors, and more and more workers are fighting back in court, understanding the distinction between “employee” and “independent contractor” is extremely important.

Some employment laws limit their application based on a minimum number of employees or other factors. The federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), for example, only applies to employers with 50 full-time employees or more. 29 U.S.C. § 2611(4)(A)(i). New Jersey’s employment statutes have broader applicability within the state. The Wage and Hour Law, which covers the minimum wage and other matters, does not limit its application based on the employer. Certain provisions, however, do not apply to minors and workers in certain specific occupations. N.J. Rev. Stat. § 34:11-56a30.

Employment statutes do not offer particularly helpful definitions of “employee,” as opposed to “independent contractor.” The New Jersey Wage Payment Law, for example, simply defines an employee as “any person suffered or permitted to work by an employer” who is not an independent contractor or subcontractor. N.J. Rev. Stat. § 34:11-4.1(b). The U.S. Supreme Court noted that a federal statute’s definition of “employee” was “completely circular and explain[ed] nothing.” Nationwide Mut. Ins. Co. v. Darden, 503 U.S. 318, 323 (1992). It held that “traditional agency principles” should apply and used a multi-part test to determine whether the plaintiff was an “employee” that primarily looked at “the hiring party’s right to control the manner and means by which the product is accomplished.” Id., quoting Commun. for Creative Non-Violence v. Reid, 490 U.S. 730, 751 (1989).
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The New York Attorney General (AG) has obtained about $3.8 million in judgments and settlements from multiple pizza franchise operators in recent months for violations of state minimum wage and overtime laws. This includes judgments against two companies that operate Papa John’s pizza delivery businesses and settlements with five Domino’s franchisees. Many state attorneys general pursue civil claims against employers for wage violations, but state and federal laws also allow employees to file suit themselves.

Under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. 29 U.S.C. § 206(a)(1)(C). New York’s minimum wage is $8.75 per hour as of December 31, 2014. N.Y. Lab. L. § 652. The FLSA requires overtime pay equal to one-and-a-half times the wage of covered employees for hours worked in excess of 40 hours in a week, or 80 hours in a two-week pay period. 29 U.S.C. § 207. New York law follows the FLSA.

The AG filed suit against a Papa John’s franchisee and its two owners in December 2014 for a wide range of alleged wage violations, including under-reporting and rounding down employee hours to avoid paying overtime. New York v. Emstar Pizza, Inc., et al., No. 017345/2014 (N.Y. Sup. Ct., Kings Co.) The lawsuit claimed that various illegal wage practices had been going on for at least six years at the defendants’ six locations. The AG’s Labor Bureau reportedly found that employee paychecks were sometimes short by hundreds of dollars due to under-reporting of hours, failure to pay overtime, and lack of accurate payroll records.
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A woman who worked as a nanny for a famous singer at her home in New York City filed suit earlier this year for alleged wage law violations. DaCosta v. Carey, et al., No. 1:15-cv-00596, complaint (S.D.N.Y., Jan. 28, 2015). The plaintiff claims that the defendant required her to work 100 or more hours per week without paying overtime. She is asserting claims under the federal Fair Labor Standard Act (FLSA), 29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq., the Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights (DWBR), and the New York Labor Law.

The plaintiff worked as a full-time, live-in nanny for the twin children of the defendants, singer Mariah Carey and actor/rapper Nick Cannon. The plaintiff’s duties included caring for the children at the defendants’ New York City home and on Carey’s musical and appearance tours. She accompanied Carey and the children on trips all over the world, she states in her complaint, caring for the children during flights and at other times.

The plaintiff claims that she “spent a significant amount of time responding to [the defendants’] or their agents’ inquiries” regarding the children. DaCosta, complaint at 4. She routinely worked more than 40 hours in a week, and she claims that she often worked more than 100 hours per week, since she was essentially always on call. Carey allegedly called the plaintiff “at hours in the middle of the night” to demand that the plaintiff give her updates or bring her to the children, and she “would not tolerate any delay.” Id. at 5. The plaintiff received pay of $3,000 to $3,600 twice a month, paid by a limited liability company (LLC) of which Carey was a member, and distributed by a management company that reportedly represented Carey. In addition to Carey and Cannon, the complaint names the LLC and the management company as defendants.
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