Overview

Perhaps the greatest employment litigation threat to businesses today is the wage and hour class action. Over the past ten years, federal and state court filings of wage and hour collective/class actions have surpassed employment discrimination class actions and have dwarfed single-plaintiff discrimination suits and virtually every other employment-related action. Moreover, settlements in these cases regularly exceed seven figures.

Fredrikson & Byron’s Class Action/Wage and Hour Litigation Team has become a formidable defense to local and national plaintiffs firms who regularly file wage and hour class actions against employers. The Class Action Team draws upon over 100 years of combined counseling and litigation experience. We have litigated complex wage and hour cases in state and federal courts, before administrative agencies, and on a multi-jurisdictional basis. These cases include federal, state law, and hybrid class actions for:

• Overtime and Minimum Wage
• Employee Misclassification- Exempt vs. Non-Exempt
• Employee Misclassification- Employee vs. Independent Contractors
• Salary vs. Hourly Basis
• “Off-the-clock” Work and Travel Time
• Continuous Workday
• Fluctuating Workweek
• Donning and Doffing Activities
• Rest Breaks/Periods
• Commissions and Bonus Payments
• Tip Pooling
• Joint Employer Claims
• Technology Impact on Work Time and other Wage and Hour Issues

REPRESENTATIVE EXPERIENCE

Industries in which we have expertise include construction, financial services, investigation, health care, higher education, hospitality (hotels, bars, and restaurants), insurance, mortgage, manufacturing, professional services, public sector, retail, telecommunications (including call centers), and transportation.

When litigation begins, the cumulative experience of our Class Action Team helps us achieve exceptional case management effectiveness. We have developed specific collective, class, hybrid action, and multi-jurisdictional strategies that allow clients to successfully navigate the difficult procedural issues that arise in wage and hour litigation. The members of our Team have achieved reputations with both federal and state court judges in wage and hour class action litigation. These reputations assist our lawyers in effective maneuvering of class certification motions, electronic discovery issues, and case management.

From our extensive experience in wage and hour litigation, class action, and DOL audits, the Class Action Team has unique perspective on the plaintiffs’ litigation strategies, the litigation tendencies of the state and federal judges, and the DOL’s agents. The Team is also committed to creative cost containment measures in defending this type of litigation, which can be very costly.

Wage and Hour Compliance - DOL Audits and Beyond

Now, more than ever, employers need to be ever-vigilant when it comes to wage and hour compliance. The federal Department of Labor (DOL) has ramped up enforcement, and employers are quickly finding that FLSA class action lawsuits are much more costly than traditional single-plaintiff discrimination suits.

Recently, the federal DOL’s Wage & Hour Division added 150 new investigators to its field offices to refocus the agency on enforcement responsibilities. In addition, under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the agency will hire 100 investigators in 2011 to ensure that contractors on stimulus projects are in compliance with the applicable laws.” An increase of 250 investigators can only mean one thing for employers: More DOL wage and hour audits.

The DOL’s Secretary has vowed that the FY 2011 Budget request of $244.2 million for the Wage and Hour Division “will support targeted investigations, meaningful compliance assistance, and - in support of the Department’s high priority performance goals - reduce repeat violations of minimum wage, overtime, and workplace safety laws.” The Secretary also announced a new public awareness campaign, called “We Can Help,” aimed at enforcing federal wage and hour laws on behalf of low-wage and immigrant workers. The multi-pronged outreach, media, and enforcement effort is designed to inform workers of their rights and help them assert such rights when violations are revealed.

Employers - both large and small - should consider whether they are ready for a DOL audit.

We can help.

Bios

Primary Attorneys

Pamela Abbate-Dattilo
Krista A.P. Hatcher
Joseph M. Sokolowski
Lindsay J. Sokolowski