Tuesday, September 8, 2020

Burden of Proof Confirmed on Regular Rate Miscalculation Claim

On September 2, 2020, the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that employees bear the burden of proof on whether bonuses should have been included in the regular rate of pay for purposes of calculating overtime compensation under the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA").

The plaintiffs in Edwards v. 4JLJ, L.L.C. alleged that their employer failed to account for certain bonuses in calculating the regular rate of pay.

In an issue of first impression, the court considered whether the plaintiffs or the employer bears the burden of proof on whether bonuses are discretionary and therefore excluded from the regular rate. The court held that the burden is on the plaintiffs. In so holding, the court contrasted the regular rate definitions in § 207(e) with the affirmative defense of exemption from the overtime requirements , the burden of proof on which rests with the employer:

Publisher: The National Law Review
Date: 5493B547C0AB527FF4CF8C4D0127302A
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Providence’s Parkside restaurant must pay $79,000-plus in back wages, overtime - News -

The Parkside Rotisserie & Bar and its owner must pay more than $79,000 in back wages and damages for failing to pay its workers the federal minimum wage and overtime pay.

Steven Davenport and S&D Restaurant, doing business as the Parkside on South Main Street in Providence, this week entered a consent judgment and order with the federal government to pay $79,246, including $39,623 in gross back wages and $39,623 in damages to more than 30 employees.

Publisher: providencejournal.com
Date: 7E15F9269E2CE66F2A488ABB04B5015E
Author: Katie Mulvaney
Twitter: @projo
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Their labor, our fruit: What New York still owes farmworkers - New York Daily News

But rather than moving inexorably toward fairness, three recent hearings of the state Labor Department wage board on overtime pay for farmworkers were as predictable as the seasons.

The panel, appointed by Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon, heard growers complain, as they always have, that paying workers overtime would be ruinous to their bottom line. Boo hoo.

The Farm Workers' Fair Labor Practices Act, long championed in these columns and signed into law by Gov. Cuomo in the Daily News newsroom, became law on Jan. 1. It guarantees collective bargaining rights, a weekly unpaid day of rest, workers comp, unemployment insurance and overtime. Wage board members Brenda McDuffie, Denis Hughes and David Fisher must determine if beginning to pay OT at 60 hours a week is too high.

Publisher: nydailynews.com
Date: 02916AAC0DA8B068EFE01D721E03ED7E
Author: Daily News Editorial Board
Twitter: @nydailynews
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Maine's county jails paying more overtime amid COVID-19 pandemic | State | conwaydailysun.com

(The Center Square) – Maine jails are undergoing worsening staffing shortages amid the COVID-19 pandemic, as union negotiators try to reach a new contract.

At the Cumberland County Jail, the state's largest, workers have incurred so much overtime this year, it amounts to an additional $15 tax bill for the owner of a $300,000 home, the Portland Press Herald reported .

Union leaders have advocated for mandatory overtime since the beginning of this year, and the COVID-19 pandemic has escalated difficulties between corrections officers and the sheriff's office.

Publisher: The Conway Daily Sun
Date: 329EB949499407E670333405CFD6550F
Author: Sarah Downey The Center Square
Twitter: @conwaydailysun
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Quite a lot has been going on:

Japan Real Wages Decline for Fifth Month in July as Pandemic Woes Persist - The New York Times

TOKYO — Japan's real wages fell for the fifth straight month in July, the government said on Tuesday, pointing to possible deeper strains ahead for consumer spending as the impact on the economy from the coronavirus pandemic drags on.

Labour ministry data on Tuesday showed inflation-adjusted real wages, a key gauge of households' purchasing power, declined 1.6% in July from a year earlier, following a downwardly revised 2.1% drop the previous month.

Date: 2020-09-07T23:48:30.595Z
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Why Republicans Should Embrace Organized Labor

Over the past five years, many on the right have called for the GOP to become a "workers' party." Almost all of these proposals have been tales told by demagogues , full of sound and fury, signifying nothing .

In 2016, Donald Trump often played the role of proletariat's advocate. But once in the White House, the billionaire comported himself as a protector of plutocracy. The president has, among other things, showered shareholders in tax breaks, restored Wall Street's God-given right to rip off its clients , and denied guaranteed overtime pay to 12.5 million workers , effectively transferring $1.2 billion from their paychecks to their bosses' bank accounts.

Publisher: Intelligencer
Date: 2020-09-08T07:00:34.634-04:00
Author: Eric Levitz
Twitter: @intelligencer
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Wrong time to tighten restrictions on farmers - My Little Falls

As we continue to navigate our way through the COVID-19 pandemic, everyone is making adjustments. Whether it is at home, at work, or any other daily activity, we are doing things differently. One business in particular that has been hard hit is farming. Our farmers, who contend with a host of difficulties on a regular basis, are coping with a number of new complications. Certainly, it is not the time to add to the list, but that is exactly what the state is considering.

Last year, during the final days of the state legislative session, the "Farm Laborers Fair Labor Practices Act" was approved. The bill, which I strongly opposed, included several new labor mandates. The bill requires overtime pay for workers who work more than six days per week (regardless of hours), requires overtime pay for workers who exceed a 60-hour workweek, and mandates a day of rest in every calendar week.

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Publisher: My Little Falls
Date: 2020-09-07T09:00:49 00:00
Twitter: @mylittlefalls
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Make wage and hour compliance priority during time of COVID-19

Given the landscape, Jim Davis was kind enough to have me as a guest on the HR Works podcast so we could unpack some of the areas that may need extra attention right now and how they tie into the litigation trends we're anticipating. I'm going to run through the key takeaways from my chat with Jim, but for a more in-depth look, give the entire episode, "HR Works COVID-19 Update: When the Pandemic Creates Wage and Hour Violations " a listen.

Changes to duties of exempt employees. Make sure you're monitoring the duties your exempt employees are performing. To qualify for exemption, they have to meet certain tests for their job duties and be paid on a salary basis at not less than $684 per week.

Author: Business and Legal Reports
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