Wage and hour class and collective actions can be extremely costly. We provide a skilled and vigorous defense.

Our accomplished team of attorneys defends employers in class and collective litigation, as well as government enforcement actions taken under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and its more rigorous state equivalents.

Experienced Litigators

If a wage and hour claim is made against your organization, we have the experience to aggressively defend collective and class action claims in federal or state court and before the federal and state agencies that enforce these laws. We have successfully challenged certification and/or decertified collective actions under FLSA Section 216(b) and class actions under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23 or their state equivalents and have won summary judgment, including on claims brought by the U.S. Department of Labor.

We provide employers in a broad range of industries with comprehensive representation on wage and hour issues involving:

• Employee misclassification (exempt v. nonexempt).
• Independent contractor status.
• Pre- and post-shift activities, such as “donning and doffing” and other off-the-clock activities.
• Travel, on-call and other “working” time.
• Tipped employee issues, including tip pools and the tip credit.
• Motor carrier exemptions.
• Meal periods and rest breaks.
• Commissions and bonuses, including retail sales commissions and outside sales exemptions.
• Overtime calculations and proper rate of pay.

Prevention

We also provide proactive advice to help employers comply with state and federal wage and hour laws and bring payroll practices in line to reduce the likelihood of litigation. That includes preventing common issues such as contractor misclassification, overtime pay violations, and errors regarding employee breaks and off-the-clock work. Even minor mistakes in these and other areas can result in costly penalties and/or settlements when spread across a large employee base.

Recent Successes

• Represented a construction company in a wage-and-hour class and PAGA action, obtaining complete dismissal of all claims. The dismissal was based on several legal theories, including that individualized issues permeated the class, the lead plaintiff could not represent the proposed class both from an adequacy and typicality perspective, that the named representatives lacked standing to bring claims on a representative basis, using arbitration asymmetry and waivers to destroy subclass numerosity, and arguments based on the statute of limitations.
• Represented a security company in a wage and hour and PAGA action, obtaining a complete dismissal of all claims based on technical wage-and-hour grounds, including arguments related to regular rate of pay compliance and intricate timecard- and data-based arguments that precluded meal period liability.
• Represented a large retailer in a wage and hour PAGA action, obtaining judgment on the pleadings (complete dismissal) on the PAGA claim where liability was estimated to be in the high seven figures. The motion for judgment on the pleadings was granted following challenges to plaintiff’s exhaustion of administrative remedies and technical statute of limitations arguments, including arguments over novel interpretations of whether aspects of a PAGA claim can be revived based on continuing violations to aggrieved employees, a theory upheld on appeal.
• Represented a technology manufacturer/retailer in a wage-and-hour class and PAGA action, obtaining a complete dismissal of all claims following successful arguments that the conditions in which a subsidiary operated did not create joint employment liability.

Other Notable Experience

Our team is representing or has represented the following clients across multiple industries:

• National bank in nationwide FLSA collective action alleging wage and hour violations including off-the-clock work.
• Insurance company in nationwide class/collective action involving allegations of off-the-clock work and related claims under the FLSA.
• Wireless retailer in class/collective action involving allegations of wage and hour violations including off the clock work in violation of the FLSA.
• Automobile manufacturer in a putative FLSA collective action involving its call center.
• National health care company in putative collective action under the FLSA for overtime premised under an exemption misclassification theory.
• Call center employer in a nationwide class and collective action for minimum wages and overtime under the FLSA and state law.
• Fast food restaurant chain in class/collective action involving allegations that assistant managers were misclassified as exempt from overtime under the FLSA and state law.
• Boutique hotel in putative class/collective action alleging wage and hour violations including off the clock work in violation of the FLSA and state law.
• Upscale restaurant group in class/collective action alleging wage and hour violations including misappropriation of tips and off the clock work in violation of the FLSA and state law.