Connecticut Employment Law Blog Insight on Labor & Employment Developments for Connecticut Businesses

Tag Archives: collective action

Class Action Waiver For Employment? Not So Fast, Says the NLRB

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in Class Actions, Labor Law & NRLB

Last year, I talked a lot about a U.S. Supreme Court case that seemed to open the door for employers to use mandatory arbitration agreements that precluded employees from using class actions to sue their employers.  But I noted at the time that this was a quickly shifting landscape. A few days ago, the NLRB… Continue Reading

Quick Hits: FLSA & Arbitration Agreements, Initial Discovery Protocols, Dating Policies, EEOC Charges, Ledbetter

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in CHRO & EEOC, Class Actions, Discrimination & Harassment, Litigation, Wage & Hour

There are lots of items I had hoped to write about but, as many of you have observed, there’s only so much time in the week.  So, it’s time to bring back the recurring “Quick Hits” feature to highlight some tidbits worthy of your consideration: Are arbitration agreements that waive FLSA collective actions enforceable? No,… Continue Reading

Hybrid Wage-and-Hour Class Actions Blessed by Second Circuit

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in Class Actions, Litigation, Wage & Hour

Ok, bear with me for a second. If your employees want to bring a class action against your company claiming that they should’ve been paid overtime, there are typically two ways to do so: Bring a claim under state law, or bring a claim under federal law (Fair Labor Standards Act). There’s a big difference:… Continue Reading

Quick Hits: Wage & Hour Litigation; Protected Concerted Activity; Set-Off in Mass.; Prevailing Wage; I-9s

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in Wage & Hour

With all the snow piling up, there’s been a lot I’ve been meaning to get to but haven’t. So, it’s time to bring back the "Quick Hits" feature where I recap some of the employment law tidbits you might have missed recently. The Wage & Hour Litigation blog (a new employment law blog, so welcome),… Continue Reading

Stripping Down the Latest FLSA Decision: Adult Entertainers

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in Class Actions, Litigation, Wage & Hour

While I dig back out from vacation, my colleague Jon Orleans forwarded this update on a recent case in the Second Circuit. While the case is from New York, it may ultimately have some implications in Connecticut if it is appealed.   A recent decision from the Southern District of New York certifies an FLSA… Continue Reading

Court Upholds Arbitration Agreement; Says Employee Can Waive FLSA Collective Actions

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in Class Actions, Litigation, Wage & Hour

Employers who have shunned using arbitration agreements for fear that they will be overturned, will want to take a look at a recent federal court decision that upheld an arbitration agreement that had provisions that some would consider very pro-employer. In Pomposi v. GameStop, Inc. (download here),  the employer moved to dismiss a collective action… Continue Reading

Quick Hits: EEOC’s ADEA Lawsuit; FLSA Collective Actions & Releases; Severance Pay & Taxes;; EEOC Compliance Manual Update

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in CHRO & EEOC, Class Actions, Discrimination & Harassment, Human Resources (HR) Compliance, Laws and Regulations, Litigation, Social Media, Wage & Hour

With the dog days of summer in full force here in Connecticut ("it’s the heat AND the humidity"), it seemed an appropriate time to roll out another installment of the "Quick Hits" feature to touch on a few items you might have missed over the last week or so: One of the biggest stories that you’ll… Continue Reading

Wage & Hour Class Action Certified Against Smith & Hawken

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in Class Actions, Litigation

U.S. District Court Judge Vanessa Bryant is having a busy week.  Today, she released a decision certifying a FLSA class action against Smith & Hawken based on an alleged failure to pay overtime. In Holbrook v. Smith & Hawken, Ltd., the Plaintiff, a former assistant store manager (ASM) in the Glastonbury, Connecticut store, claimed that… Continue Reading