Wage & Hour Issues

In O’Neill v. Mermaid Touring Inc. (SDNY 11-9128 Sept. 10, 2013), the court granted defendants’ motion for summary judgment in part, and denied it in part. The decision is instructive on various issues in the wage/hour context, including the geographic limitations of the Labor Law, the extent to which “on call” time is compensable, and…

Read More Lady Gaga Wage Saga Continues
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In Alladin v. Paramount Management LLC, the Southern District of New York recently granted summary judgment to plaintiff on various issues relating to her unpaid wage claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act and the New York Labor Law, but denied it with respect to plaintiff’s race discrimination claim. Plaintiff worked for defendant for two…

Read More Court Awards Summary Judgment to Plaintiff on Wage Claims; Employer Kept No Records And Admitted to Failing to Pay Plaintiff as Required by Law
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The Eastern District of New York recently held, in Litras v PVM Intern. Corp., that plaintiff plausibly alleged various claims relating to non-payment of wages and retaliation. Plaintiff – who was employed by PVM as an export manager – alleged that her employment was terminated because she testified against defendants (the Sabhnanis) in a federal…

Read More Plaintiff Adequately Alleged Overtime, Vacation Pay, Retaliation, and Civil Rights Conspiracy Allegations
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A recent case, Antolino v. Distribution Management Consolidators Worldwide, illustrates the breadth of the New York Labor Law when it comes to protecting employees who are subjected to retaliation for alleging the failure to pay wages.   There, the court denied defendant’s motion to dismiss under CPLR 3211(a)(7), and held that the plaintiff (defendant’s senior vice…

Read More Plaintiff Sufficiently Alleged Retaliation For Opposing Employer’s Deprivation of Wages
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A recent SDNY decision, Stein v. Guardsmark LLC, explains how employers may comply with the “fluctuating workweek” method of paying overtime. Plaintiff Esther Stein served as the secretary to the president (defendant Ira A. Lipman) of defendant Guardsmark, which provides private security services. She claimed that she was denied overtime premiums to which she was…

Read More Court Rules That Defendant Correctly Paid Plaintiff Under the “Fluctuating Workweek” Method
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A recent Second Circuit decision, Dejesus v. HF Management Services, illustrates how detailed a federal complaint must be to sufficiently allege overtime violations under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the New York Labor Law. The court upheld the dismissal of plaintiff’s complaint because she did not “plausibly allege that she worked overtime without…

Read More Second Circuit Holds FLSA Overtime Allegations Insufficiently Pled
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The Second Circuit recently held, in Irizarry v. Catsimatidis, that John Catsimatidis – the chairman, president, and CEO of defendant Gristede’s Foods, Inc. (and, of course, New York City mayoral candidate) – was an “employer” within the meaning of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and was hence individually liable for damages in a lawsuit…

Read More John Catsimatidis Held Individually Liable For FLSA Wage Violations
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… like a rich ex-beauty queen whose views, according to a recent court filing, conflict with federal and state law. Below (and copy here) is the federal court complaint filed by workers last week against fashion designer and former Miss Ecuador Gabriela Cadena, her company, and other defendants for violations of the federal Fair Labor Standards…

Read More Hell Hath No Fury…
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Yesterday in Barenboim v. Starbucks, the New York Court of Appeals (responding to the Second Circuit’s certified questions) interpreted New York Labor Law § 196-d. That statute provides: No employer or his agent or an officer or agent of any corporation, or any other person shall demand or accept, directly or indirectly, any part of the gratuities,…

Read More NY Court of Appeals Interprets New York Tip Statute as it Applies to Starbucks Employees
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