Wage & Hour Issues

In Xanthakos v. City University of New York et al, 17-cv-9829, 2020 WL 5026930 (S.D.N.Y. August 24, 2020), the court, inter alia, denied defendants’ motion to dismiss plaintiff’s gender-based pay discrimination claims under the Equal Pay Act (EPA), Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. 1983, and the New York State…

Read More Gender-Based Pay Discrimination Claims Continue Against CUNY – Part One (Equal Pay Act)
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In Turner v. Sheppard Grain Enterprises, LLC, No. 652509/2019, 2020 WL 3432946 (N.Y. Sup Ct, New York County June 23, 2020), the court dismissed plaintiff’s “Freelance Isn’t Free Act” claim because the work done was not sufficiently connected to New York City. From the decision: Because the law provides no guidance on how to assess…

Read More “Freelance Isn’t Free Act” Claim Dismissed on Geographic Grounds
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In Simmons v. Trans Express, Inc., 19-438 (2d Cir. April 13, 2020), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit posed the following Certified Question to the New York Court of Appeals: Under New York City Civil Court Act § 1808, what issue preclusion, claim preclusion, and/or res judicata effects, if any, does a…

Read More 2d Circuit Poses Certified Question to NY Court of Appeals re Preclusive Effect of Small Claims Court Wage Determination
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In a recent decision, captioned International Franchise Association et al v. City of New York, NY Supreme Court, NY County, Index No. 655987/2018 (Feb. 13, 2020), the court rejected a challenge to New York City’s Fair Workweek Law, codified at Title 20, Chapter 12 of the New York City Administrative Code. Judge Engoron concluded that…

Read More New York Judge Dismisses Challenge to NYC’s Fair Workweek Law
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In New York practice, “consolidation” is the mechanism for joining two or more actions into one. In Lopez v. Bendell, No. 156292/2017, 2019 WL 6216089 (N.Y. Sup Ct, New York County Nov. 18, 2019), the court, inter alia, denied defendant’s motion to consolidate two actions – one asserting discrimination based on race and national origin under…

Read More Consolidation of Discrimination and Wage Actions Denied
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A recent case, Lopez v. Uno Express Cleaners Inc., 18-cv-10737, 2019 WL 6873796 (SDNY Dec. 17, 2019), illustrates how courts evaluate settlement agreements under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), as mandated by the Second Circuit’s decision in Cheeks v. Freeport Pancake House, Inc., 796 F.3d 199 (2d Cir. 2015). In this case, plaintiff, who was…

Read More FLSA Settlement Rejected in Light of Overbroad Release
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In Lenzi v. Systemax, Inc., No. 18-979, 2019 WL 6646630 (2d Cir. Dec. 6, 2019), the court, inter alia, reinstated plaintiff’s claims – dismissed below by summary judgment – of pay discrimination, pregnancy discrimination, and retaliation claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In sum, plaintiff alleged that defendants paid her…

Read More 2d Circuit Revives Title VII Pay Discrimination Claim
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In Crawford v. ExlService.com, LLC, 2019 WL 5887214 (SDNY Nov. 12, 2019), the court, inter alia, denied defendants’ motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s federal Equal Pay Act (29 U.S.C. § 206(d)) and New York State Equal Pay Act (N.Y. Labor Law § 194) claims. The court explained: As a threshold matter, the parties’ submissions reveal fact…

Read More Federal and NY State Equal Pay Act Claims Survive Summary Judgment; Jury to Decide Equivalence of Work Functions
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In Vega v. CM & Assoc. Constr. Mgt., LLC, 2019 NY Slip Op 06459 (App. Div. 1st Dept. Sept. 10, 2019), the court affirmed the denial of defendant’s motion to dismiss plaintiff’s claims brought under the New York Labor Law. Here, plaintiff alleges that she was employed by defendant as a manual laborer, and during…

Read More NY Labor Law Wage Violation Not Cured by Late Payment, Court Holds
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In a particularly disturbing development, it is reported that a plaintiff in a wage-and-hour FLSA lawsuit – plaintiff Xue Hui Zhang, suing his former employer, Albany restaurant Ichiban, for $200,000 in back wages – was detained by Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents during a deposition. As indicated in the above-linked news article (dated August…

Read More FLSA Plaintiff Detained by ICE During Deposition
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