Wage and Hour Litigation & Counseling

Our litigators defend employers across the United States in litigation brought under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and state wage and hour laws. We have achieved unique and precedent-setting results thanks to our creative litigation strategies. We have also been able to eliminate class claims and resolve matters on an individual basis. Clients rely on us to identify creative strategies to enforce arbitration agreements and compel purported class claims to individual arbitration.

New federal and state legislation, advances in workplace technology, and rapidly changing case law underscore the importance of understanding wage and hour compliance requirements. We counsel employers on compliance with federal and state wage and hour laws, including analysis of issues under California wage and hour law, which imposes unique requirements on employers. We perform compliance reviews and represent employers in connection with US Department of Labor (DOL) and state audits.

Some of the nation’s largest corporations use us to benchmark wage and hour best practices. We help clients across the United States redraft policies and compensation plans to comply with state and federal wage and hour laws.

Our team regularly counsels and defends employers regarding:

Proper classification of exempt and nonexempt employees
Compliance with the salary-basis requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), including advising employers on permissible payroll docking policies and practices
Recordkeeping obligations
Definition of an “employee” versus an “independent contractor”
Calculation of regular and overtime rates, including when bonuses, commissions, and payments other than hourly wages must be included in the calculation
Determination of what constitutes “hours worked” versus noncompensable preliminary and postliminary activities, and de minimis amounts of time
Proper calculation of overtime under all permissible alternatives, including the fluctuating workweek method