In Muldrow v. City of St. Louis, 144 S. Ct. 967 (2024), the Supreme Court held that an employee challenging a job transfer under Title VII must show that the transfer brought about “some harm” with respect to an identifiable term or condition of employment, but that harm need not be significant. The case is...Read More

Effective July 1, 2024, the Department of Labor’s new independent contractor rules provide guidelines for distinguishing between employees and non-employee independent contractors, for purposes of the overtime and minimum wage requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act. As explained below, the DOL rules closely parallel the test that the Fourth Circuit has historically applied in...Read More

In Bartels v. Birmingham, 332 U.S. 126, 67 S. Ct. 1547 (1947), the Supreme Court held that members of musical bands were employees of the bands’ leaders, rather than of the operators of the dance halls where the bands played, within the meaning of the Social Security Act. The Court emphasized that, inter alia, the...Read More

The Fair Labor Standards Act requires covered employers to pay minimum wages and overtime compensation to certain categories of employees. However, the law contains several exceptions or “exemptions” from these requirements. This post will focus on the exemption for employees of seasonal amusement or recreational establishments under 29 U.S.C. § 213(a)(3). The Department of Labor...Read More

The Fair Labor Standards Act requires covered employers to pay minimum wages and overtime compensation to certain categories of employees. However, the law contains several exceptions or “exemptions” from these requirements, most of which turn on a combination of the employees’ pay and the nature of their job duties. For example, Section 13(a)(1) of the FLSA provides an “exemption”...Read More

In Citicorp Indus. Credit, Inc. v. Brock, 483 U.S. 27, 107 S. Ct. 2694 (1987) the Supreme Court held that the Fair Labor Standards Act’s prohibition on selling “hot goods” applies to secured creditors who acquire the goods pursuant to a security agreement, even when the creditor itself did not engage in an FLSA violation. Statutory Background...Read More

In Groff v. DeJoy, 600 U.S. 447, 143 S.Ct. 2279 (2023), the Supreme Court held that for an employer to deny a religious accommodation for an employee as an undue hardship under Title VII, the employer must show that granting an accommodation would result in substantial increased costs for its particular business. The case is important...Read More

The Fair Labor Standards Act requires covered employers to pay minimum wages and overtime compensation to certain categories of employees. These requirements involve a determination as to the number of hours an employee “works” each workweek. As explained below, the FLSA generally requires that compensable working time include any time that an employee is suffered or permitted...Read More

The Fair Labor Standards Act requires covered employers to pay minimum wages and overtime compensation to certain categories of employees. However, the law contains several exceptions or “exemptions” from these requirements, most of which turn on a combination of the employees’ pay and the nature of their job duties. For example, Section 13(a)(1) of the FLSA provides an “exemption”...Read More

In Darveau v. Detecon, Inc., 515 F.3d 334 (4th Cir. 2008), the Fourth Circuit held that an employee could be protected by the anti-retaliation provision of the Fair Labor Standards Act when a former employer responded to the employee’s overtime lawsuit by filing a counterclaim against the employee without a reasonable basis in fact or law....Read More