In E.M.D. Sales, Inc. v. Carrera, 604 U.S. 45 (2025), the Supreme Court held that the preponderance-of-the-evidence standard governs when an employer seeks to demonstrate that an employee is exempt from the minimum-wage and overtime-pay provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The decision reversed a Fourth Circuit ruling that had required employers to prove...Read More

Effective July 1, 2026, two separate bills enacted in the 2026 Virginia General Assembly session amend Va. Code § 40.1-28.7:8 — the statute prohibiting covenants not to compete with low-wage employees. Senate Bill 170 adds a new prohibition that renders any non-compete unenforceable when an employer discharges an employee without providing severance benefits or other...Read More

Virginia’s Civil Air Patrol Leave Law, Va. Code § 40.1-28.7:6 (“CAPLL,” titled “Employers to allow leave for volunteer members of Civil Air Patrol; civil remedy”), provides that employees who are volunteer members of the Civil Air Patrol are entitled to limited amounts of job-protected leave for training for or responding to emergency missions.  Job-Protected Leave...Read More

In Equal Emp’t Opportunity Comm’n v. Abercrombie & Fitch Stores, Inc., 575 U.S. 768 (2015), the Supreme Court held that to prove a religion-based disparate treatment claim under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, a job applicant need only show that her need for a religious accommodation was a motivating factor in...Read More

Virginia’s Misclassification Anti-Retaliation Law, Va. Code § 40.1-33.1 (“MARL,” titled “Retaliatory actions prohibited; civil penalty”), provides that employers shall not discharge, penalize, or take any retaliatory action against an employee or independent contractor for reporting, or planning to report, to an appropriate authority an employer’s failure to properly classify an individual as an employee and failure to...Read More

In Harbourt v. PPE Casino Resorts Maryland, LLC, 820 F.3d 655 (4th Cir. 2016) the Fourth Circuit held that under the Fair Labor Standards Act, compensable “work,” for which the FLSA requires employers to pay at least minimum wage, broadly encompasses physical or mental exertion, whether burdensome or not, controlled or required by the employer primarily for its...Read More

In Morgan v. Sundance, Inc., 142 S. Ct. 1708 (2022), the Supreme Court held that prejudice is not a condition of finding that a party, by litigating too long, waived its right to stay litigation or compel arbitration under the Federal Arbitration Act. Facts Morgan worked as an hourly employee at a Taco Bell franchise owned...Read More

In Cruz v. Maypa, 773 F.3d 138 (4th Cir. 2014), the Fourth Circuit held that the limitations period for claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act was equitably tolled because the employer failed to post the required notice explaining workers’ rights under the FLSA. The decision is important because it means an employer who fails to post the...Read More

The Virginia Minimum Wage Act, VA Code § 40.1-28.8, et seq. (“VMWA”), sets minimum wage levels for certain categories of Virginia workers that are higher than the federal minimum wage.  Employer Defined The VMWA defines the “employers” it covers broadly, as including: any individual, partnership, association, corporation, or business trust or any person or group...Read More

The Virginia Overtime Wage Act (“VOWA”) requires employers to pay covered employees overtime compensation. In some ways, the VOWA is similar to the overtime provisions of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. In other ways, including the calculation of overtime rates for salaried employees, the availability of triple damages, and the time period for which...Read More