News

A $4.6 million deal between Covelli Enterprises Inc.—the nation’s top PaneraBread franchisee—and more than 900 assistant managers who alleged Fair Labor Standards Act and Ohio overtime violations won final approval from a federal judge, after some modifications.

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The lawsuit, filed in January 2018, accused Covelli of misclassifying Panera assistant managers as exempt from FLSA and Ohio overtime rules. Covelli, which owns and operates more than 300 Panera locations in eight states, later reclassified these employees as non-exempt.

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The D.C. Circuit on Friday revived a onetime U.S. Department of Justice employee's suit alleging she was denied a promotion that went to a far less qualified man because of her age and gender, saying the "caliber and quantity" of evidence she presented means that a jury should decide if she was discriminated against.

A three-judge panel reversed U.S. District Judge John D. Bates' 2018 decision to award the Justice Department and Attorney General William Barr summary judgment over claims by Debra Stoe that she was unlawfully passed over for a promotion to a division director position in 2014...

Washington, DC—On May 29, 2020, Cassandra Osvatics filed a class action lawsuit against Lyft, Inc., one of the country’s largest rideshare companies, alleging that the company systematically fails to provide Washington D.C. drivers with paid sick leave under the District’s Accrued Sick and Safe Leave Act (“ASSLA”).  The lawsuit alleges that with “the current COVID-19 pandemic, which some experts predict could last for years, the need for paid sick leave is vitally important.  Without it, Lyft forces its drivers into a Hobbesian choice: risk their lives (and the lives of their passengers) or...

Attempts to enforce a new paid-leave law for workers affected by the coronavirus are colliding with the reality that the majority of the workforce isn’t eligible for the benefits.

The wide array of exemptions written into the law and subsequent regulations the Department of Labor issued have left few options for thousands of workers who have called the department, lawyers, or advocacy groups for help, according to interviews with a dozen government employees, worker advocates, and private attorneys.

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The Families First Coronavirus Response Act that Congress...

• DOL final rule clarifies fluctuating workweek method
• Use of alternate overtime method projected to rise

The Labor Department has finalized a regulation to give employers more flexibility and legal clarity by allowing them to incorporate bonuses when using an alternate method to calculate overtime pay for workers with irregular schedules.

When it takes effect in 60 days, the final rule will give companies more protection from wage lawsuits. But there are concerns it could lead employers to abuse their newfound regulatory freedom by reducing salaries—an issue worker advocates have raised. The...

A Pennsylvania federal judge is refusing to pare down a proposed class action accusing American Airlines of giving military reserve pilots the short shrift on benefits, finding the dispute at issue was not outside the court's bounds.   

U.S. District Judge Harvey Bartle III on Tuesday denied the airline's bid to dismiss a breach of contract claim from American Airlines pilot James Scanlan's lawsuit claiming the company didn't properly contribute to a 401(k) profit-sharing plan while pilots were on short-term military leave.

Judge Bartle said that under the Railway Labor Act, so-called minor...

Two NYC job applicants to Fresh Direct, one who had already performed the work of the job for approximately five months, filed a class action lawsuit against the grocery delivery service alleging that they and others who were otherwise qualified to work for FD were illegally rejected based on the companies criminal history screening process in violation of the New York City Human Rights Law  FreshDirect has “instituted a sham process for evaluating applicants’ criminal histories,” it says.  The complaint alleges violations of New York State and City civil rights laws requiring an...

Michael Bloomberg has agreed under pressure to provide healthcare coverage for members of his now-defunct presidential campaign through the month of November if they need it.

"Given these extraordinary circumstances, the campaign will cover the cost of COBRA through November, 2020. This is aimed at supporting those who have not already secured replacement healthcare coverage," said an email to staff obtained by Politico's Christopher Cadelago.

The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act or COBRA continuation coverage gives workers and their families who have lost health coverage due to...

Mike Bloomberg is agreeing to pay for health care through November for the more than 2,000 campaign staffers he laid off after suspending his presidential bid as he faces public pressure and multiple lawsuits over allegations he let go of workers he’d promised to keep employed through the 2020 election.

The human resources department for Bloomberg’s now-defunct campaign notified former staffers of the decision in an email Monday that was obtained by NBC News. The email says it’s a “difficult and stressful time” during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Given these extraordinary circumstances, the...