Fighting for Fair Pay

Independent Contractor Misclassification

Companies often misclassify employees as independent contractors to avoid paying them the wages and benefits the law requires. While this is often seen in industries like trucking and the gig economy, many other types of workers are misclassified. Independent Contractor vs. Employee The issue of whether someone is an independent contractor or employee is largely…

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Court Grants Conditional Certification in case against Bloomberg

On February 28, 2023, the Court granted plaintiffs’ renewed motion for conditional certification and to issue notice to the class. The plaintiffs allege that they were misclassified as exempt under the federal and state overtime laws, were paid a salary, but not overtime wages when they worked more than 40 hours in a week. Judge…

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Victory for Farmworkers in NY

Last week the NY Department of Labor finalized new overtime regulations for farmworkers that ensure overtime pay at the rate of time-and-one-half for all hours worked after 40 in a week. The prior regulation required overtime pay after 60 hours. The new regulation will be implemented slowly, with a reduction of the overtime threshold from…

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Home Health Aides may be due Back Pay

Home health aides who work 24-hour shifts may be due unpaid overtime wages and other damages. Home Health Aides Are Due Minimum & Overtime Wages Home Health Aides employed by an agency to work in private homes perform essential work for our sick and elderly. And the job is really tough. Unfortunately, Home Health Aides…

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Supreme Court Ruling on Day Rate

Yesterday, the US Supreme Court held that an oil rig worker who was paid a day rate to be non-exempt and thus entitled to overtime wages under the Fair Labor Standards Act. This means that workers who are paid a day rate don’t meet the salary requirement for the executive exemption, regardless of how much…

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Managerial Misclassification

The NY Times recently highlighted a new trend in wage theft – misclassifying workers as managers, and then the employers claim the managerial exemption and deny workers overtime pay. “The extent to which employers game the overtime system was made starkly clear in January in a working paper published by the National Bureau of Economic…

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DOL/DOT Trucking Initiative – Posted March 29, 2022

The Biden-Harris Administration has announced a new initiative in which the Department of Labor and the Department of Transportation are working together to address workforce challenges in the trucking industry, including high turnover rates, long hours away from home, time spent waiting–often unpaid–to load and unload at congested ports, warehouses, and distribution centers, and predatory…

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Remembering Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Ruth Bader Ginsburg Portrait

On Friday, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away at 87. She was a champion of women’s rights and stood up for the American worker. Her legacy of scathing dissents – including the 2018 dissent in Lewis v. Epic Systems, a decision which has now left us with forced arbitrations – will be remembered…

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History of Labor Day

Labor Day Demonstration March

“We believe hard work nourishes the soul and should nourish the body and support the family as well. We believe every one of us has an equal claim to the prosperity of America. And that it’s our job to ensure a better life for the generations that come after us.”—John Sweeney, Former President of the…

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Misclassification – Posted August 4, 2020

Chart with Information on Labor Misclassification

Workers in many fields are misclassified as independent contractors, when by law, they are really employees who would be entitled to minimum wage, overtime at the rate of time and one half, and would be entitled to have the employer bear the cost of work related expenses. By misclassifying workers, employers deny their workers the…

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