Overtime

The federal Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. §§ 201-219 (the “FLSA”), and its implementing regulations, 29 C.F.R. §§ 510 et seq., mandate that most workers in the U.S. be paid at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour for all hours worked and overtime compensation at 1½ times the regular rate of pay for all hours worked in excess of 40…Read More

Manhattan and the state of New York, like the federal government, does not require any particular order or form for the records that an employer must maintain concerning employees’ wages and hours. Cf. 29 C.F.R. § 516.1(a) (“No particular order or form of records is prescribed by” 29 C.F.R. Part 516 (Records To Be Kept By Employers)). An employer in Manhattan, NYC…Read More

Many individual owners of closely held businesses want to hire an employee for the business, but lack the cash flow to do so. Periodically, owners of a cash-strapped, closely held business in Manhattan, NYC, who want the business to hire a worker, will ask me whether, instead of paying the worker the minimum wage and any overtime pay, the business may…Read More

On October 29 and October 30, 2012, Hurricane Sandy, a tropical cyclone, struck New Jersey and New York City (including the borough of Manhattan). Hurricane Sandy killed over a hundred people, destroyed thousands of homes and businesses, and left millions without electric power for days or weeks. As a result of Hurricane Sandy and the blackout that the hurricane caused,…Read More

On May 3, 2023, New York State Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law a state budget for the 2023-2024 fiscal year, N.Y. State Senate Bill 2-23-S4005C,  N.Y. State Assembly Bill No. 2023-A03005C ("the Act").  The Act includes a provision, Part S, which, over a period of three years -- depending on the county in which the work is performed --…Read More

Potential clients often ask me questions along the lines of: “My company is just a small employer. Does this [New York State or New York City] statute apply to me?” That is, prospective clients often inquire whether, in light of the number of workers that their businesses employ, their businesses must comply with a particular, labor-related statute enacted by, or a given,…Read More

In general, yes. Employees’ claims for wages, salaries or commissions earned before the filing of a corporate employer’s bankruptcy petition are dischargeable, unless such pre-petition wage claims are debt for “willful and malicious injury by the debtor [the employer] to another entity [the employees] or to the property of another entity [the employees].” 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(6). The case law of the U.S. Court of…Read More

On June 11, 2013, in Glatt v. Searchlight Pictures Inc., No. 11 Civ. 6784, 2013 WL 2495140 (S.D.N.Y. June 11, 2013) (Pauley, J.), vacated and remanded, 811 F.3d 528 (2d Cir. 2016), the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York held that defendants Fox Searchlight Pictures Inc. (“Fox Searchlight”), a producer and distributor of feature films, and Fox…Read More

On July 23, 2015, in Lola v. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, No. 14-3845 (2d Cir. July 23, 2015), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, reversing the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York’s order dismissing the plaintiff contract lawyer’s putative collective action, held that the plaintiff stated a claim upon which relief can…Read More

On September 10, 2015, acting New York State Commissioner of Labor Mario J. Musolino signed an order (the “Wage Order” or the “Order”) which (1), over a period of three years, raises Manhattan, NYC’s minimum wage for fast food employees from $8.75 per hour to $15.00 per hour and (2) over a period of six years, increases the minimum wage for fast food workers…Read More