Skip to main content

What I've Been Reading This Week


A good portion of my week was spent in trial preparation and the subsequent trial.  Although I had little time to read through articles, being out of the office most of the week, there were still a couple articles I wanted to note.

As always, below are a couple articles that caught my eye this week.


Wage & Overtime Suit Brought By Current and Former Employees of Founding Farmers

Last week, several current and former employees brought suit against the company that oversees the Founding Farmers restaurants located in Maryland and D.C.  As Tim Carman at The Washington Post  indicates, this lawsuit is based in part upon claims that employees were not paid overtime wages.  Although many employees worked at different locations throughout the week (and worked more than 40 hours combined among locations), they claim the company failed to pay them overtime wages in accordance with the Fair Labor Standards Act.  Of course, this lawsuit was just filed last week and no answer has been filed yet.  With that being said, it will be interesting to see how this one plays out...I recall eating at one of the Founding Farmers restaurants in D.C. earlier this year with one of my sisters.  I can certainly say that I can see the need for workers at these restaurants to work more than 40 hours a week; the place was packed when we were there.


Bill to Raise Delaware's Minimum Wage Temporarily Put On Hold

Earlier this week, the Delaware General Assembly put on hold a minimum wage bill that would raise hourly minimum wage rates in the state (from its current hourly rate of $8.25/hour) to $10.25/hour in 2020.  The bill, sponsored by Democratic State Senator Robert Marshall, was tabled so that Senator Marshall could add a provision detailing how the hourly minimum wage rate will increase after 2020.  Although a similar bill was introduced last year, it failed to make it all the way through the Delaware Legislature.  Hard to say if this year will be any different, as of now, but Democrats might have the votes to make this bill a reality.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

NLRB: Discussion Among Employees About Tip Pooling is Protected Concerted Activity

  This Advice Memorandum from the National Labor Relations Board’s Associate General Counsel, Jayme Sophir, addressed whether employees which discussed and complained about tip pooling at work constituted protected concerted activity. In relevant part, an employer in New York operated a chain of steakhouses.  While tip pooling was in place at these steakhouses, some of the employees objected to it on the grounds that it was not transparent and improperly divided tips among the workers.  Employees were told not to complain or talk to each other about the tip pool and were told that doing so would endanger their jobs.  Despite the employer later attempting to provide some clarity as to how the tips were being divided, rancor still existed among some employees.  At one point, the employees were told by a general manager that some employees that had been talking about the tip pool were “cleared out” and the employer would continue to do so. In the Advice Memorandum,...
Post a Comment
Read more

Breaking: Labor Secretary Rumored to Be Leaving Administration

A few hours ago, word leaked out that Labor Secretary Marty Walsh (“Walsh”) is in the midst of negotiations to head up the NHL Players Union and leave his position at the Labor Department. Walsh, who has served as the sole Labor Secretary under President Biden, has taken part in a labor renaissance of sorts as support for organized labor has increased during his term as Labor Secretary (although the number of workers that have joined a union over the past two years has not grown as mush as some expected.)  He has also overseen the ongoing negotiations with rail workers over a new contract, although that matter is still on shaky ground and playing out as we speak. As for who might step into the vacant Labor Secretary role, there are already rumblings that President Biden should nominate Deputy Labor Secretary Julie Su (a strong labor advocate) or even a progressive like Senator Bernie Sanders.  Until Walsh officially gives his notice, however, I would expect some/many potential...
Post a Comment
Read more

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie Vetoes Minimum Wage Hike

A few months ago, readers might remember that I pointed out that the New Jersey Legislature had voted to approve a minimum wage hike in the state .  Under the approved legislation, the minimum wage rate would rise to $10.10/hour in the next year and at least $15/hour over the next five.  (The current minimum wage rate in the state is $8.38/hour).  In that article, I had noted that the bill was then going to go before Governor Chris Christie for his approval or veto. As I had suggested previously, I thought that the Governor would likely veto the bill based upon his prior actions and comments on similar legislation.  Well, a few days ago, Governor Christie did just that and vetoed the bill on the grounds that it "would trigger an escalation of wages that will make doing business in New Jersey unfathomable."  Pointing to the increase in hourly minimum wage rates, the Governor referred to the bill as a "really radical increase."  (It is interesting to c...
Post a Comment
Read more