Seyfarth Synopsis: Employers frequently struggle with questions around the compensability of certain activities, classification of employees, and how to structure their policies to avoid Fair Labor Standards Act violations. Getting the answers wrong can be costly. But getting them wrong without making reasonable efforts to comply with the law doubles an employer’s exposure. According to a recent Eastern District of Pennsylvania decision, consulting an experienced labor and employment attorney and implementing policies responsive to that advice can avoid that double trouble.
Many a manufacturer requires its line level employees to wear protective clothing on the job. And many a case has been litigated over whether time spent donning and doffing that clothing is compensable.
East Penn Manufacturing Co. found itself embroiled in one such case brought by the Department of Labor that involved employees who worked with lead while making batteries and related components. A trial determined that East Penn violated the FLSA and owed $22,253,087.56 in back wages. The DOL asked the court after trial to impose liquidated damages (which double the amount of a back pay award) on East Penn, arguing that the company had not acted in good faith in its attempts to comply with federal law and had no reasonable grounds to believe it had complied with the FLSA.
The court disagreed. To avoid liquidated damages in FLSA cases, an employer must show that it acted in good faith and had reasonable...
Rebel Wilson appeared in a Sydney court on Monday, April 20, at the start of a defamation case brought by Charlotte MacInnes, the lead actor in Wilson's directorial debut "The Deb." The legal battl...