On September 30, 2014, Mayor Bill de Blasio signed an executive order increasing New York City’s workers wages which takes effect immediately. The Order expands the New York City’s Fair Wages for New Yorkers Act, raising the Living Wage from $11.90 to $13.13 per hour – and likely to reach $15.22 per hour by the year 2019. The $13.13 per hour is the Living Wage without benefits or $11.50 per hour with benefits (up from $11.90 and $10.30, respectively).
This Order ...
Continue Reading →In a recent decision, on September 16, 2014, the Eastern District of New York granted Plaintiffs’, personal injury protection and medical payments claims adjusters (“adjusters”), motion for class certification of their New York Labor Law (“NYLL”) claims pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23, while denying Defendant’s, Allstate Insurance Company, motion to decertify the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) collective. Perez v. Allstate Insurance Co., Nos.11 -1812 (E.D.N.Y. Sept. 16, 2014).
The Court pointed to testimonial and documentary evidence to ...
Continue Reading →On August 11, 2014, a former delivery driver filed a lawsuit in NY Federal Court against Pizza Hut, his former employer, seeking to recover for unpaid gratuities, overtime pay, liquidated damages, and attorneys’ fees and costs. The delivery driver is claiming that he is entitled to the $2.75 “Delivery Fee” that Pizza Hut charged its customers for deliveries. He is alleging that this “Delivery Fee” was believed to be a service charge paid to the delivery driver by the customers; ...
Continue Reading →In an important decision for the advancement of employee rights under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) and the New York Labor Law (“NYLL”), on September 11, 2014, the Southern District of New York granted Defendant United States Tennis Association’s summary judgment motion finding that the Plaintiff umpires at the US Open were independent contractors rather than employees. Meyer v. United States Tennis Association, Nos.11 -06268 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 11, 2014).
On April 25, 2013, the Court granted Plaintiffs’ Motion for Class ...
Continue Reading →On August 25, 2014, the Southern District of New York granted Plaintiffs’, plumbers, request for final certification and motion for partial summary judgment while denying Defendants Contract Callers, Inc., Michael Maguire, and William “Tim” Wertz’s motion to decertify the conditionally certified collective action and motion for summary judgment. McGlone v. Contract Callers, Inc., Nos.11 -3004 (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 25, 2014).
Defendants entered into a contract with the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (“DEP”) to install water meters and associated devices ...
Continue Reading →Fitapelli & Schaffer, LLP filed a class action lawsuit on August 22, 2014, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York against Jacques Restaurant Group on behalf of all line cooks, food preparers, dishwashers, servers, bussers, runners, bartenders, and cooks (“Restaurant Workers”) who work or have worked at Jacques Brasserie located at 204 East 85th Street, New York, New York, Jacques 1534 located at 20 Prince Street, New York, New York, or The Pitch & ...
Continue Reading →On August 22, 2014, Fitapelli & Schaffer, LLP filed a class action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York against the corporate entities doing business as the Café Español restaurants located at 78 Carmine Street and 172 Bleecker Street in New York (collectively, “Café Español”). The lawsuit alleges that despite working over 40 hours per week, cooks, food preparers, dishwashers, and kitchen helpers are only paid a fixed weekly salary and not time ...
Continue Reading →A federal judge preliminarily approved another substantial settlement in a class action lawsuit against Chase Bank USA under which Chase Bank USA will pay $34 million. The class action was originally filed on July 12, 2012 and alleged that Chase Bank USA violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) by placing calls to consumers’ cell phones without their prior consent. Specifically, the plaintiffs alleged that Chase Bank USA used an automated dialing service with an “artificial or prerecorded voice” or ...
Continue Reading →Capital One and 3 other collection agencies have agreed to pay nearly $75.5 million to settle a consolidated class action alleging that Capital One violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. The lawsuit was originally filed on December 10, 2012 in federal court and alleged that Capital One used prerecorded messages and an automated dialer to call customers’ cell phones in connection with an attempt to collect on credit card debt without first receiving prior express consent from the recipients of ...
Continue Reading →In an important decision for the advancement of employee rights under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), on July 30, 2014 the Sixth Circuit held that the Northern District of Ohio erred in granting Defendant KeHE Distributors, LLC (“KeHE”) summary judgment on whether the Plaintiff sales representatives properly fell within the outside-sales-exemption and further erred in excluding from the collective action, employees that had signed agreements to waive their rights to participate in collective actions against KeHE. Killion v. KeHE ...
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