NYC MTA Says Bus Drivers Raked in 19000 Unnecessary OT Hours in 2007

See A budget bus-ter!, NYDN, 7/25/08, at 2

-managers say better monitoring of shifts and advanced reporting necessary
-

France Passes Law to Allow Employers to Request Beyond 35 Hour Worksweek

See France to Let Companies Scrap 35 Hour Week, NYT, 7/24/08, at A8

-new law maintains 35 hr week but allows companies to negotiate directly with ees re working hours
-unemployment benefits will stop if worker turns down reasonable job offers

Longhorn Steakhouse Waiters Ask to Shoulder Eatery Costs by Sharing Greater Percentage of Tips

See Waiters forced to pick up the tab at Longhorn Steakhouse, AP, 7/24/08

-now asked to give back 2.25% per shift to hosts and bartenders, up from 1%
-also affects Olive Garden waiters, other Darden companies

Should State Governments Mandate 4 Day/10 Hour Workweeks?

Pros
-reduces commuting costs
-reduces building operating costs
-long weekends for employees, happier employees

Cons
-harmss local businesses (e.g., restaurants)
-difficult to accommodate childcare needs

What do you think?

NYSDOL Finds Rampant Wage and Hour Violations Against Chinese Immigrants in Garment Factory Jin Shun in Queens

See NYSDOL Finds Rampant Wage and Hour Violations in Queens factory, NYT, 7/24/08

-Queens workplace was sweatshop
-rampant overtime and wage and hour violations
-100 ees worked 7 day workweeks, shortened lunch periods
-employers encouraged workers to lie to investigators, falsify time cards
-$5.3 million owed
-made clothes for Victoria's Secret, Urban Outfitters

USDOL Cracking Down on Companies Trying to Falsely Sponsor Cheap Foreign Workers at Expense of US Labor

See "Labor Agency Audit of Firm Angers Immigration Lawyers," New York Law Journal, 7/24/08, at 5-6

Federal Minimum Wage Increases $.70 Per Hour Today to $6.55, and to $7.25 in 2009

See Minimum wage going up, but no more liveable, Salt Lake Tribune, 7/23/08

NYS Attorney General gets 2 NY construction companies Siebold and Finkelstein Morgan to pay out $1.23 in unpaid overtime to workers

See 300 construction workers to share $1.23M settlement, NYDN, 7/23/08, at 28

Bush's DOL Dropping the Ball on Wage and Hour Enforcement

No Friend of the Workers, NYT Editorial, 7/18/08, at A18

-discusses how Bush's DOL has dropped the ball on wage and hour enforcement on behalf of employees

USDOL Criticized for Mishandling Minimum Wage, Overtime Complaints

See Department is criticized on disputes over wages, NYT, 7/15/08, at A13

-1/3 less cases by federal DOL investigated from 1997 to 2007

New York State Minimum Wage Increases Rapidly while Median Wages Slipping

See Minimu Wage increases fastre than median wage, NYT, 7/11/08, at B3

-minimum wage up 40%, from 5.15 to 7.15 since 2005 (15k/yr)

-median wage is $12.03, about $25k a year for 40 hr workweek

-fed min wage to 6.55 in 2008, 7.25 in 7/2009

NYLJ Article Discusses Issues re Recovery of Bonus Payments Post-Termination

See Bonus Payments Article

Hat tip: Adjunct Law Professor Blog

Old Homestead Steakhouse Waiters Claim Retaliation After Complaining about Tip Practices

See "Tip-suit revenge," NYP, 7/4/08, at 8

-3 waiters claim stuck with bad tables after complaining about tips and winning backpay on prior claim

Minnesota state judge finds Walmart cheated employees out of rest breaks, off the clock work

See Wal-mart loses a suit over work breaks, NYT, 7/2/08, at C4

-2 billion in fines
-failure to give promised rest breaks
-in house training required off the clock
-handbook created contractual obligation
-deducted pay when worked 16-18 minutes
-class action started 9/2001

Utah state employees to have 4-day workweek in yearlong experiment

See Utah going to a 4-day workweek, AP, 7/4/08

10 hour workday Monday-Thursday, off Fridays
-purpose to save energy

New York State to Pass Law Banning Mandatory Overtime for Nurses

See Governor expected to ban mandatory OT for nurses, The Chief-Leader, 7/4/08, at 3

-will not cap OT work volunteered for, but nurses cannot be disciplined for refusing OT work as it will not constitute professional misconduct, patient abandonment, neglect