Andrea M. Kirshenbaum

July 28, 2017 | The Legal Intelligencer

A question that has bedeviled ­employers for decades: Can employers obtain a release of claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) in the absence of U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) or court approval? A recent decision in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Gaughan v. Rubenstein, adds more fuel to the fire, ­dismissing a plaintiff's FLSA claims against Lee Rubenstein and holding that the ­plaintiff's "pre-litigation settlement agreement" released her FLSA claims, even without the imprimatur of the DOL or a court.

By Andrea M. Kirshenbaum

7 minute read

January 03, 2017 | The Legal Intelligencer

President-elect Donald Trump ­announced in December his intention to nominate Andrew Puzder as the next secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). A labor department led by Puzder is likely to bring significant shifts in the department's approach to the full range employment and labor issues, including the minimum wage, overtime, and overall enforcement and oversight of wage-and-hour laws, among other changes. Puzder's own ruminations on these issues in books, blog posts, speeches and media coverage offer insight for employers and employees on the philosophy he will bring with him to the Trump administration should he be confirmed by the Senate.

By Andrea M. Kirshenbaum

10 minute read

October 11, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer

In April 2016, Pennsylvania enacted ground-breaking legislation on medical marijuana production and distribution that will have a far-reaching impact on the health care industry in this state, the Medical Marijuana Act, 35 P.S. Section 10231.101.

By Elizabeth M. Hein, Andrea 
M. Kirshenbaum, Robin Locke Nagele, Amalia V. Romanowicz and Barbara Rowland

29 minute read

September 30, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer

On May 23, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published in the Federal Register its long-awaited final rule implementing new minimum ­salary thresholds for the "white collar" exemptions to the Fair Labor Standards Act's (FLSA) overtime requirements. On Sept. 20, 21 states and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, joined by numerous business groups, filed separate lawsuits seeking to enjoin the final rule from taking effect on Dec. 1.

By Andrea M. Kirshenbaum 
and Darren M. Creasy

16 minute read

August 01, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer

Wage and hour litigation ­continues to be brought in near-record numbers, with more than 4,300 Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) cases filed in federal court during the first half of 2016. A review of those filings, as well as several recent decisions, illustrates that the hospitality industry remains a mainstay in wage-and-hour cases.

By Andrea M. Kirshenbaum

13 minute read

May 20, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer

On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) formally announced its Final Rule that slightly more than doubles the minimum salary ­threshold for "executive," "administrative" and "professional" employees to qualify as exempt from overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) from $455 per week (or $23,660 per year) to $913 per week (or $47,476 per year). The Final Rule also ­provides that the salary level to remain exempt will be automatically updated every three years.

By Andrea M. Kirshenbaum

13 minute read

April 04, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer

Following the delivery of the Final Rule on the Fair Labor Standards Act's (FLSA) "white-collar" exemptions to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs of the Office of Management and Budget on March 14, we are one step closer to publication of the Final Rule. As employers wait with bated breath, many are busily planning for an expected doubling (or more) of the salary level for an employee to qualify as an exempt executive, ­administrative, or professional employee who need not be paid overtime for hours worked over 40 in a work week under the FLSA.

By Andrea M. Kirshenbaum

11 minute read

January 04, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer

The employment law community remains abuzz with predictions as to exactly when the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) will issue its Final Rule setting the new minimum salary level for employees to qualify for "white-collar" exemptions to the Fair Labor Standards Act's (FLSA) overtime requirements.

By Andrea M. Kirshenbaum

7 minute read

January 03, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer

The employment law community remains abuzz with predictions as to exactly when the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) will issue its Final Rule setting the new minimum salary level for employees to qualify for "white-collar" exemptions to the Fair Labor Standards Act's (FLSA) overtime requirements.

By Andrea M. Kirshenbaum

7 minute read

November 02, 2015 | The Legal Intelligencer

Much has changed in the United States since the country's foundational wage-and-hour law, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), was enacted more than 75 years ago in 1938. Although the FLSA has been amended multiple times, the central aspects of the law remain intact—workers who qualify as "employees" are entitled to the minimum wage and overtime protections of the law, while workers not so classified are not. Yet, as the country moves further and further away from the world that existed during the Great Depression, the concepts enshrined in the law—from the classification of employees as exempt or nonexempt, to a determination of time worked in the digital age, or even identification of workers as employees or independent contractors—have become exponentially more difficult to apply.

By Andrea M. Kirshenbaum

6 minute read