Wage and Hour Law

Practice Contacts

Wage and Hour Law

Navigating the practice of wage and hour law can be complicated and daunting. Both federal and state laws govern the field, and the courts continually revise interpretations of the law. Employers face a number of challenges, including:

Proper designation of “employees” and “independent contractors.”
An increase in the number of FLSA lawsuits, especially for small employers.
Proper designation of employees as exempt versus non-exempt for the purposes of payment of overtime.
Lack of effective employment practices liability coverage for wage and hour lawsuits.
Accurate calculation of hours worked, including all time in productive labor for employer’s benefit (such as working through lunch, checking e-mail or answering calls on off hours, donning and doffing safety equipment).
Navigating minimum wage laws that may be inconsistent between cities, counties and states, especially for multi-state employers.

Taft’s Wage and Hour Law attorneys work with clients to plan for addressing wage and hour rule changes before they become effective. We analyze potential insurance coverage issues as soon as our clients are sued for wage and hour cases to minimize your defense costs. We track changes in minimum wage laws and inform our clients of these changes on a real time basis. Our attorneys defend FLSA and minimum wage lawsuits in an efficient and cost-effective manner.

With respect to wage and hour law, we provide the following services for our clients:

Wage and hour audits on a preventative basis or in connection with a Department of Labor investigation or audit.
Reviewing job descriptions and advising on proper classification of exempt versus nonexempt employees.
Advising employers on the proper classification of employee versus independent contractor and the consequences of misclassification.
Defending employers in administrative wage claims and lawsuits, including collective actions and class actions, brought under state and federal wage and hour laws.
Providing specialized advice to employers in the restaurant industry in light of legal nuances of tip pools, tip credits and service charges.

Taft’s wage and hour attorneys are recognized in publications such as Best Lawyers in America, Chambers USA: America’s Leading Business Lawyers and Indiana, Illinois and Ohio Super Lawyers. One Taft partner is a contributor to the treatise “The Fair Labor Standards Act,” published by the ABA Section of Labor and Employment Law.