The Alaska Supreme Court this morning affirmed Judge Mark Rindner’s award of overtime compensation, liquidated damages, and actual fees.
The employer admitted to misclassifying the employee (a registered nurse in a “home infusion department”) as exempt, and further admitted failing to keep accurate time records (it didn’t contest the employee’s claim that it had instructed her […]
Kohring recusal: Judge Sedwick’s recent order rejecting Victor Kohring’s motions for new trial and for recusal has been published at 2008 WL 1746700.
Opinion on rehearing in AirLog v. Throop: The Alaska Supreme Court recently rejected plaintiffs’ motion for rehearing, and somewhat modified the opinion issued last December. Lee Holen will do an analysis of the modified opinion. (Disclosure: […]
A Westours bus driver has lost the various wage issues that remained on remand after the Supreme Court’s earlier decision in Hallam v. Holland Am. Line, Inc., 27 P.3d 751 (Alaska 2001).
Law of the case: The Court (per C. J. Fabe) first held that Judge Michael Thompson was not obligated to follow Judge Larry Weeks’ […]
Howard Schultz, Chairman and Chief Executive of Starbucks, has sent thousands of employees a voice mail message complaining about the court decision to require Starbucks to pay its baristas approximately $87 million plus interest for breaking the law by splitting their tips with shift supervisors. He contends that management “would never condone any type of […]
In an overtime misclassification case, a California court has held that portions of employer counsel’s pre-litigation review of jobs is not privileged, here, descriptions of the employees duties. H/T: Robin Weideman at California Labor & Employment Law Blog
A California Superior Court ordered Starbucks to pay all California baristas more than $100 million in back tips and interest that the coffee chain paid to shift supervisors. This was a class action with as many as 100,000 baristas in all Starbucks California stores. The Court held that state law prohibited managers and supervisors from […]
Retail assistant managers as executives: A recent article by a management-side lawyer sees a trend toward judicial solicitude of employer claims of executive exemption under the FLSA and similar state overtime laws. See Who’s minding the store? from C. R. Wright of Fisher & Phillips. H/T: Washington Labor, Employment & Employee Benefits Law Blog.
The situation under the AWHA is a […]
State wage claims in Bankruptcy Court: Bankruptcy Judge Donald MacDonald has refused to reconsider his earlier determination that creditor Robert Edelen was an independent contractor, not an employee of the debtor. MacDonald found “persuasive” a letter from the state Wage and Hour office.
In re Baxter, 2008 WL 544916 (Bankr.D.Alaska Feb. 25, 2008).
Pollution at the Red Dog […]
Caps on mandatory overtime for nurses: CSSB 28 (B. Davis) would set caps on mandatory overtime (generally 80 hours in a 14-day period, though with multiple exceptions), and establish an enforcement process in the Department of Health and Social Services.
Political expenditures by public unions: SB 77 (C. Bunde) would prohibit public unions from using agency […]
The regulations that the Alaska Department of Labor proposed back in November of 2006 will become effective March 2, 2008.
An analysis of the proposed regulations appeared here last September. The final regs differ from the proposed regs only in minor grammatical or editorial aspects.
The February 6th meeting of the Alaska Employment Law Section will conclude the Ethics discussion started in December, and will include a short review of the following issue: May defense counsel contact members of a certified class in the interval between certification of the class and distribution of the opt-out notice?
Shortly after certification of an action […]
The only pre-filed bill in the Second Session of the 25th Legislature that would significantly effect employment law is SB 187, which would increase the state minimum wage.
SB 187 provides:
The minimum wage under this subsection is the greater of (1) $1 more an hour than the federal minimum wage; or (2) $8.00 an hour as […]
The Alaska Supreme Court has affirmed most of the trial court’s decisions in an AWHA class action. Given that I represent the employee class, I’ll try to keep this entry brief and neutral.
Air Logistics of Alaska, Inc. (AirLog) provides helicopter services to various companies, including Alyeska Pipeline Service Company. It contracted to pay its remote employees for […]
The Alaska Labor Department has issued Wage and Hour Policy Letter # 203, which instructs W&H staff as folllows:
Settlement: W&H staff may not discuss settlement options with the employer until staff has completed the investigation and reviewed the results with a supervisor; and
Employer self-audits: Once an employee has made a formal wage assignment to the Department, W&H staff […]
Burgess rejects summary judgment for FedEx
FedEx Ground uses “independent contractors” to deliver its packages. In Anchorage, FedEx Ground contracted with John Thompson to run packages to the Kenai/Soldotna area, and Thompson in turn contracted with Joe Williams. Joe Williams later sued FedEx Ground, under state law, for overtime compensation, breach of contract, etc., arguing that he […]
Bar Ethics, re Trust Accounts: At Wednesday’s Employment Law Section meeting, Bar Counsel Steve van Goor mentioned that Wells Fargo routinely notifies the state Bar Association when a check drawn on a lawyer’s trust account bounces. No Alaska law requires WF to do this. Apparently, other states require this, and Wells Fargo has adopted a uniform national policy of notification.
Bar […]
Two recent appellate opinions illustrate the possibilities and limitations for employees pursuing wage claims.
The 9th Circuit case reminds practitioners that § 301 permits an individual union member to sue for unpaid wages laid out in the CBA, as well as for wrongful discharge.
Although claims arising under a collective bargaining agreement that concern questions of labor policy […]
Several dancers have sued Crazy Horse and Fantasies for unpaid overtime compensation, involuntary deductions resulting in denial of minimum wage, impermissible tip pool, and non-receipt of final paychecks. They sued under both the FLSA and AWHA, and seek class certification of both the FLSA (as a collective action) and state (under ARCP Rule 23) claims.
Acting on […]
The Alaska Department of Labor has again extended the time for comments on its proposed revisions to the Wage and Hour Act. The new deadline is October 8th, at 4 pm. Here are the supplemental notice and text of proposed changes.
The proposed regulations would substantively change the current law in the following ways.
Calculation of regular hourly […]
The California Supreme Court has identified factors that would invalidate provisions in arbitration agreements that purport to waive class claims for unpaid overtime. Gentry v. Superior Court of Los Angeles County, S141502, ___ P.3d ___ (Cal. Aug. 30, 2007). The Court (4-3) held that various practical difficulties facing individual OT claimants may void any agreement to waive class action […]
In Alaska, the rules for breaks differ for adults and for minors.
Rules for Minors
An Alaskan employer must provide a break of at least 30 minutes for any minor (defined as someone less than 18 years of age) who
a) is scheduled to work at least six hours; or
b) actually works five hours.
The break must occur after the […]
The pilots of Hageland Aviation Services, Inc. sued both Hageland Aviation and (later) three officer/shareholders for unpaid overtime compensation under the Alaska Wage and Hour Act. Judge Peter Michalski certified a class, and entered summary judgment against defendants on their principal defenses - (1) preemption under the federal Airline Deregulation Act; and (2) exemption under AS 23.10.060(d)(19)(re “flight […]
The feds prosecuted Patricia Paul for stealing funds that she claimed were due her for unpaid overtime compensation. She asserted that she was improperly classified as exempt. When she called an expert on the exemption issue, the trial judge excluded the evidence. The 9th Circuit, in an unpublished opinon, held:
The district court did not abuse its discretion […]
The Alaska Wage and Hour Act requires employers to retain, for a period of three years,
(1) A record of the name, address, and occupation of each employee;
(2) A record of the rate of pay and the amount paid each pay period to each employee;
(3) A record of the hours worked each day and each workweek by […]
In last Friday’s opinion, Deptula v. Simpson, 2007 WL 2143018 (Alaska July 27, 2007), the Alaska Supreme Court offered some clues about how it will resolve the waiver issues raised, but left open in Hammond v. State, DOTPF, 107 P.3d 871 (Alaska 2005), and Barnica v. Kenai Penin. Bor. Sch. Dist., 46 P.3d 974 (Alaska 2002). Justice […]
“Flextime” refers to employment agreements that relax the employer’s duty to pay overtime. In Alaska, both state and federal law provide an opportunity for flextime, but the opportunity, in practice, is quite limited. The employers with the most flexibility are very small employers, on the one hand, and unionized employers with agreements permitting flextime, on […]
By state statute, an employer must pay a salary to an exempt administrator, executive, or professional that is at least 2 times the state minimum wage, or $14.30/hour ($29,744/year, at 2080 hours/year). AS 23.10. 055(b). But by regulation, the salary for an exempt administrative or executive must be at least 2.5 times the minimum wage, or $17.875/hr. […]
The Supreme Court heard oral argument on April 20th, in Throop v. Air Logistics of Alaska, Inc. Gavel to Gavel describes the appeal as follows:
Both parties are appealing a trial court decision in this Alaska Wage and Hour Act case. The issues include: should overtime compensation be paid on hours worked or hours paid, and […]
Both the U. S. House and Senate have now passed the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007. Pres. Bush has promised to sign it. The Act will raise the federal minimum wage to $5.85, and then increase that to $6.55 one year later, and $7.25 the following year. Thus, by summer of 2009, the federal minimum […]
The most common source of non-judicial interpretations of the Alaska Wage and Hour Act is the Labor Standards division of the state Department of Labor. But the Attorney General’s office also sometimes offers advice. For instance, the AG’s office has issued opinions on whether the 2003 overtime exemption for flight crew members is validly retrospective; whether […]
“WHPLs” are letters addressed to staff employees of the Labor Standards division of the Alaska Department of Labor. Sometimes they address housekeeping matters, but they often interpret the Wage and Hour Act, as well as Chapter 5 of Title 23. The Department hasn’t posted the text of the letters on-line, but here is an index […]
The Alaska Department of Labor issues Wage and Hour Opinions Letters (WHOLs), Wage and Hour Policy Letters (WHPLs), and individual employer letters.
Here is the index of WHOLs from 1982 to 2004. The Department has issued no WHOLs since Randy Carr’s departure in 2004. The text of the WHOLs and WHPLs is not yet available on-line.
The federal counterpart […]
The Alaska Department of Labor proposed various amendments to its regulations back in December of 2006. The proposals addressed issues of child labor, comp time, deductions from wages, the statement of earnings and deductions, return transportation costs, and Title 36 payrolls. The Department characterizes many of the proposed regs as “clarifications” of existing regulations.
The Department […]
In an Alaska Wage and Hour Act case filed in federal court, U. S. District Court Judge Ralph Beistline applied Piquiniq v. Management Corp. v. Reeves, 985 P.2d 732 (Alaska 1998), to an employee paid a “daily” salary. The employer had urged the court to first annualize the employee’s income, then divide by 52 weeks to […]
