Exempt or Non-Exempt? FLSA and State Law Employment Classification Lawsuits on the Rise
Identifying Vulnerabilities and Minimizing Liability for Misclassification
Recording of a 90-minute CLE teleconference with Q&A
Conducted on Thursday, July 23, 2009
Recorded event now available
This seminar will discuss the types of positions that are most at risk for misclassification under FLSA and state law, provide best practices for self audits, and offer strategies for employers to correct classification errors to minimize liability exposure.
Description
Collective claims challenging the classification of employees as exempt from overtime pay under FLSA increased by 77% in recent years. Some FLSA lawsuits have resulted in multimillion-dollar verdicts. State lawsuits are also on the rise, as state laws are often even more employee-friendly.
The U.S. Department of Labor reports that approximately 70% of employers are out of compliance with the FLSA. To avoid potential claims, it is critical that counsel advise employers to reexamine and, where necessary, adjust their worker classification practices.
Listen as our panel of employment law attorneys discusses the types of positions that are most commonly misclassified, best practices for performing self audits, and strategies for employers to identify and correct classification errors to limit liability exposure.
Outline
- Current legal trends
- Positions most vulnerable for FLSA claims — and how to determine correct classification
- Clerical and administrative support personnel
- Assistant managers, supervisors and team leaders without sufficient staff
- IT workers
- Sales staff
- Self-audit strategies
- Who should conduct audit?
- Review pay practices and policies — overtime, bonuses, etc.
- Review job descriptions versus what employees actually do
- Review new positions added after a merger or acquisition
- Documenting the audit
- Correcting errors and limiting liability exposure
- Establish compliance program
- Employee complaint process
- Overtime policies
- Policies for violating rules on falsifying time sheets and working off the clock
- Reclassify positions to protect exemptions
- Consider voluntarily paying back wages
- Should you notify the DOL of error?
- Prepare for state or federal regulatory inquiry into classification practices
- Establish compliance program
Benefits
The panel will review these and other key questions:
- Which positions are most often misclassified as exempt — and how can employers determine the appropriate classification for such positions?
- What self-audit strategies are effective to identify and correct errors — and protect the company from future liability?
- What are the legal risks of voluntarily paying back wages to misclassified employees?
- Should employers take the initiative to notify the Department of Labor of classification errors discovered during self audits?
Faculty
Mark E. Tabakman,
Partner
Fox Rothschild, Roseland, N.J.
He handles union and non-union matters for employers and concentrates in wage-hour law. He has represented more than 200 clients before the U.S. and State Departments of Labor on misclassification (exemption), working time and child labor. He also counsels companies in complying with federal/state employment laws to provide creative, practical and cost-effective solutions to employment issues.
Melvin J. Muskovitz,
Dykema, Ann Arbor, Mich.
He represents businesses, governmental units and not for profit organizations in labor and employment matters. His practice includes grievance arbitration, labor negotiations, employment litigation involving wrongful discharge and discrimination claims, non-compete agreements and workers' compensation.
Douglas H. Duerr,
Partner
Elarbee Thompson Sapp & Wilson, Atlanta
He focuses on preventive advice and counseling on a wide range of employment and labor issues, while providing experienced counsel to employers in litigation and administrative proceedings. He is a contributing editor to the annual updates of Kearns "The Fair Labor Standards Act" (BNA 1999). He also has experience handling class and collective action cases.
Ordering
Online CLE - Audio Recording
Includes audio streaming of full program plus handouts (available 24 hours after live seminar).
CLE:
Pre-approved for participatory or non-traditional/alternate format credit in: CA, HI*, NY*, WV*.
Pre-approved for self-study credit in: AK, AZ, MO, MT, TX, VT, WA.
Upon request, also available in: CO, CT*, FL, GA, ID, KY, LA*, ME, NC, ND, NE, NH, NM, NV, OR*, SC, TN, UT, WI*, WY. If you are applying for credit in one of these states, make sure to select those states when placing your order.
(*Indicates that Strafford must report attendance.)
Online CLE Audio $297.00
Available 24 hours after the live event
Recorded Event
Includes full event recording plus handouts (available after live seminar).
CLE: Pre-approved for self-study credit in: AK, AZ, CA, CT, HI, MO, MT, NY, TX, VT, WA, WV. Upon request, self-study credit is also available in: CO, FL, GA, ID, KY, ME, ND, NE, NH, NM, NV, OR, UT, WI, WY. If you are applying for self-study credit in one of these states, contact Strafford CLE at 1-800-926-7926 ext. 35 or CLE@straffordpub.com.
MP3 Download (Audio Only) $297.00
Available 24 hours after the live event
CD $297.00
plus $9.45 S&H
Available ten business days after the live event
CLE Credit
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Customer Reviews
Excellent topics, discussed very well.
McClure King
Dearborn National
High quality content, good speakers, and convenient to do over the web.
Ed Moomjian
Udall Law Firm
This was an excellent teleconference; one of the best I have listened to. The speakers were all very knowledgeable on the subject, but importantly, they were able to present in a very direct, easy to listen to and understand style.
Jose E Guzman, Jr.
Nossaman
Presentations were excellent. I especially benefited from the question and answer session, as the speakers addressed actual situations that affect many of us.
Angelica Toro
Popular
All the speakers seemed extremely knowledgeable on the subject matter. Overall a very good seminar.
Stephan R. Silen
American AgCredit
Employment & ERISA Advisory Board
Partner
Littler Mendelson
Partner
Perkins Coie
Partner
Wick Phillips
Shareholder
Littler Mendelson
Shareholder
Greenberg Traurig
Partner
Gibson Dunn & Crutcher
Partner
Gladstone Michel Weisberg Willner & Sloane
Shareholder
Greenberg Traurig
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