Wage and Hour Law
We Represent Employers Primarily in Pennsylvania & New Jersey for Wage and Hour Compliance, Audits or Investigations and Litigation
The employment law attorneys at SWB regularly assist employers in Pennsylvania and New Jersey in maintaining compliance with wage and hour requirements under the following laws:
- Federal Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”),
- Pennsylvania Wage Payment and Collections Law,
- Pennsylvania Minimum Wage Act,
- New Jersey Wage Payment Law, and
- New Jersey State Wage and Hour Law.
This includes general and ongoing advice regarding calculating and paying appropriate overtime, payroll compliance practices, classification of “exempt” or “non-exempt” employees, classification of “employees” or “independent contractors,” electronic time-keeping methods and requirements and more.
We can provide advice to employers regarding specific and unique challenges such as COVID-19 hazard pay or newly enacted federal, state or local ordinance paid leave or sick time requirements. We can provide general and ongoing advice regarding federal and state leave laws, such as the Family Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) or the New Jersey Family Leave Act. SWB also provides advice on the interaction of these federal and state wage, hour, and leave laws with the National Labor Relations Act and collectively bargained employees.
We also routinely assist plans in identifying and voluntarily correcting wage and hour compliance failures or in responding to an internal complaint of a wage and hour violation before a formal agency complaint or lawsuit is filed. We can conduct an internal investigation, including interviewing relevant parties, reviewing and analyzing documents and records, and preparing a report with findings and recommendations.
Wage and Hour Audits or Investigations by the Department of Labor
Should an employer in Pennsylvania or New Jersey be subject to a wage and hour audit or investigation conducted by the Department of Labor (“DOL”) or applicable state agency, SWB has extensive experience in assisting employers respond to subpoenas or requests for information, including compiling and analyzing relevant documents and records, drafting responses to specific request from the applicable agency, representing the employer and its management team in interviews conducted by the applicable agency, and negotiating on behalf of the employer a voluntary resolution short of official findings by the DOL or state agency, which may include negotiating and drafting a settlement agreement and corrective measures going forward.
SWB also frequently represents employers in federal and state courts in Pennsylvania and New Jersey in wage and hour litigation, defending employers against complaints brought by individual employees or class action lawsuits. We have recently successfully settled several potential class action lawsuits regarding classification of independent contractors as employees. SWB regularly defends employers in litigation brought under the FMLA or New Jersey Family Leave Act.