News and viewpoint for working people and advocates

Acosta Labor Department May Go Light on Litigation

Bloomberg BNA

The employer community has been expecting the Labor Department to take a more collaborative approach to enforcement of wage-and-hour, workplace safety and other laws since President Donald Trump was elected in November. There’s still not much information on how Acosta views big-ticket issues, such as a pending rule to make some 4 million workers newly eligible for overtime pay, but his prior government service and public statements suggest that the former prosecutor may look to ensure compliance without pursuing litigation.

Gateway Community Charters v. Spiess

In a wage dispute between a former at-will employee and charter school defendant, a nonprofit public benefit corporation that operates charter schools, the trial court's award to plaintiff of penalties pursuant to Labor Code section 203 is affirmed where an defendant does not qualify as an 'other municipal corporation' for purposes of Labor Code section 220(b) and is thereby not exempt from assessment of waiting time penalties described in section 203.

Beck v. Stratton

In an attorney's fees portion of a labor case, in which plaintiff received an award of unpaid wages and penalties against his former employer, the trial court's grant of attorney's fees to plaintiff is affirmed over defendant's arguments that the motion for attorney's fees -- filed by plaintiff under Labor Code section 98.2 58 days after defendant's unsuccessful appeal -- was untimely because the case was a limited civil case, and even if the motion was timely, the fee award was unreasonably high and unsupported by competent billing evidence.