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Tag Archives for " Overtime "

Chipotle Asks Court to Hold Employees in Contempt

  • September 11, 2017

The Obama overtime rule has been injuncted, but it has played havoc with many employers, perhaps none more so than Chipotle Mexican Grill.

It’s critical to keep up with local legislation.

According to Politico Pro, Chipotle requested today that a federal court in Texas proceed with a scheduled hearing on the company’s motion for contempt against workers who alleged they were owed overtime.

The workers sued Chipotle in June, arguing that the company withheld time-and-a-half pay from them under the Obama administration’s rule, even though the rule never took effect because the same Texas court issued a preliminary injunction against it in November. In response to the lawsuit, Chipotle requested that the court hold the workers in contempt.

In August the court made its temporary injunction permanent and denied all pending motions, including Chipotle’s motion for contempt. But in a letter, Chipotle said “this Court’s recent rulings have not obviated the need for this proceeding,” and noted that the workers’ case was continuing in New Jersey. Chipotle requested that the hearing “proceed as scheduled on September 28.”

Texas court schedules hearing on Chipotle overtime case

  • August 2, 2017

Via Politico Pro, for our restaurant industry members, or those interested in restaurant industry news, and for those interested in overtime regulations and legal issues.  This is an unusual case in which an employee class action lawsuit was filed against Chipotle for failing to comply with the new overtime regulations put in place during the last days of the Obama administration, even though the implementation of said regulations was barred by an injunction.

Texas court schedules hearing on Chipotle overtime

A Texas district court scheduled a hearing today on Chipotle’s motion for contempt against workers who sued the company for failing to comply with the Obama administration’s overtime rule, even though the rule never took effect.

Last year, the same Texas court issued an injunction against the rule. But the Chipotle workers argued that the injunction applied only to the Labor Department and not to private parties. Chipotle disagreed. In its motion for contempt filed Tuesday, Chipotle said that the court “possesses the inherent authority to enforce its own injunctive decree and to punish those who disobey it.”

The hearing will take place Aug. 17 at 8 a.m. at the Paul Brown United States Courthouse in Sherman, Texas.

The $50,440 Question : New DOL Overtime Rules Sent to OMB for Final Review

  • March 15, 2016

Overtime Rules Send to OMB  ot

I’ve been in Washington DC for the past few days attending the SHRM Legislative and Employment Law Conference where they’ve been sharing some great information.  Out of all the subjects we’ve been hearing about, the DOL Overtime rule changes has dominated the hallway discussions all week.  So you can only imagine what the hallways sounded like at the Renaissance  hotel when this SHRM tweet made the rounds.

The Government Affairs team at SHRM shared in a briefing given on Sunday that there might be an earlier than planned release of the proposed regulations to OMB as part of  a complicated political process related to rule-making that gets further complicated by the fact that is a presidential election year. Many in the business community are very concerned about this status, fearing that DOL has implemented the new rules without taking the time to properly analyze the impact of the rule on the economy, and especially on small business owners.

Members of Congress opposed to the new standard have indicated that they will attempt to utilize the Congressional Review Act to revoke the new DOL standard if and when it was issued.  Assuming they can muster the votes to do so, and assuming they could override a veto, this would effectively prevent implementation of the proposed standard and force the entire process to start over again.  

Politico Morning Shift ran some good coverage on the potential challenge this morning.  

The proposed overtime rule, published in the Federal Register last July, would raise to $50,440 the salary threshold under which virtually all workers are guaranteed time-and-a-half pay — more than double the current threshold of $23,660. That’s a fairly dramatic change, and it seems likely Congress will take a run at blocking it.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/tipsheets/morning-shift#ixzz430B2Is1P
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Persuader Rules Up Next?

As always, the roller coaster ride continues, with the Persuader rules expected to follow soon.  CUE members can still register for our  Persuader webinar on March 18th.  Join Phil Wilson of LRI and LLAC Attorney Doug Seaton for a webinar covering the information CUE members will need in preparing for the DOL Persuader Rules. Register here!