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Employees of Smithfield Fresh Meats Corporation filed suit against their employer for violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and Illinois Minimum Wage Law. The case, Franklin v. Smithfield Fresh Meats Corp, was filed on April 4, 2023, in the US District Court for the Central District of Illinois.

A federal judge in California ruled on March 31st that Grubhub misclassified a former delivery driver, Raef Lawson, as an independent contractor and therefore improperly denied him minimum-wage pay. The court also held that Mr. Lawson was qualified to receive overtime pay, but that he had not worked over 40 hours in any given week.

On March 31, 2023, a federal district judge approved a $3.6 million settlement agreement between JetBlue Airways Corp. and a class of 614 flight attendants to resolve claims that JetBlue violated California labor law.The lawsuit claimed that JetBlue did not compensate flight attendants based in California for all hours worked and failed to provide them with accurate wage statements.

Approximately a month after Bed Bath & Beyond announced it was closing all 49 Harmon store locations, the retailers have been sued under the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (“WARN”) Act and a similar New Jersey state law, alleging they failed to provide employees with proper advance notice of the mass layoffs, which occurred in February and March 2023.

A group of nurses recently reached a settlement of their overtime claims against CHG Medical Staffing, Inc., (“CHG”) for a total payment of $3.7 million. See Carlino v. CHG Medical Staffing, Inc., Docket No. 1:17-cv-01323 (E.D. Cal.). According to a March 17, 2023 filing, the settlement will result in an average payment exceeding $3,000.00 for each of 782 affected individuals, resolving their overtime claims under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and California state wage and hour laws.

On March 15, 2023, Erika Santiago filed suit under the FLSA and Ohio state law against her former employer, Midwest nursing home chain Trilogy Health Services, LLC, on behalf of herself and a proposed nationwide collective action and Ohio class action consisting of non-exempt direct care employees (including but not limited to State Tested Nursing Assistants, Licensed Practice Nurses, Caregivers, Registered Nurses, and Certified Nursing Assistants).

A Federal Judge denied GrowersHouseLLC, which supplies indoor gardening equipment, primarily to cannabis growers, motion for summary judgment and found there is a factual dispute over what those employees’ regular duties were and thus cannot determine if they were misclassified under the FLSA.

Earlier this month, the Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) released a report analyzing women in the workforce, concluding that women remain underrepresented in management positions, but that the gender pay gap varies by industry and demographics.

On March 6, 2023, Peter Brutus settled a claim against his employer for alleged violations under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Brutus is a product coordinator for Trulieve, Inc., a multistate cannabis operator. Brutus alleged that while he regularly worked more than 40 hours per week, that he was not paid time-and-a-half for the overtime hours he worked.

A Federal District Judge denied the employer’ medical cannabis company motion to dismiss, and found that the former delivery drivers complaint, who claim the employer misclassified them as independent contractors and denied them overtime wages, can proceed.