A record number of federal wage and hour lawsuits were filed under the Fair Labor Standards Act in 2012, according to employment law firm Seyfarth Shaw LLP.

There were 7,064 such cases filed in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2012, up from 2,035 in the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, 2002, according to data from the law firm.

The claims forming the bulk of these numbers include: misclassification of employees, alleged uncompensated "work" performed off the clock and miscalculation of overtime pay for non-exempt workers, according to Richard Alfred, chair of Seyfarth's wage and hour litigation practice.

Wage and hour issues are rife in the temporary staffing world, particularly in cases where a company utilizes the services of a worker, but has another company (such as a staffing firm or PEO) employ the worker. Read our blog on “Wage and Hour Traps: Paying Non-Exempt, Temporary Workers for All Hours Worked” and “Avoiding Wage and Hour Law Traps When Utilizing Temporary Workers” for more information or e-mail us directly at info@emergent.com for help and advice.


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