News & Publications

 

WHDI Members David Fortney and Leslie Stout-Tabackman of Fortney & Scott will be among the speakers at PLI’s accredited Managing Wage & Hour Risks program in New York City on Monday, February 13, 2012.  (August 2011)

WHDI Member Leslie Stout-Tabackman of Fortney & Scott will be the featured experts for the Global HR Research webinar entitled, “Prevailing Wages (Davis Bacon-Service Contract Act),” on Tuesday, November 22, 2011 from 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. EST. (August 2011)

 WHDI Member David Fortney of Fortney & Scott will be presenting the “FLSA/Wage Hour Update,” at the PLI’s accredited Annual Institute on Employment Law 2011 in New York City on Monday, October 24, 2011.  Among the topics to be covered are: the latest legal developments regarding exempt status, off-the-clock work, preliminary and postliminary periods, overtime; strategies for developing and implementing compliance programs and “first alert” procedures; practical tips for managing wage and hour investigations and litigation; and new hot areas for FLSA claims, including new enforcement initiatives from the Department of Labor.  (August 2011)

 

WHDI Member Tracey Holmes Donesky (of Leonard, Street and Deinard P.A., Minneapolis office) will be speaking on HR issues, including recent development in wage and hour laws, at the 45 Year Minnesota Community Action Reunion and Training Conference to be held September 26-28, 2011 in Duluth, Minnesota. (July 2011

 

WHDI Member John Ho of Bond, Schoeneck and King’s New York City office will be a panelist at the American Bar Association’s 5th Annual Conference on Labor and Employment Law to be held in Seattle on November 4, 2011. The program is entitled “Whose Liability is it Anyway?” (July 2011)

WHDI Member Robert Boonin of Butzel Long’s Ann Arbor office has been recognized as a leading labor and employment lawyer by Chambers USA, a highly regarded ranking publication of attorneys practicing in the United States. (July 2011)

 

On June 29, 2011, WDHI Member Leslie Stout-Tabackman of Fortney & Scott was a featured speaker for the D.C. Bar Association’s CLE seminar entitled, “Federal Prevailing Wages Primer for Government Contractors and their Counsel: Service Contract Act, Davis-Bacon Act, and Beyond.” This class covered the fundamentals of the federal prevailing wage laws, up-to-date information on U.S. Department of Labor investigations and enforcement of these laws, and key contracting and compliance issues.  (July 2011)

WHDI Member Robert Boonin of Butzel Long’s Ann Arbor office presented two seminars at the Society for Human Resource Management’s Annual Conference in Las Vegas, NV on June 27 and 28. His topic – “Wage and Hour Compliance: Avoiding Lawsuits and Liabilty.” (July 2011)

WHDI Member Jonathan Keselenko of Foley Hoag in Boston spoke on the “The Shifting Landscape of Employment Laws,” including developments in wage and hour law, before the Massachusetts Assisted Living Facilities Association in Worcester, MA on June 9, 2011. (June 2011)

The WHDI has published its annual State-by-State Wage and Hour Law Summary. This one-of-a-kind desktop reference is updated annually by the WHDI’s Members throughout the nation. (June 2011)

 

WHDI Member Tracey Holmes Donesky (of Leonard, Street and Deinard P.A., Minneapolis office) co-authored a chapter on FLSA Coverage Issues in the newly published Wage and Hour Handbook: Federal and Minnesota. (June 2011)

 

The WHDI held its Annual Conference in Memphis at the Peabody Hotel on June 3rd, hosted by Kiesewetter, Wise, Kaplan and Prather.  Among the discussions held were: how to handle and draft arbitration agreements and waivers with respect to FLSA claims, led by WHDI Members Jeremy Glenn and Paul Garry of Meckler, Bulger, Tilson, Marick and Pearson; issues and approaches involved in maintaining the confidentiality of FLSA settlements, led by WHDI Member Paul Prather of Kiesewetter, Wise, Kaplan and Prather; and approaches to help clients understand and use alternative pay arrangements, led by Paul Bittner of Schottenstein, Zox and Dunn.  Other hot FLSA issues were also discussed, and routine WHDI business matters were also addressed.  (June 2011)

WHDI Members Susan Eisenberg of Akerman Senterfitt’s Miami office and John Ho of Bond, Schoeneck & King’s New York City office were panelists at the ACI’s 12th National Forum on Wage & Hour Claims and Class Actions in New York City on May 24th. Their panel discussed “The East Coast Hotbeds: Florida, New York and Massachusetts.” (May 2011)

 

WHDI Member Tracey Holmes Donesky (of Leonard, Street and Deinard P.A., Minneapolis office) and Elizabeth Papacek will be speaking at the 2011 Upper Midwest Employment Law Institute on FLSA Coverage Basics: Is Your Business Covered? Are Your Workers? Are Your Independent Contractors? to be held May 23-24, 2011 in St. Paul Minnesota. (May 2011)

WHDI Member Jonathan Keselenko of Foley Hoag in Boston was a featured panel member at the Massachusetts Wage and Hour Update – View for the Attorney General’s Office and a Guide to Minimizing Risk, held in Boston, MA on March 10, 2011. (March 2011)

 

WHDI Members John Ho (of Bond, Schoeneck and King’s New York, NY office) and Susan Eisenberg (of Akerman Senterfitt’s Miami office) will be appearing on a Master Class panel discussing The East Coast Hotbeds: Florida, New York,and Massachusetts at the ACI’s 12th National Forum on Wage & Hour Claims and Class Actions, to be held in New York City on May 23-24, 2011. (February 2011)

 

WHDI Member Susan Eisenberg of Akerman Senterfitt’s Miami office will be moderating a panel discussion entitled View from the Plaintiffs’ Bar: Adapting Your Defense Strategies to New and Innovative Wage and Hour Claims at the ACI’s 12th National Forum on Wage & Hour Claims and Class Actions, to be held in New York City on May 23-24, 2011. (February 2011)

 

WHDI Member Robert Boonin of Butzel Long’s Ann Arbor office will be presenting on a number of wage and hour related panels, including its annual FLSA Update, at the Institute of Continuing Legal Education’s 36th Annual Labor and Employment Law Institute, to be held in Plymouth, Michigan on April 14th -15th, 2011. (February 2011)

 

WHDI Members Mike Delaney and Eric Kelly of Spencer Fane Britt & Browne, LLP delivered a presentation on February 3, 2011 to the Kansas City Compensation and Benefits Association on Recent Developments in DOL Wage & Hour Enforcement. (February 2011)

WHDI Members Joseph E. Tilson and Jeremy Glenn of Meckler Bulger Tilson Marick & Pearson (Chicago), will present a lunchtime webinar entitled Labor & Employment Law:  2010 Review and What to Expect in 2011 on Tuesday, February 15, 2011, from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. (CST).  (February 2011)

WHDI Member Lawrence Peikes of Wiggin and Dana (Stamford, CT) published an article White-Collar Workers Challenge Overtime Exemptions in the Connecticut Law Tribune on January 31, 2011.  (February 2011)

WHDI Member Joseph E. Tilson of Meckler Bulger Tilson Marick & Pearson has been named the 2011 Chicago Labor and Employment Lawyer of the Year by Best Lawyers, a peer-review publication.  He received the highest ratings of any Chicago lawyer from leading lawyers nationwide for his abilities, professionalism and integrity.  (January 2011)

WHDI Member Joseph E. Tilson of Meckler Bulger Tilson Marick & Pearson was a panelist/speaker on The Ethics & Economics of Settlement at theChicago-Kent College of Law Illinois 26th Annual Conference on Illinois Public Sector Relations Law. (December 2010)

 

WHDI Members Susan Eisenberg (of Akerman Senterfitt’s Miami, FL office) and Dennis McClellend (of Phelps Dunbar’s Tampa, FL office) will be presenting at the ACI’s 11th National Forum on Wage and Hour Claims and Class Actions in Miami, January 31 – February 1, 2011.  Susan will be moderating a panel regarding the “Newest and Most Innovative Wage Claims Being Brought,” and Dennis will be on a panel discussing “Collective and Class Action Certification Battle.” (October 2010)

 

WHDI Member Jason Reisman, of Philadelphia’s Obermayer Rebmann Maxwell & Hippel, will be presenting a seminar entitled "’Salaried’ Doesn't Always Mean ‘Exempt’--Wage & Hour Woes Under the FLSA,” at the American Bus Association's Marketplace (their annual conference) in Philadelphia on January 7, 2011.  (October 2010)

A number of WHDI Members are featured as panelists on various wage and hour topics at the American Bar Association’s Fourth Annual Section of Labor and Employment Conference in Chicago, from November 3-6, 2010.  Paul Bittner (of Schottenstein Zox and Dunn’s Columbus, OH office) and Dennis McClelland (of Phelps Dunbar’s Tampa, FL office) are on the panel "Get in the Game: The Latest News and Developments in Wage and Hour Litigation;" Lawrence Peikes (of Wiggin and Dana’s Stamford, CT office) and John Ho (of Bond, Schoeneck and King’s New York, NY office) are on the panel "Crash Course in Wage & Hour Laws;" Susan Eisenberg (of Akerman Senterfitt’s Miami, FL Office) and Joseph Tilson (of Meckler, Bulger, Tilson, Marick and Pearson’s Chicago, IL Office) are on the panel "It Ain’t Over ‘Til It’s Over: Unique Ethical and Practical Issued Posed by Settling Wage and Hour Litigation;" and Reed Russel (of Phelps Dunbar’s Tampa, FL office) is on the panel "The Real Double-Edge Sword: Everything You wanted to Know About Wage and Hour Hybrids." (October 2010)

 

WHDI Member Jason Reisman will be presenting a seminar entitled “FLSA Misclassification Mayhem: Practical Tips for Proper Worker Classification.”  The seminar is being provided by his firm, Obermayer Rebmann Maxwell & Hippel, in Philadelphia on October 27, 2010.  (October 2010)

 

On October 13, 2010, WHDI Member Paul L. Bittner, of the Columbus, OH firm of Schottenstein Zox and Dunn, was a guest lecturer at The Ohio State University Fisher College of Business MBA program regarding the Fair Labor Standards Act.  (October 2010)

 

WHDI Member Robert Boonin of Butzel Long announces that the firm is holding its 23rd Annual Labor, Employment and Immigration Law Forum on November 12th in Dearborn, Michigan.  Rob will be speaking on “Wage & Hour Compliance: The DOL’s New Enforcement Initiatives and Common Employer Mistakes to Avoid.”  (October 2010)

Meckler Bulger Tilson Marick and Pearson, the firm of WHDI Members Joseph Tilson, Jeremy Glenn and Paul Garry, earns first tier national and regional rankings from U.S. News-Best Lawyers. (October 2010).

WHDI Member Fred Plevin of San Diego's Paul, Plevin, Sullivan & Connaughton was recently named to the "Best Lawyers in America" for the seventh straight year.  In the inaugural "Best Law Firms" ranking by Best Lawyers and US News & World Report, the Paul, Plevin firm received the highest "Tier One" ranking in both Labor Law and Employment Law. (October 2010)

WHDI Member Robert Boonin of Butzel Long’s Ann Arbor Office has been elected Treasurer of the Council (which is the governing board) of the Michigan State Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Law Section.  As an officer, he will automatically assume other positions over the next four years, including becoming its Chair. (September 2010)

WHDI Member Robert Boonin of Butzel Long’s Ann Arbor Office presented a program to the Michigan Public Employers Labor Relations Association’s Annual Conference on wage and hour compliance issues for public employers. (September 2010)

WHDI Member Joseph Tilson of Meckler Bulger Tilson Marick and Pearson was featured in an article “Understanding What Matters in Labor and Employment Law” in the Leading Lawyers Magazine – Business Edition for 2010. (August 2010)

 

WHDI Member Larry Peikes of Wiggin and Dana LLP is a featured employer counsel on a panel of a 90 minute ABA Webcast, Misclassification Issues, to air on September 8th.  Registration is available through the ABA.  (August 2010)

 

WHDI Member Robert Boonin of Butzel Long will be speaking on overtime pay compliance issues for public employers before the Michigan Public Employer Relations Associations at its Annual Conference on September 16, 2010, in Shanty Creek, Michigan.  (August 2010)

 

WHDI Member Jeremy Glenn of the Chicago office of Meckler, Bulger, Tilson, Marick & Pearson was profiled in the BNA Books Newsletter for his role as Editor-In-Chief of BNA’s ADEA Treatise and as Senior Editor for Wage & Hour Laws:  A State by State Survey.  (August 2010)

 

WHDI MemberJohn S. Ho of Bond, Schoeneck & King will be speaking at the New York County Lawyers' Association program, "How to Handle a Wage and Hour Case" on October 13, 2010.  John will be presenting the management perspective on the subject.  Additional details about the program will be posted in the near future on the Association's website located at: http://www.nycla.org/index.cfm. (August 2010)

 

WHDI Member Robert Boonin of Butzel Long will be speaking on overtime pay compliance issues for public employers before the Michigan Public Employer Relations Associations at its Annual Conference on September 16, 2010, in Shanty Creek, Michigan.  (August 2010)

 

WHDI Members Joseph E. Tilson and Michael F. Delaney have been named among "The Nation's Most Powerful Employment Attorneys" in the June 16, 2010 issue of Human Resource Executive Magazine.  The listings of 135 employment lawyers were prepared for Human Resource Executive by Lawdragon, a Los Angeles-based networking site for lawyers and clients.  The attorneys were selected on the basis of curriculum-vitae analyses, evaluations by clients and peers, and reporting by the Lawdragon staff.  Joe Tilson is firm co-chair and founding partner of Meckler Bulger Tilson Marick & Pearson in Chicago, IL and Mike Delaney is Labor and Employment Law Group Leader at Spencer Fane Britt & Browne, LLP in Kansas City, MO and Overland Park, KS.  (July 2010)

 

WHDI Member Dennis McClelland of Phelps Dunbar in Tampa, FL, addressed the Mississippi Bankers Association in Jackson, MS, on July 22, 2010.  His presentation was titled "Wage and Hour Law: Hot Topics for Banks" and focused heavily on the DOL's Administrative Interpretation regarding mortgage loan officers.  (July 2010)

 

WHDI Member Robert Boonin of Butzel Long in Ann Arbor, MI, presented a program on overtime compliance at the Society for Human Resource Management’s Annual Conference in San Diego on June 28, 2010.  (July 2010)

 

The WHDI announces the addition of three new Members to its ranks:  John Ho of the New York, NY office of Bond, Schoeneck and King; Michael Delaney of the Kansas City, MO office of Spencer Fane Britt & Browne; and Eric Hemmendinger of the Baltimore firm of Shawe Rosenthal.  (June 2010)

 

WHDI Member Dennis McClelland of Phelps Dunbar LLP in Tampa, FL, served as a management-side panel speaker on a national teleconference sponsored by the ALI-ABA entitled "FLSA: Compensable Work Time."  The teleconference took place on June 23, 2010.  The faculty also included Ellen Kearns of Constangy, Brooks & Smith in Boston, MA, and J. Nelson Thomas of Thomas & Sullivan in Rochester, NY.  (June 2010)

 

WHDI Member Robert Boonin of Butzel Long in Ann Arbor, MI, gave a half-day seminar on overtime compliance issues to the Michigan Compensation Association on June 11, 2010, in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.  (June 2010)

 

WHDI Members Robert Boonin and Charlotte Carne of Butzel Long in Ann Arbor, MI published an article “Wage and Hour Cases can Alter How Industries Operate” in the March 29, 2010 issue of Michigan Lawyers Weekly.  (April 2010)

 

WHDI Member Robert Boonin of Butzel Long’s Ann Arbor, Michigan office presented  the “Fair Labor Standards Act Update ( 2009/2010)” at the Institute of Continuing Legal Education’s Annual Employment Law Symposium on April 29, 2010, in Novi, Michigan.  Also during that conference, he served on panels discussing overtime pay compliance and other employment law issues.  (April 2010)

 

WHDI Members Susan N. Eisenberg of Akerman Senterfitt in Miami and Dennis McClelland of Phelps Dunbar LLP in Tampa, will be speaking at the American Conference Institute's Ninth National Forum on Wage and Hour Claims and Class Actions, May 19-21, 2010 in New York City.  Susan and Dennis will be presenting the fundamentals of wage and hour law on May 19, 2010 from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., and Susan will also moderate a panel of plaintiffs' counsel which will address a view from the plaintiffs' bar and provide employers with defense strategies to new and innovative wage and hour claims.  (April 8, 2010)

 

WHDI Member Susan N. Eisenberg will be speaking at Akerman Senterfitt's Annual Labor and Employment Law Seminar on Thursday, May 6, 2010.  The topic she will be speaking on is "FLSA, Our Pay Practices Violate the Law.  What Do We Do Now?"  Her talk will address employers' options for correcting an FLSA violation.  The seminar is open to the public and the invitation by clicking on the hyperlink.  (April 7, 2010)

 

WHDI Member Susan N. Eisenberg of Akerman Senterfitt was quoted in an article entitled "More FLSA Suits Filed in Florida Than Any Other State" in the March, 2010 Employers' Guide to the Fair Labor Standards Act, published by Thompson Publishing.  The article addresses the onslaught of wage and hour cases and collective actions that have been filed in Florida.  (April 1, 2010)

 

A number of the Members of the WHDI spoke at the American Bar Association,  Section of Labor and Employment,  Federal Labor Standards Legislation Committee's Mid-Winter Meeting which was held in San Juan, Puerto Rico in February.  Specifically speaking on wage and hour topics were WHDI Members, Jonathan Keselenko of Foley Hoag in Boston, Larry Peikes of Wiggins and Dana LLP in Connecticut and Dennis McClelland of Phelps Dunbar LLP in Tampa.  WHDI Member, Susan N. Eisenberg of Akerman Senterfitt in Miami  is the current management co-chair of the FLSL Committee and WHDI Member Joseph Tilson of Meckler Bulger and Tilson LLP in Chicago is the former management co-chair of the committee.  (March 10, 2010)

 

Charlotte Carne of Butzel Long published a bulletin <http://www.butzel.com/pbnew.cfm?ID=385&amp;TYPE_ID=4> summarizing the Second Circuit Court of Appeals decision in Davis v. J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (Nov. 2, 2009), in which the Court held that loan underwriters are not exempt administrative employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act. (February 1, 2010)

WHDI Member Lawrence Peikes of Wiggin and Dana LLP wrote an article featured in the Connecticut Law Tribune, “Wage-Related Claims Seek Class-Wide Relief, in which he discusses recent trends in collective action cases.  (January 25, 2010)

WHDI Member Jason Reisman of Obermayer Rebmann Maxwell & Hippel LLP spoke at a breakfast briefing for business executives and human resources professionals in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on December 9, 2009, on topics including the latest wage and hour-related legislation pending in Congress. The breakfast briefing was entitled, “The Rules Of The Game Are About To Change: An Update On The Employee Free Choice Act And Other Pending Employment And Labor Legislation.” . (December 29, 2009)

 

The Wage and Hour Defense Institute is holding a meeting of its 19 Members, along with other colleagues from their respective firms, in Washington, DC on November 5, 2009. Among the topics to be discussed are recent trends in wage and hour litigation and wage and hour enforcement under an Obama DOL. (October 9, 2009)

 

WHDI Member Robert Boonin of Butzel Long spoke at the Annual Conference of Michigan-College and University Professionals Association (HR) in Ann Arbor, Michigan on October 1, 2009 on “Wage and Hour Compliance Issues for Colleges and Universities.” (October 2, 2009)

WHDI Member Jonathan Keselenko of Foley Hoag participated in a seminar entitled "Enforcement Priorities of the Obama Administration" in Boston, MA. He spoke about enforcement priorities of the Obama Department of Labor. (September 23, 2009)

The Wage and Hour Defense Institute launches a blog highlighting current developments in wage and hour law throughout the country. (September 2009)

 

WHDI Member Joseph Tilson of Meckler Bulger Tilson Marick & Pearson LLP presented a paper, “Hot Topics in Wage and Hour Law,” and spoke at the 38th Annual Institute on Employment Law for the Practicing Law Institute. The paper and presentation focused on recent decisions involving FLSA collective actions, off-the-clock work disputes, misclassification of exempt employee issues, resolving overtime claims and managing internal wage/hour practice audits. (July 13, 2009)

WHDI Member Dennis M. McClelland of Phelps Dunbar LLP has been appointed as the Management Co-Chair of the Fair Labor Standards Act Subcommittee of the Federal Labor Standards Legislation Committee of the ABA's Labor and Employment Law Section. The FLSA Subcommittee is responsible for presenting a report on developments under the FLSA each year at the FLSL Committee's mid-winter meeting and is responsible for publishing annual supplements to the Fair Labor Standards Act treatise published by ABA and BNA Books. (July 1, 2009)

WHDI Member Robert A. Boonin of Butzel Long presented at SHRM’s Annual Conference in New Orleans on “Wage and Hour Compliance: Common Misconceptions and Errors.” (June 29, 2009)

WHDI Member Jonathan Keselenko of Foley Hoag spoke recently at the seminar, “Important Wage Deferral Issues Facing Early Stage and Small Companies” in Boston, MA, on June 24, 2009. (June 2009)

WHDI Member Robert A. Boonin of Butzel Long served as the moderator for a nationally broadcast ABA teleconference entitled "Hot Topics in Wage and Hour Law".

WHDI Member Dennis M. McClelland of Phelps Dunbar LLP served as the management-side expert on the distinguished speaker panel. (June 17, 2009)

WHDI Member Robert A. Boonin and Charlotte Garry Carne of Butzel Long provided a “Fair Labor Standards Act Update (2008/2009)” to the Institute of Continuing Legal Education’s annual Labor and Employment Law Labor and Employment Law Institute in Novi, Michigan. (April 2-3, 2009)