This is just great reporting (link):
Installment #2: CNN Investigative Series Runway Injustice: The outrageous cost of being a model
Available here:
"Modeling is a time-consuming, demanding and cutthroat profession. But most of all, it can be prohibitively expensive.
Unlike most U.S. workers, models regularly see huge chunks of their earnings -- whether it's a third, more than half, or even entire paychecks -- disappear right before their eyes.
One male model, for example, showed CNNMoney a statement where a $500 catalog shoot turned into a $15 check. Meanwhile a young female model saw almost six years of earnings shrink from $74,000 to less than $30,000.
Models typically aren't treated as employees, so they usually aren'tguaranteed to receive minimum wage, overtime, lunch breaks, prompt paychecks or many other protections that are common in the workplace.
Instead, they are often considered independent contractors. And this means that even after paying their agencies fat commissions of 20% or more, models often have to foot the bill for business expenses. These include everything from expensive plane tickets and group housing to the many promotional materials -- like websites, headshots and portfolios -- required to land jobs with clients." (link)
Los Angeles Raises Minimum Wage to $15 an Hour
As covered in the New York Times:
"The nation’s second-largest city voted on Tuesday to increase its minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2020, in what is perhaps the most significant victory so far in the national push to raise the minimum wage.
The increase — which the Los Angeles City Council passed in a 14-1 vote — comes as workers across the country are rallying for higher wages, and several large companies, including Facebook and Walmart, have moved to raise their lowest wages. Several other cities, including San Francisco, Seattle and Oakland, Calif., have already approved increases, and dozens more are considering doing the same. In 2014, a number of Republican-leaning states like Alaska and South Dakota also raised their state-level minimum wage by referendum." (keep reading)
New York Post Covers Lawsuit Filed by The Dugger Law Firm, PLLC on Behalf of "The Face" Winner Devyn Abdullah Against Her Former Agency Direct Model Management, Inc.
The New York Post article, "Model Who Won Reality Contests Sues Over 'Withheld Payments,'" by Kathianne Boniello, is available here.
The Face Modeling Competition Winner Devyn Abdullah Files Complaint Seeking Payment of Withheld Portion of Ulta Beauty Contract Award Against Direct Model Management, Inc. and Owner Mykola Webster
On April 21, 2015, The Dugger Law Firm, PLLC filed a federal complaint on behalf of Devyn Abdullah, the first winner of The Face television modeling competition, against her former modeling agency, Direct Model Management, Inc., as well as Direct owner and president Mykola Webster, and Direct head of finance Atiff Joseph, for violations of federal and state wage and hour laws, as well as breach of contract.
The complaint alleges that Defendants misclassified Ms. Abdullah as an independent contractor in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act and the New York Labor Law.
Among other violations, Ms. Abdullah alleges that Defendants withheld, and otherwise failed to pay her, at least $13,000 of her wages from The Face competition award of a $50,000 contract with Ulta Beauty.
The complaint also alleges that Defendants failed to pay Ms. Abdullah for work with several additional modeling industry clients.
Ms. Abdullah seeks payment of minimum wages, payment of unpaid earned wages, liquidated damages with respect to minimum wages that were eventually paid but were not paid promptly, reimbursements for illegal deductions, additional associated liquidated damages, as well as damages for breach of contract and New York Labor Law recordkeeping violations.
The case is Abdullah v. Direct Model Management, Inc., et al., No. 15 Civ. 03100, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
For more information contact Cyrus E. Dugger at cd@theduggerlawfirm.com or (646) 560-3208.
California Uber and Lyft Driver Misclassification Cases Survive Summary Judgment
Two federal judges have held that whether Uber and Lyft drivers are employees or independent contractors under California law cannot be decided on summary judgment and must be decided by a jury:
"Two landmark lawsuits that claim that drivers for ride-hailing services Uber and Lyft should be considered employees rather than contractors will both go to jury trial, two U.S. judges ruled Wednesday. The decisions could have a ripple effect on the business models of the burgeoning on-demand and sharing economies." (link)
The Uber decision is available here and the Lyft decision is available here.
This is a big win for workers.
Joe’s Crab Shack Managers Overcome Class Hurdles to Move Forward with Class Certification of Misclassification Case
A helpful overview from JDSupra that notes how the court addressed common class certification disputes issues is available here (excerpt below):
Although some of the plaintiffs could not accurately account for the exact amount of time spent performing non-exempt tasks, the court noted that “courts in overtime exemption cases must proceed through an analysis of the employer’s realistic expectations and classification of tasks rather than asking the employee to identify in retrospect whether, at a particular time, he or she was engaged in an exempt or nonexempt tasks.” It stated that “[b]y refocusing its analysis on the policies and practices of the employer and the effect those policies and practices have on the putative class, as well as narrowing the class if appropriate, the trial court may in fact find class analysis a more efficient and effective means of resolving plaintiffs’ overtime claims.” (link)
Letterman Probably Not Laughing in Light of Unpaid Intern Class Action
Probably not laughing at all:
"ICM Partners might be happy to hear today that they are not the latest industry enterprise to be hit with an interns lawsuit, but it’s a good bet CBS and The Late Show With David Letterman are not. The network and the late-night show have been walloped with a class action of their own: Late last week, Mallory Musallam filed a class action complaint against CBS Broadcasting, CBS Corp. and the retiring late-night host’s Worldwide Pants on behalf herself and everyone who has ever been an intern on the show. 'Named Plaintiff has initiated this action seeking for herself, and on behalf of all similarly situated employees that also worked on The Late Show With David Letterman, all compensation, including minimum wages and overtime compensation, which they were deprived of, plus interest, attorneys’ fees, and costs,' says the jury demanding filing in New York Supreme Court (read it here)." (link)
Will CBS and Letterman go the way of Charlie Rose and his production company and get ahead of this unpaid intern lawsuit (Rose settled early on in litigation for $110,000), go the way of Fox Searchlight and litigate, lose, appeal, and then cross their fingers, or win and face appeal as in the Hearst unpaid intern litigation?
We shall soon see.
Wage Theft on the Rise
Wage theft claims appear to be on the rise:
"David Weil, the director of the federal Labor Department’s wage and hour division, says wage theft is surging because of underlying changes in the nation’s business structure. The increased use of franchise operators, subcontractors and temp agencies leads to more employers being squeezed on costs and more cutting corners, he said. A result, he added, is that the companies on top can deny any knowledge of wage violations.
'We have a change in the structure of work that is then compounded by a falling level of what is viewed as acceptable in the workplace in terms of how you treat people and how you regard the law,' Mr. Weil said.
His agency has uncovered nearly $1 billion in illegally unpaid wages since 2010. He noted that the victimized workers were disproportionately immigrants." (link)
Here in New York:
"New York’s attorney general, Eric T. Schneiderman, has recovered $17 million in wage claims over the past three years. 'I’m amazed at how petty and abusive some of these practices are,' he said. 'Cutting corners is increasingly seen as a sign of libertarianism rather than the theft that it really is.'” (link)
Some employer advocates claim the rise in wage claims is just "opportunistic lawsuits:"
"Lee Schreter, co-chairwoman of the wage and hour practice group at Littler Mendelson, a law firm that represents employers, said wage theft was not increasing, adding that many companies had become more vigilant about compliance. But that has not stopped lawyers from bringing wage theft complaints because of the potential payoff, Ms. Schreter said. 'These are opportunistic lawsuits,' she said." (link)
But you have to ask yourself -- why would a plaintiff's attorney bring a wage and hour lawsuit on contingency that lacked merit? If the case has no merit plaintiff's counsel will lose and won't obtain any fees -- an attorney seeking profit is unlikely to do that.
Moreover, wage and hour lawsuits are usually pretty clear-cut -- the employer either paid minimum wage/overtime or the employer did not -- it's often that simple.
What do you think?
If You're in California Your Employer May Be Paying Your Cell Phone Bill Shortly
Yes - you read correctly Californians.
