Noah Finkel Quoted in Crain's Chicago Business
"Crain's Investigation: Unpaid Wages a Growing Problem for Chicago-Area Workers"

Employment partner Noah Finkel was quoted in the December 13 issue of Crain's Chicago Business. The article discussed the increase in lawsuits filed in federal court in Chicago alleging some violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act, the law that mandates minimum wage and overtime payments. The article cited Seyfarth's report that in 2009 the country's top 10 largest wage-and-hour settlements jumped 44 percent to about $364 million. Noah explained that “as there are more large judgments and settlements, more and more lawyers get interested in these claims.” He further explained that standards designed for the U.S. economy of 60 years ago don't fit the modern workplace today. He pointed to overtime exemptions as an example. The so-called “white-collar exemptions” say employers do not need to pay overtime to salaried employees whose workload primarily involves one of three activities: managing others, administrative work that requires independent judgment, or intellectual or creative output. Computer employees, outside sales people and certain highly compensated employees, also are exempt. Noah argues that the standard should be changed to exclude highly skilled “knowledge workers” from overtime even if their jobs don't require them to exercise independent judgment. Many of them prefer to be exempt because a salary confers greater flexibility and prestige.