Atlanta Employment Attorneys Blog

How One Restaurant’s Tip Pool Ran Afoul of the Fair Labor Standards Act

December 23, 2025 | Parks, Chesin & Walbert

Many employees in the restaurant industry rely on tips for a significant portion of their earnings. Many of these workers are also familiar with the process of pooling (or sharing) tips among all the tipped workers at their restaurant. Employers cannot simply construct tip pools however they want; federal law contains several restrictions on how employers pool tips. Whether you are an employer or an employee, if you have questions about the legality of your tip pool, contact a knowledgeable Atlanta tip-pooling lawyer for reliable answers.

According to a recent news release from the federal Wage and Hour Division, a Southern California restaurant was operating an illegal tip pool.

As background, the Fair Labor Standards Act does not set a limit on the percentage or amount of each employee’s contribution in valid mandatory tip pools. Instead, a tip pool’s validity depends on whether or not the employer takes the tip credit.

Medical Certifications in FMLA Cases: Crucial But Not Controlling, According to One Federal Appeals Court

December 17, 2025 | Parks, Chesin & Walbert

Family and Medical Leave Act cases can be complex and nuanced matters. Even issues that might seem black-and-white can actually be filled with gray areas. If you have questions about an FMLA issue, ensure you are proceeding with knowledgeable advice from a skilled Atlanta FMLA lawyer.

An FMLA interference case from outside Georgia illustrates one such area: the FMLA medical certification.

The employee in this case, D.D., became ill while employed at a state-run assisted living center. A visit to an urgent care clinic revealed that she was pregnant and her symptoms were morning sickness.

How Misclassifying Employees as Independent Contractors Can Be Costly to Both Workers and Employers

December 10, 2025 | Parks, Chesin & Walbert

Action taken earlier this year by federal regulators has cost two related companies several hundred thousand dollars due to misclassifying dozens of workers as independent contractors when they were employees. The government’s action against the companies is a reminder of how costly misclassification can be for both workers and employers. If you have questions about whether a worker (or a group of workers) should be classified as employees or independent contractors, do not guess, assume, or take the easy way out and simply classify them all as independent contractors. Instead, get reliable legal advice by speaking with an experienced Atlanta worker classification lawyer.

The federal Wage and Hour Division’s action against two interconnected Louisiana companies, detailed in a news release, highlighted a critical problem in that state and across the country: the misclassification of home care industry workers as independent contractors.

The division’s investigation revealed that a pair of connected companies misclassified more than 150 home care workers as independent contractors when they really were employees. The workers “typically worked long hours” but received only “straight time” for all hours they worked rather than straight time for the first 40 hours and time-and-a-half for all hours in excess of 40.

A Look into What Workers Need to Obtain Certification of a FLSA Collective

November 26, 2025 | Parks, Chesin & Walbert

In Fair Labor Standards Act lawsuits, there is no such thing as a class action. Instead, the FLSA allows similarly situated workers who have been harmed by FLSA violations to pursue something known as a “collective action.” FLSA collective actions often can be complex and nuanced. That is why, whether you are a worker seeking to pursue a collective action or an employer facing a potential collective action, it is wise to consult an experienced Atlanta collective action lawyer to discuss your situation and your options.

Any group of workers’ success in a collective action involves correctly identifying (and pleading) all the elements the law requires, and then meeting those elements’ standards.

A misclassification case from South Georgia provides valuable insights into these elements and standards. The defendant was a chain of retail stores. The lead plaintiff was an “inside” salesperson whose job was to sell John Deere equipment and machinery.

How an Employee’s Termination May Have Constituted Illegal Interference with His FMLA Rights

November 21, 2025 | Parks, Chesin & Walbert

Employers need to be vigilant to ensure they are not overlooking employee circumstances that potentially implicate the Family and Medical Leave Act. Employers’ failure to recognize that an employee has a qualifying need for intermittent FMLA leave is a common pitfall that can entrap unwary employers. Whether you are an employer or an employee, you should consult an experienced FMLA interference lawyer if you have questions about whether a scenario implicates a need for intermittent leave.

An FMLA case that recently went before the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals puts this issue of correctly identifying FMLA-qualifying needs in the spotlight.

The employee, T.J., worked as a freight handler for a shipping and transportation company. His job duties included loading and unloading trucks. His employer demanded that freight handlers like T.J. check with a supervisor before clocking out each day to see if other trucks needed loading or unloading. If so, the employer expected the handlers to work overtime until all trucks were loaded/unloaded.

How Implementing an Improper Rounding Method May Trigger a FLSA Violation

November 14, 2025 | Parks, Chesin & Walbert

Hourly employers (and employers who use hourly employees) are well acquainted with the “time clock.” Employers have an obligation to accurately record hours worked and pay workers for all time worked; otherwise, they risk violating the Fair Labor Standards Act. Employers, however, need not pay workers down to the minute. The law allows them to engage in rounding of hours so long as the rounding method is equally likely to round up as to round down. Systems that always round down deprive workers of compensation they had earned and violate the law. For questions about rounding of hours and what methods are (or are not) compliant with the FLSA, talk to an experienced Atlanta wage and hour lawyer to get the answers you need.

An example of an improper method — and the costs it can trigger — was on display earlier this year.

The Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division announced in May that it had recovered nearly $600,000 in “back wages and damages” for more than 400 workers employed by a construction contractor in Florida.

How Pre-Trial Motions May Hold the Keys to Success in Your FLSA Lawsuit

November 7, 2025 | Parks, Chesin & Walbert

On TV, parties often win their court cases as a result of a massive revelation during trial in open court. In real life, parties often sow the seeds of their success before the trial even starts. A truck driver’s recent unpaid overtime case illustrates just how critical pre-trial motions can be in a Fair Labor Standards Act case. If you have questions about litigating your FLSA case, retain an experienced Atlanta unpaid overtime lawyer to provide the advice and advocacy you need.

The truck driver, K.S., initiated an FLSA lawsuit in 2022, alleging she worked substantial amounts of unpaid overtime. Specifically, she asserted that she worked roughly 70 hours per week but never received any overtime compensation as required by federal law.

The employer contended that federal law did not require it to pay the driver overtime compensation. Specifically, the employer argued that K.S. was an independent contractor, not an employee. The employer furthermore contended that it did not owe K.S. overtime because an exemption to the FLSA’s overtime requirement—the Motor Carrier Act Exemption—applied to its case.

‘Serious Health Conditions’ Under the FMLA and What It Takes to Prove that a Worker Does (or Does Not) Have One

October 31, 2025 | Parks, Chesin & Walbert

In FMLA matters, things that may seem self-evident are not always so. For example, as a recent federal appeals case demonstrated, even if an employer granted FMLA leave to an employee, that employee may not necessarily have been entitled to the leave. If they were not, then they cannot pursue a case of retaliation or interference. If you have questions about entitlement to FMLA leave or the required elements of a retaliation or interference case, be sure to get knowledgeable answers by talking to an experienced Atlanta FMLA lawyer.

L.H., the employee, worked as an investigator for a university in Texas, tasked with “investigating allegations of harassment, discrimination, sexual misconduct and retaliation.” Due to mental health issues, the investigator requested FMLA leave from February 17, 2023, to May 1, 2023. On the day the investigator returned to work, her supervisor and the university’s head of HR met with her to tell her that the university was terminating her employment.

The investigator subsequently sued for interference with FMLA rights and retaliation. According to the investigator, the university fired her in retaliation for taking leave. According to the university, it fired the investigator due to performance problems it discovered while she was on leave.

Deciding Who Should (and Who Should Not) Share in an Employee Tip Pool

October 24, 2025 | Parks, Chesin & Walbert

Restaurant work is often fast-paced and can be hectic. Providing quality service to customers requires a high degree of teamwork and can demand that workers wear many “hats.” This may potentially create some gray areas when it comes to tip pools. If you have questions about who should — and should not — participate in a tip pool, you should consult with a knowledgeable Atlanta wage and hour lawyer.

One example of this comes from a letter to the Wage and Hour Division (WHD) from earlier this year. In the scenario, the business was a “quick service restaurant.” At the restaurant, employees worked on a line preparing and assembling the food the customers picked out, then the customers paid for their food at the end of the line before finding a table in the dining area. (Fast-casual Mexican establishments like Chipotle and Qdoba are examples of a similar type of quick service restaurant.)

At the restaurant, all team members received a cash wage at or above the applicable minimum wage. The restaurant nevertheless allowed customers the option to leave a tip, either on their credit cards or in a tip jar. The restaurant subsequently pooled the tips and split the pool among its employees.

The Importance of Satisfying the Proper ‘Causation’ Standard in an FMLA Retaliation Case

October 17, 2025 | Parks, Chesin & Walbert

Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) retaliation litigation serves an essential purpose by providing recourse to workers who were unfairly subjected to adverse employment actions for engaging in protected activities, such as requesting or taking FMLA leave. Whether you are an employee who has encountered this type of mistreatment or you are an employer who has taken an adverse action against an employee for a perfectly valid and legitimate reason, it is crucial to understand how to proceed properly in an FMLA retaliation action. That includes retaining an experienced Atlanta FMLA retaliation lawyer who can help you navigate the procedural details and legal nuances of this area of the law.

One of the most essential parts of any FMLA retaliation case is causation—the assessment of whether an employee’s protected FMLA activities caused their employer to punish them. Proving or disproving causation can be vital to the success of your case, and the standard for causation can vary based on where you litigate, as a recent retaliation case shows.

D. D.-S., the employee, worked for a local government in Louisiana from 2008 to 2020. In November 2019, she took a week of sick leave. Immediately after that, she requested FMLA leave to care for her ailing husband. The employee’s 12 weeks of FMLA leave expired in late February, and the employer declined to offer an extension.