NEWS
February 2023
Tracey Donesky, Allie Balus, and Susan Eisenberg all spoke at the Fair Labor Standards Legislation Subcommittee mid-winter meeting in Puerto Vallarta, MX. WHDI's Rob Boonin is Co-Chair of the Committee.
February 2021
A number of Wage and Hour Defense Institute members will be speaking at the virtual Midwinter Meeting of the ABA’s Federal Labor Standards Legislation Committee being held in mid-February. WHDI Member Reed Russell of the Tampa office of Phelps Dunbar will be moderating a panel comprised of two current Commissioners of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission during which they will address their prediction about what to expect from the EEOC in the coming years. Elizabeth Bradley of the DC firm of Fortney & Scott will be moderating a panel of top-tier labor and management advocates regarding what significant changes to expect from the Biden DOL on wage and hour issues. WHDI Member Allison Balus of the Omaha firm of Baird Holm will serve on a panel discussing hot-topics under the FLSA WHDI Member Tracey Donesky of the Minneapolis office of Stinson LLP will be speaking on recent developments under the Equal Pay Act, and WHDI Member Martine Wells will be providing an update on what has been developing under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act. Jennifer Williams of the Miami office of Cozen O’Connor will be addressing issues relating to the Family and Medical Leave Act. WHDI Member Robert Boonin of Dykema’s Ann Arbor office is serving as the Employer Co-Chair of the Committee.
November 2020
WHDI Member David Fortney of Fortney and Scott, spoke at the American Bar Association's 14th Annual Labor and Employment Law Conference on November 11-13, 2019. He will be speaking on the next four years of labor and employment law under a Biden administration.
September 2020
Joe Tilson, co-chair of Cozen O'Connor's national Labor & Employment Department was named the 2021 Chicago Labor Law - Management "Lawyer of the Year" by Best Lawyers in America. This marks the fifth time in the past nine years that Joe has been so honored. More.
February 2020
Jeremy Glenn, Cozen O'Connor Chicago Office Managing Partner and a member of the firm's national Labor & Employment practice, was just named a Client Choice 2020 Winner by Lexology and the International Law Office - in the Illinois Employment and Benefits Law category. This marks the second time Glenn has received the award. More.
December 2019
WHDI Member Joe Tilson, Co-Chair of Cozen O'Connor's Labor & Employment Department, has been honored by the Chicago Chapter of the Labor and Employment Relations Association (LERA Chicago) with a Distinguished Service Award. More
November 2019
Another successful WHDI Fall Meeting and 13th Annual ABA Labor & Employment Conference in the books. #NOLA2019.
October 2019
WHDI Members Allison Balus of Baird Holm, Tracey Donesky of Stinson, David Fortney of Fortney and Scott, and Dennis McClelland of Phelps Dunbar will be speaking at the American Bar Association's 13th Annual Labor and Employment Law Conference on November 6-9, 2019 in New Orleans. Allison Balus will be speaking on the topic of objectionable questions or testimony including discussing how to recognize the most frequent objections, preserve an objection for appeal purposes, and sharpen objection reflexes as well as providing tips for identifying objectionable testimony after it is given. Tracey Donesky will be speaking on the 2018 amendments to Rule 23 including discussing notice to class members by any “appropriate means,” notice of proposed settlement, core factors for the court to consider in approving settlements, amendments designed to discourage bad faith objections, and changes to appealable issues. David Fortney will be moderating a panel on a discussion of the Department of Labor's strategic initiatives in 2019 and beyond including changes to the proposed salary threshold for the FLSA’s white-collar exemptions, joint employment, the newly created Office of Compliance Initiatives, and the DOL’s digital reference guide, use of opinion letters, and other compliance tools. Dennis McClelland will be speaking on the topic of the changing workplace including the rise of the gig economy and other changes in employer-employee relationships, working arrangements, and compensation and employee benefits structures.
September 2019
WHDI Member Robert Boonin of Dykema’s Ann Arbor office published an “Expert Analysis” article in the national employment law newsletter Law 360 entitled “DOL’s Overtime Rule’s Effect on Worker Pay Will be Mixed.” More
June 2019
WHDI member Jeremy Glenn, a member of Cozen O'Connor's national Labor & Employment Department, was recently named a Fellow to The College of Labor and Employment Lawyers - and will be honored as part of the ABA's upcoming Labor and Employment Law Section's CLE Conference on November 9 in New Orleans. The fellowship recognizes attorneys who have demonstrated sustained outstanding performance, integrity and dedication to their practice. More.
March 2019
WHDI Member Robert A. Boonin of Dykema Gossett’s Ann Arbor office was quoted extensively by the media on the Department of Labor’s March 2019 proposed overtime exemption regulations in the National Law Journal article “Early Thoughts on Labor Department’s New Overtime Proposal,” the Business Insurance article “Department of Labor Issues Long-Awaited Overtime Proposal,” and by the Society for Human Resource Management article “Proposed Overtime Rule Covers More Workers.”
February 2019
In February 2019, Mark S. Spring of Carothers DiSante & Freudenberger LLP (www.cdflaborlaw.com) was interviewed by BNA Bloomberg as the expert on California’s Dymanex decision and how it will influence the gig economy in California. You can listen to the podcast with a BNA subscription here:
December 2018
WHDI Members Robert Boonin (of the Ann Arbor Office of Dykema Gossett) and Martine Tariot Wells (of the Denver firm of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck) have been appointed to the Board of Editors of the BNA Bloomberg treatise The Fair Labor Standards Act. Rob joins the Board comprised of attorneys for the plaintiffs’ bar, the academy, and defense attorneys. Among those from the defense bar on the Board are other WHDI Members: Dennis McClelland and Reed Russell of Phelps Dunbar’s Tampa office, Susan Eisenberg of Cozen O’Connor’s Miami office, and Lawrence Peikes of Wiggin & Dana’s New York City office.
December 2018
A number of WHDI Members will be presenting at the ABA’s Federal Standards Legislation Committee’s Midwinter Meeting to be held in Playa del Carmen, Mexico in February. Larry Peikes of Wiggin and Dana’s NYC and Stamford offices will serve as Co-Chair of the conference. Robert Boonin of Dykema’s Ann Arbor office and Jonathan Keselenko of Boston’s Foley Hoag will be panelists providing the latest FLSA Update, Jennifer Williams of Cozen O’Connor’s Miami office will be speaking developments under the FMLA, Martine Wells of Denver’s Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck will be covering ADEA developments, and Allison Balus of Baird Holm’s Omaha office will be speaking on the issue of attorneys’ fees in employment litigation.
November 2018
WHDI Member Martine Wells of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck LLC’s Denver office commented in Law Week Colorado on the Tenth Circuit’s determination that massage school students are not FLSA employees.
November 2018
WHDI Member Martine Wells of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck’s Denver office presented to the Colorado Bar Association Labor & Employment Section on “Wage & Hour Update: 2018 Lookback and 2019 Expected Trends.”
November 2018
WHDI Member Lawrence Peikes of Wiggin and Dana’s Stamford and NYC offices, is speaking at the November 27-28 Inaugural Wage & Hour ExecuSummit, a national conference dedicated to insurance and defense issues in wage and hour matters. His topic: “Application (Misapplication) of Overtime Exemptions.”
November 2018
WHDI Member Dennis McClelland of Phelps Dunbar’s Tampa office will be inducted as a Fellow of the prestigious College of Labor and Employment Lawyers at the College’s annual dinner set for November 10th in San Francisco.
November 2018
The WHDI was well represented at the ABA’s 12th Annual Labor and Employment Law Conference, a four day labor and employment law continuing education conference which to be held in San Francisco in early November. Joe Tilson of Cozen O’Connor’s Chicago office and the ABA Labor and Employment Law Section’s Chair-Elect was among the leaders present, and Susan Eisenberg of Cozen O’Connor’s Miami office served as one of the Conference Vice-Chairs. Martine Wells of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck’s Denver office served on a panel discussion mediation strategies in wage and hour cases, David Fortney of the Washington, DC firm of Fortney Scott will be reviewing what has changed on the wage and hour front under the Trump administration, and Jeremy Glenn of Cozen O’Connor’s Chicago office will be on a panel discussing professional and civility considerations in the context of wage and hour litigation.
November 2018
WHDI Member Robert Boonin of Dykema’s Ann Arbor and Detroit offices was the featured speaker at the Labor and Employment Relations Association Detroit Chapter’s November Breakfast Briefing during which he provided overviews of Michigan’s new minimum wage law (which phases out tip credits) and its new Earned Sick Time Act (the “ESTA”). With the ESTA, Michigan joins the ranks of the few states which requires all employees to earn paid sick time
October 2018
WHDI Member David Fortney of the Washington, DC firm of Fortney and Scott, spoke on “The Impact of the Trump Administration in the Workplace” at the annual conference of the American Employment Law Council held from October 10th-13th in Palm Beach, Florida. Other WHDI members in attendance at this invitation-only conference included Robert Boonin of Dykema’s Ann Arbor and Detroit offices, Jonathan Keselenko of Boston’s Foley Hoag, Fred Plevin of San Diego’s Paul, Plevin, Sullivan & Connaughton, Jason Reisman of Blank Rome’s Philadelphia office, and Mark Spring of Carothers, DiSante & Freudenberger’s Sacramento office.
October 2018
WHDI's Fred Plevin and Aaron Buckley of Paul, Plevin, Sullivan & Connaughton will host their 21st Annual Employment Law Seminar on November 2, 2018 covering timely updates such as harassment and discrimination developments following #metoo; wage and hour compliance in 2019; Effects of Trump's NLRB on traditional labor law; expanding law of retaliation and whistleblowers; and class action waivers in arbitration agreements. Register here.
October 2018
WHDI member Jeremy Glenn, a member of Cozen O'Connor's national Labor & Employment Department, was recently named the Chicago Office Managing Partner. He will lead the downtown Chicago office of more than 50 attorneys, which provides a full range of legal services including labor and employment, commercial litigation, global insurance, subrogation and recovery and white-collar defense and government investigations. More.
August 2018
WHDI member Joe Tilson, Co-Chair of Cozen O'Connor’s national Labor & Employment Department, has been named the 2018 - 2019 Chair of the American Bar Association's Section on Labor & Employment Law, one of the ABA's largest and most active sections. More.
May 2018
The WHDI held its Annual Membership Conference from May 3 to May 4 in Nashville. The meeting was hosted by WHDI Member Andy Naylor of Waller, Lansden Dortch & Davis. Many substantive wage and hour topics were discussed in detail, including the new legal framework for tip credits, the state of the law with respect to independent contractors and joint employers, the recent Supreme Court Encino Motor’s decision, the DOL’s “PAID Program,” and pay equity issues. Presenters included Reed Russell of the Tampa office of Phelps Dunbar, Andy Naylor and Michael Russell of the Nashville office of Waller, Lansden Dortch & Davis, David Fortney of the Washington, DC firm of Fortney & Scott, Larry Peikes of the New York City office of Wiggin and Dana, Fred Plevin and Aaron Buckley of the San Diego firm Paul, Plevin, Sullivan & Connaughton, Al Vreeland of the Birmingham, Alabama firm of Lehr, Middlebrooks, Vreeland & Thompson, Mark Spring of the Sacramento office of Carothers DiSante & Freudenberger. A special presentation was also provided by Nathan Woods, Ph.D., an economist with Edgeworth Economics, LLC of Washington, DC. The meeting was chaired by WHDI’s Chair, Tracey Donesky of the Minneapolis office of Stinson Leonard Street.
May 2018
WHDI Member Susan Eisenberg of Cozen O’Connor’s Miami office was recently quoted in the Daily Business Review of Miami regarding how the hospitality industry may respond to and otherwise address the challenges caused by the new tip credit rules provided in the recently enacted federal budget bill. In addition Susan Eisenberg was quoted in a April 27th article in Law 360 regarding the need for training in the restaurant industry as a measure for avoiding claims under the #MeToo movement.
April 2018
The WHDI is pleased to welcome two new members to its ranks, LCA Fellows Allison D. Balus of the Omaha firm of Baird Holm, and Martine T. Wells of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck’s Denver office. Both Members are highly regarded wage and hour defense attorneys and counselors and are active in state and national organizations focused on wage and hour issues.
April 2018
WHDI Member Robert Boonin of Dykema’s Ann Arbor and Detroit offices made numerous FLSA-related presentations on April 19th at the Institute of Continuing Legal Education’s Annual Labor & Employment Law Institute in Northville, Michigan. Also presenting at that conference from Dykema’s Detroit Office was WHDI Member James Hermon, who spoke on April 20th on “Utilizing Internal Investigations to Implement Organizational Change.”
March 2018
WHDI Member Jeremy Glenn of Cozen O’Connor’s Chicago office has been named a 2018 Client Choice winner by Lexology and the International Law Office (ILO) recognizing attorneys for outstanding client service based on over 2500 client assessments provided by senior-level corporate counsel. Glenn was named in the Illinois Employment and Benefits Law category.
February 2018
A number of WHDI Members were featured at the Midwinter Meeting of the American Bar Association’s Fair Labor Standards Legislation Committee held in Nassau during February 2018. Co-Chairing the Conference was Jeremy Glenn of Cozen O’Connor’s Chicago office. Presenting on various panels were: David Fortney of the Washington, D.C. firm of Fortney & Scott; Reed Russel of Phelps Dunbar’s Tampa office: Robert Boonin of Dykema Gossett’s Ann Arbor and Detroit offices; Tracey Holmes Donesky of Stinson Leonard Street’s Minneapolis office; Martine Wells of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck’s Denver office; and Jennifer Williams of Cozen O’Connor’s Miami office.
January 2018
WHDI Member Fred Plevin of the San Diego firm of Paul, Plevin, Sullivan & Connaughton has been named a Fellow of the College of Labor & Employment Lawyers and as Best Lawyers of America’s 2018 San Diego Lawyer of the Year for Litigation.
November 2017
WHDI Members presented on numerous topics at the ABA’s Section of Labor and Employment Law’s 11th Annual Conference in Washington, D.C., from November 8-11, 2018. The Conference was Co-Chaired by WHDI Member Joseph Tilson of Cozen O’Connor’s Chicago office. Speakers included WHDI Members Trishanda Treadwell of the Atlanta firm of Parker Hudson Rainer & Dobbs, David Fortney of the Washington, D.C. firm of Fortney & Scott, Tracey Holmes Donesky of Stinson Leonard Street’s Minneapolis office, and Jeremy Glenn of Cozen O’Connor’s Chicago office.
October 2017
A number of WHDI Members spoke at the 25th Annual Conference of the American Employment Law Council in October in Dana Point, California. Chairing the conference was WHDI Member David Fortney of the Washington, D.C. firm of Fortney & Scott. Presenters at the Conference included WHDI Members: Jonathon Keselenko of the Boston firm of Foley Hoag and Joseph Tilson of the Chicago office of Cozen O’Connor spoke on “Wage and Hour: Blocking and Tackling – Strategies for Compliance with the Nuances of the Federal and State Wage and Hour Laws; Fred Plevin of the San Diego Firm of Paul, Plevin, Sullivan & Connaughton on “Advanced Master Class on Effective Investigations”; and Jacqueline Scott of the Washington, D.C. firm of Fortney & Scott on “Immigration – Beyond the Travel Ban.”
May 2017
WHDI Member Michael Billok of Bond Schoeneck & King's Albany office will be speaking at the ACI's 30th National Forum on "Wage & Hour Claims & Class Actions" in New York City, June 12-13. His topic: "Tracking the Latest Initiatives of the New Secretary of Labor, and What is On the Horizon for Labor Agendas in the Year Ahead?"
May 2017
WHDI Members Jonathan Keselenko of Foley Hoag’s Boston office, and Robert Boonin of Dykema Gossett’s Ann Arbor and Detroit offices, will be on a June 1st webinar panel sponsored by the Labor and Employment Law Section of the American Bar Association on “FLSA Hot Topics.”
May 2017
WHDI Member Robert Boonin of Dykema Gossett’s Ann Arbor and Detroit offices will be speaking at the American Society of Employer’s 7th Annual Compensation and Benefits Conference in Novi, Michigan. His presentation is entitled: “Wage and Hour Expectations under the Trump DOL, and Other FLSA Hot Topics.”
May 2017
The Wage and Hour Defense Institute held its Annual Meeting in Columbus, Ohio from May 4-5, 2017, hosted by WHDI Member Paul Bittner of Ice Miller, at his firm’s local office. Over 25 attorneys from across the nation attended, with CLE presentations by the Hon. James Gwin of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, economists from Berkley Research Group, third party administrators from Rust Consulting, and WHDI Members Aaron Buckley and Fred Plevin from the San Diego firm of Paul Plevin Sullivan & Connaughton, Mark Spring of the Sacramento office of Carothers DiSante & Freudenberger, and Paul Bittner and Catherine Straus of Ice Miller.
April 2017
WHDI Members James Hermon and Robert Boonin of Dykema Gossett’s Detroit office were presenters at the University of Michigan’s Institute for Continuing Legal Education’s 42nd Annual Labor & Employment Law Institute, April 20-21, 2017, in Northville, Michigan. Jim Hermon’s presentation was entitled “Perceived Disability and Fitness for Duty,” and Rob Boonin’s presentations were entitled “FLSA Update” and “This Year in Review for Human Resources Professionals.”
January 2017
WHDI Members Paul Bittner, of Ice Miller’s Columbus office, and Larry Peikes of Wiggin Dana’s New York City office, will be presenting at complimentary Practical Webinar entitled “Employees Who Sell: Understanding the FLSA’s Exemptions for Sales Employees,” from 1:00 p.m. – 2:15 p.m. on Wednesday, January 25, 2017
December 2016
WHDI Member Joseph Tilson, Chair of Cozen O'Connor’s Labor & Employment department, and Co-Managing Partner of the firm's Chicago office, has been named the 2017 Chicago Labor “Lawyer of the Year” by Best Lawyers in America. Tilson, the only Labor & Employment lawyer in Chicago to be named “Lawyer of the Year,” received the highest ratings in his practice area from leading lawyers nationwide - marking the third time in the last six years he has been so recognized.
December 2016
WHDI Member David Fortney of the Washington, D.C. firm of Fortney & Scott, along with two of his partners, presented a webinar on December 14, 2016 for BLR’s Thompson HR on “The Trump Presidency: What Will Survive – and What Won’t – from the Obama Regulatory Agenda,” during which the presenters explained how employers can manage their regulatory requirements amid the transfer of presidential power.
December 2016
WHDI Member Jeremy Glenn of Cozen O’Connor’s Chicago office is serving as the Employer Co-Chair of the ABA’s Federal Labor Standards Legislation Committee’s Midwinter Meeting in Playa del Carmen, Mexico from February 22-25, 2017. Other WHDI Members who will be serving as speakers at that conference include: WHDI Member Reed Russell of Phelps Dunbar’s Tampa office will be on a panel discussing “What Wage and Hour Case is Susceptible to Class Relief and What is Not: Has the Tyson Foods v. Bouaphakeo Decision Helped Us Answer that Question?”; WHDI Member Tracey Holmes Donesky of Stinson Leonard Street’s Minneapolis office will be on a panel discussing “FLSA Hot Topics”, which will be moderated by WHDI Member Robert Boonin of Dykema’s Ann Arbor and Detroit offices; and Jennifer Williams of Cozen O’Connor’s Miami office will be on a panel covering “Trending Ethical Concerns from the Trenches.”
December 2016
WHDI Chair Jonathan Keselenko of Foley Hoag’s Boston office will be a panelist on Dec. 7, 2016 on a webinar sponsored by Strafford entitled “Independent Contractor Misclassification Litigation on the Rise: Strategies for Defending, Settling and Minimizing Claims.”
November 2016
WHDI Members Carrie Hoffman of Gardere Wynne Sewell’s Dallas office and Robert Boonin of Dykema’s Ann Arbor and Detroit offices were quoted in the November 23, 2016 issue of Employment Law 360® in an article entitled “Blocked Overtime Rule Leaves Employers with Pay Dilemma.”
November 2016
WHDI Member Jason E. Reisman of Blank Rome’s Philadelphia office presented a program entitled, “New Overtime Rules: DOL Marches To Its Own Beat – Expects Employers To Keep Up,” at the Pottstown SHRM luncheon on November 17, 2016. The presentation focused on compliance strategies for the U.S. DOL’s new white collar exemption regulations.
November 2016
WHDI Chair Jonathan Keselenko of Foley Hoag’s Boston office was a featured speaker at the Massachusetts Assisted Living Facilities Association Annual Meeting on Nov. 3, 2016, speaking on the “U.S. DOL’s Changes to the Overtime Regulations: What They Mean for Assisting Living Facilities.”
November 2016
WHDI Member Jason E. Reisman of Blank Rome’s Philadelphia office presented a program entitled, “Cat’s Paws, Overtime, and Harassment, Oh My! Things that Go Bump in the Workplace (Even after Halloween),” to the Greater Valley Forge Human Resources Association’s membership on November 3, 2016.
November 2016
The WHDI Membership met on November 10, 2016 at the Chicago office of Cozen O’Connor, hosted by WHDI Members Joseph Tilson and Jeremy Glenn, for a business meeting and a discussion of the cases pending in Texas challenging the new FLSA regulations, as well as likely wage and hour issues to be addressed during the first year of the Trump administration.
November 2016
WHDI Members Paul Peralta of Moore & Van Allen's Charlotte, North Carolina office, Aaron Buckley of the San Diego firm of Paul, Plevin, Sullivan and Cannaughton, Andrew Volin of Sherman & Howard's Denver office, Susan Eisenberg of Cozen O'Connor's Miami office, and Robert Boonin of Dykema's Ann Arbor and Detroit offices will serve as panelists on various panels at the ACI's 29th National Forum and Wage and Hour Claims and Class Actions in Miami, Florida, January 26-27, 2017.