ALI-ABA Topical Courses Employment Law Series Fair Labor Standards Act: Coverage Issues February 23, 2010 Telephone Seminar/Audio Webcast PROGRAM FACULTY PARTICIPANTS FACULTY BIOGRAPHIES STUDY MATERIALS TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Misclassification of Employees as Independent Contractors By Robert B. Fitzpatrick 2. Joint Employer Status Under the FLSA: A Circuit By Circuit Analysis By Ellen C. Kearns 3. Practical Consequences for Employer Issues--Chart By J. Nelson Thomas 4. FLSA Series: Coverage Program Citations - Additional Handout By Robert B. Fitzpatrick Page ix xi xiii 1 15 73 75 vii
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ALI-ABA Topical Courses Employment Law Series Fair Labor Standards Act: Coverage Issues Tuesday, February 23, 2010 Telephone Seminar/Audio Webcast PROGRAM (All Times Eastern Standard) 1:00 pm Fair Labor Standards Act: Coverage Issues --Panel Discussion --Audience Questions 3:00 pm Adjournment ix
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ALI-ABA Topical Courses Employment Law Series Fair Labor Standards Act: Coverage Issues Tuesday, February 23, 2010 Telephone Seminar/Audio Webcast PLANNING CHAIRS Robert B. Fitzpatrick, Esquire Robert B. Fitzpatrick, PLLC 1825 Connecticut Avenue, NW Universal Building South, Suite 640 Washington, D.C. 20009-5728 Management Ellen C. Kearns, Esquire Constangy, Brooks & Smith, LLP 75 Arlington Street, Suite 500 Boston, MA 02116 Plaintiffs J. Nelson Thomas, Esquire Thomas & Solomon LLP 693 East Avenue Rochester, NY 14607 ALI-ABA Staff Producer: Harry Kyriakodis, Esquire xi
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Planning Co-Chairs FACULTY BIOGRAPHIES Robert B. Fitzpatrick Robert B. Fitzpatrick, PLLC Washington, D.C. Principal in the firm of Robert B. Fitzpatrick, PLLC, Mr. Fitzpatrick has concentrated his practice in employment law disputes for over thirty-five years and has been described by The National Law Journal as being among the top employment lawyers in the country. He has also been called "tops in employment law" by Washingtonian Magazine. Mr. Fitzpatrick is an active member of the American Bar Association and the District of Columbia Bar, being a frequent speaker and participant in the activities of several sections of the ABA and the D.C. Bar. He has been Co-Chair of the Committee on Individual Employee Rights and Responsibilities of the ABA's Labor and Employment Law Section; Co-Chairman of the Steering Committee of the Labor Relations Section of the D.C. Bar; Chairman and founder of the D.C. Bar's Committee on Individual Employee Rights and Responsibilities; Chairman of the Federal Bar Association's Labor Law and Labor Relations Section; Chairman of the FBA's Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity; and Chair of the Employer-Employee Relations Committee of ABA Torts and Insurance Practice Section. Mr. Fitzpatrick has also been a member of the Class Action Task Force of the Torts & Insurance Practice Section and was a member of that section's Long Range Planning Committee from 1993 to 1996. He is an active member of the ABA Section of Dispute Resolution and the ABA International Law & Practice Section's International Employment Law Committee. Mr. Fitzpatrick has also been the Chair of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee of the ABA's Section of Individual Rights and Responsibilities. Ellen C. Kearns, Esquire Constangy, Brooks & Smith, LLP Boston, MA A partner at Constangy, Brooks & Smith, Ms. Kearns represents management in a full range of traditional labor and employment issues, including NLRB proceedings, negotiations, and arbitration. She has obtained injunctions in labor disputes, has resolved strike issues, and has appeared before federal and state courts and administrative agencies with respect to employment discrimination, sexual harassment, wrongful discharge cases, wage and hour matters, and other employment related litigation. Ms. Kearns is a national expert in wage and hour law, and has written extensively on this and other labor and employment law topics. She has served as Editor-in-Chief of the BNA treatise The Fair Labor Standards Act, and is the head of Constangy's Boston office. Named a Massachusetts Super Lawyer and listed in Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business, she has also been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America for labor and employment law. xiii
J. Nelson Thomas, Esquire Thomas & Solomon LLP Rochester, NY 14607 One of the founding partners of Thomas & Solomon, Mr. Thomas litigates a range of matters from complex employment class action lawsuits to litigation involving all types of individual workplace disputes, ranging from claims of illegal termination and harassment, to actions to recover unpaid benefits. His practice also includes negotiating severance packages, and advising on contractual issues, as well as clients' rights in the workplace. Mr. Thomas has spoken and written widely on these topics. While his practice today primarily focuses on representing employees, he has represented numerous employers from large international companies to local entrepreneurial startups, a depth of experience that gives him an edge in litigating cases for employees. In 1999, the judges of the United States District Court for the Western District of New York awarded Mr. Thomas the Special Service Award for "his excellence in the vigorous representation of his clients." In 2002, he received the "40 Under 40 Award," which honors leaders who have made a significant contribution to the Rochester community. xiv