New York to Revise, Combine Restaurant & Hotel Industry Wage Orders
The New York State Department of Labor ("NY DOL") is in the process of combining separate restaurant and hotel industry minimum wage orders into a single wage order which will be called the Hospitality Industry Wage Order. Although the NY DOL has not yet issued regulations for this consolidated wage order, a Labor Commissioner Order dated November 5, 2009 foretells the major changes in store for non-exempt employees in the hospitality industry. For more information on the changes, see Littler’s ASAP Here’s A Tip: New York is Overhauling the Restaurant and Hotel Industry Wage Orders by Gerald T. Hathaway and Lisa M. Brauner.
Several new wage and hour bills made it through various state legislatures during the second half of the year. Below is a wrap up of some new developments (including regulatory updates) from July 1st through December 31st. Click 
In a putative class action pending in the Northern District of California filed by Catherine Sullivan against Kelly Services, Inc. (Case No. C 08-3893 CW), Judge Claudia Wilken ruled in a summary judgment motion that the time spent interviewing by Kelly Services' employees seeking temporary work assignments with Kelly Services' clients is compensable under California law. However, Judge Wilken also ruled that the time spent preparing for and commuting to the client interviews was not compensable, and that Kelly Services was not required to reimburse the employees for expenses incurred in attending the interviews. Judge Wilken found that under the facts of this case, the employees were "subject to the control" of Kelly Services and that Kelly Services "suffered or permitted" the employees to work in connection with the interviews. She rejected the defense argument that the client interviews were "voluntary," finding that the failure to interview would prevent the employee from being considered for 50% of the job assignments . She also rejected the defense argument that the interviews were not time worked as the employees were not employed in between work assignments, finding this latter argument inconsistent with the position taken by the employer in a prior action between the parties.