The number of wage and hour lawsuits continued to increase and hit a new high in 2012, according to data released on July 20 by law firm Seyfarth Shaw in Chicago.
More than 7,000 Fair Labor Standards Act cases were filed in federal court during the 12 months ending March 31, a slight increase over the same period last year. Both years set records for the number FLSA cases filed.
The most common complaints allege employee misclassification, nonpayment for work done off-the-clock work, and underpayment for overtime, according to Richard Alfred, chair of Seyfarth Shaw’s wage and hour litigation practice.
The number of lawsuits has steadily climbed since 2008 when 5,302 cases were filed during the 12 months ending March 31. In 2009 and 2010 5,644 and 6,081 cases were filed, respectively.
Before then there was a precipitous spike in cases to the previous record high in 2007, when the numbers jumped to 6,786 cases from 4,389 in 2006.
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