Michael S. Kun, Member of the Firm in the Employment, Labor & Workforce Management practice, in the firm’s Los Angeles office, authored an article in the Daily Journal, titled “8 COVID-19-Related Myths Employers Might Have Heard.” (Read the full version – subscription required.)

Following is an excerpt:

As employers today navigate complex issues that they had never imagined, there are more than a few myths circulating about the impact of COVID-19 on wage and hour laws that are worth mentioning — and worth debunking.

Myth 1: In recognition of these difficult times, employees won’t sue over alleged wage and hour violations occurring during the COVID-19 crisis.

The thinking behind this myth is that employees will recognize that these indeed are unprecedented times. They will recognize that employers are going through difficult times, struggling to stay open and having to address unusual issues swiftly. They will be grateful to have jobs during this crisis because, well, look at how many people have lost their jobs already. And, as a result, employees will cut employers slack if employers don’t comply in full with wage and hour laws during the law.

Late paychecks? No problem, the employees will say.

Checks that are a few dollars short? Not a problem either!

Not paying employees for all of their time? Don’t worry about it! We’re all in this together, right?

Think again.

While it’s nice to believe that the COVID-19 crisis will remind everyone of what is truly important in life and engender more understanding and good will, the idea that employees and their lawyers will refrain from filing wage and hour claims is baseless. And dangerous. Easing up on wage and hour compliance based on that mistaken belief would be foolish. ...

See also Mr. Kun's post "'Employees Won’t Sue Over Alleged Wage-Hour Violations Occurring During the COVID-19 Crisis!' – and Six Other Myths" on the Wage and Hour Defense Blog.

Jump to Page

Privacy Preference Center

When you visit any website, it may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. This information might be about you, your preferences or your device and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to. The information does not usually directly identify you, but it can give you a more personalized web experience. Because we respect your right to privacy, you can choose not to allow some types of cookies. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings. However, blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable information.

Performance Cookies

These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not know when you have visited our site, and will not be able to monitor its performance.