An increasing number of class action wage and hour lawsuits are being filed against employers in all industries. In fact, Aaron R. Gelb, Esq., an attorney in Chicago, said a day probably does not go by without a wage and hour suit being filed in Chicago courts alone, and most are class actions, which involve numerous employees.

In a BLR webinar titled "Exempt or Nonexempt? How To Avoid the Misclassification Mistakes You Simply Can't Afford To Make," Gelb explained that federal wage and hour class actions now annually outnumber race and sex discrimination class actions, which historically were the most prevalent employment class actions.

• Federal wage and hour class actions increased from 6,120 in 2009 to 6,761 in 2010.
• Many of these collective actions allege the misclassification of groups of employees.

He also outlined basic minimum wage and overtime requirements:

• Under federal law, employers must pay employees the minimum wage for all hours worked and overtime for all hours worked in excess of 40 hours in a workweek.
• However, employers need not worry about these requirements if an employee is exempt.

Aaron R. Gelb, Esq., is a shareholder at Vedder Price PC and a member of the firm's Labor and Employment Practice Area. Based out of the firm's Chicago office, he represents employers in all aspects of equal employment opportunity, wrongful discharge and labor relations litigation before federal and state courts, federal, state and local fair employment and administrative agencies such as the EEOC, the Department of Labor, and National Labor Relations Board. Gelb also partners with human resources consultants to develop a multi-disciplinary approach that combines the operations expertise of experienced HR professionals with an attorney's legal knowledge to develop real-world solutions in a cost-effective manner. He can be contacted at agelb@vedderprice.com.