David S. Feather, Esq.

MAKE SURE EMPLOYEES TAKE THEIR REQUIRED BREAKS!

          In late August, 2010, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division announced that The Walt Disney Company has agreed to pay backpay in the amount of $433,333.00 to 69 inventory control clerks in its food and beverage department.  This was for work done before and after the employees’ regular shifts, during meal […]

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MORE CLAIMS FILED UNDER THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT (ADA) IN 2009

            The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency which regulates and enforces the federal anti-discrimination statutes, recently announced that more individuals with disabilities filed charges last year than at an other time in the twenty (20) year history of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).  Almost 20,500 ADA-related claims were filed with that

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NEW YORK COURT PERMITS RETALIATION CLAIM FOR UNPAID OVERTIME COMPLAINT

          A New York City judge has ruled that two beauty salon employees who claim they were fired in retaliation for complaining that they had been denied overtime pay have stated a claim for damages under the New York State Labor Law.  In doing so, the court overruled an appeal’s court precedent in a similar

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NURSE WHO RESIGNED OVER ETHICAL CONFLICT DEEMED ENTITLED TO UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE BENEFITS

           An upstate appeals court has confirmed a decision from the Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board which held that a nurse who quit her employment when certain ethical concerns she raised with her employer’s management went unaddressed was entitled to unemployment insurance benefits.              Jane Emery worked as a per diem clinical nurse who provided supplemental coverage

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ANTI-DISCRIMINATION/ANTI-HARASSMENT POLICES ARE HELD TO NOT SHIELD EMPLOYERS FROM DISCRIMINATION AND/OR HARASSMENT CLAIMS BROUGHT PURSUANT TO NEW YORK CITY LAW

          It has long been settled that an employer may, in many instances, avoid liability under the State and Federal statutes governing employment discrimination and harassment if it has an effectively publicized and well-enforced anti-discrimination/anti-harassment policy.  This is known as the “Faragher-Ellerth” affirmative defense, named after the United States Supreme Court decisions which articulated the

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SUPREME COURT TO DECIDE WHETHER A COMPLAINT MUST BE IN WRITING TO BE COVERED UNDER THE FAIR LABOR STANDARD ACT’S ANTI-RETALIATION PROVISION

            The United States Supreme Court has agreed to review the question of whether an oral complaint of a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is considered “protected” conduct under that statute’s anti-retaliation provision.             Section 215(a)(3) of the FLSA states, in part, that it is unlawful for an employer to discharge or

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INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS ABLE TO SUE FOR RACE DISCRIMINATION?

            In 1975, the United States Supreme Court held that Section 1981 applies to employment contracts.  In 1991, the statute was extended to track Title VII’s prohibition of discrimination in the terms and conditions of employment.  As a result, Section 1981 now covers all aspects of the employment relationship, including its creation and termination.  It

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INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR V. EMPLOYEE

           Whether to classify a worker as an independent contractor or an employee is a critical decision, one which affects many different aspects of the company-worker relationship.  For example, an employee can sue an employer for unlawful workplace discrimination under federal anti-discrimination statutes, but an independent contractor may not.  In addition, an employee may be

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SECOND CIRCUIT RULES THAT FAILING TO INVESTIGATE A DISCRIMINATION CLAIM CANNOT BE CONSIDERED A RETALIATORY ACT

Last month, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, which has jurisdiction over Connecticut, New York and Vermont, ruled that a company’s failure to investigate a complaint of alleged employment discrimination cannot be considered retaliation for the filing of that same complaint. The plaintiff, Ms. Cynthia Fincher, worked as a senior auditor for the Depository Trust

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