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 […]
MAKE SURE EMPLOYEES TAKE THEIR REQUIRED BREAKS! Read More »
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
MORE CLAIMS FILED UNDER THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT (ADA) IN 2009 Read More »
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
NEW YORK COURT PERMITS RETALIATION CLAIM FOR UNPAID OVERTIME COMPLAINT Read More »
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
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
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
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
INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS ABLE TO SUE FOR RACE DISCRIMINATION? Read More »
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
INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR V. EMPLOYEE Read More »
As part of a settlement agreement, the Arkansas food giant Tyson Foods has agreed to pay 3,000 workers at one of its facilities the sum of $500,000.00 in unpaid wages. Under the settlement agreement, Tyson also agreed to compensate poultry processing workers at all of its plants for the time they spend putting on and
TYSON SETTLES PAY DISPUTE Read More »
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