Unemployment Discrimination: Is “Unemployed” a Protected Class?
Can job applicants claim they were discriminated against because of a long history of unemployment? No, but the law could be changing. Subtitle D of the proposed Americans Jobs Act incorporates a previously introduced bill that would allow civ
CHILD LABOR, MINIMUM WAGE, AND PAYCHECK DEDUCTIONS
The Atlanta Journal reports that The U.S. Department of Labor fined a Georgia restaurant chain (This Is It! BBQ and Seafood) $104,000 in back pay for improperly classified workers who should have been receiving overtime pay and fined the resta
Union Organizing: Employers Must Post New Notice of Employee Rights
The National Labor Relations Board has issued a new Final Rule requiring most private employers to post a new Notice in the workplace regarding employee rights. The 11 by 17 inch poster Notice will be provided at no charge by regional NLRB off
Lessons Learned from Trial This Week
Although we know it, we are always reminded after a trial of just how much sympathy a jury can conjure up for a Plaintiff who is clearly lying. We were pleased to receive a defense verdict this week in a sexual harassment case. The Plainti
City of New Haven Pays $5 Million To Settle Reverse Discrimination Suit
A few months ago we sent out a News Alert about a Supreme Court ruling in favor of a group of white firefighters in a reverse discrimination case. Interestingly, current Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor had ruled against the white firefi
Attorneys’ Fees Not Always A Sure Thing in FLSA Pay Outs
Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) claims are the type of claims that can keep an employer fretting. Not only can FLSA lawsuits be time intensive and mentally draining, they can also prove to be a financial burden if an employer is unsucc
Litigation Over Tip Credits: Hospitality Industry Fighting Over Amended Regulations
New regulations issued by the Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor (DOL) interpreting the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) regarding tip credits and tip pools recently went into effect on May 5, 2011. However, some industries are no
Social Media and the Fair Credit Reporting Act
Many employers screen job applicants with background searches that include searches for information on social-networking sites like LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. If the employer hires another company to conduct such searches, the employer and
Are You Sure He’s a Manager?
Have you given some of your employees the oh-so-important title of “manager” in order to avoid paying them overtime? Burlington Coat Factory reportedly settled a class action lawsuit brought by its assistant managers this week for $5.7 mi
WAL-MART ESCAPES MASSIVE CLASS ACTION SEX DISCRIMINATION CASE
On June 20, 2011 the United States Supreme Court ruled in favor of Wal-Mart in one of the biggest class action lawsuits ever. In Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes[1], the Supreme Court was faced with a class of about one and a half million pla