In a recent decision from the U.S. District Court in Illinois — Caggiano v. Illinois Department of Corrections— the Plaintiff, a prison correctional officer, retroactively requested FMLA leave on April 18, 2012, after being out for three consecutive days caring for his mother on April 7 – 10. The Defendant denied the FMLA request asserting that […]
EEOC Settles 45 year old Race Discrimination Case for 1.65 Million Against Sheet Metal Workers’ Union
The EEOC announced on April 13, 2016 that it reached a partial settlement of a race discrimination claims made against Local 25 of the Sheet Metal Workers’ International Association and its associated apprenticeship school. The lawsuit was originally filed in 1971 in the Southern District of New York by the Department of Justice. The EEOC replaced the DOJ in […]
Equal Pay for Women: World Cup Champions File An EEOC Charge
Federal Law, Equal Pay Act of 1963 and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, require employers to treat male and female employees equally in the workplace, not just in terms of pay, but to all forms of compensation, and terms, conditions or privileges of employment, transfers, or promotions. An employer cannot deny women equal […]
Can Mandatory Overtime Be an Essential Job Function? The 11th Circuit Says Yes
On March 30, 2015, the Eleventh Circuit affirmed a lower court’s decision which determined that mandatory overtime was an essential job function – confirming the dismissal of a disability discrimination claim. You can read the opinion here. In 2012, the plaintiff provided a note requesting a lifting restriction of no-more than 15 pounds. The employer reassigned her to […]
Amendments to The FLSA
The Department of Labor has made the decision to amend the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), intending to update sections of the FSLA that deal with wages and overtime, making this the first update to the federal wage law since 2004. According to the DOL, this update to the FSLA is necessary in order to bring federal wage […]
Supreme Court Affirms Use of Representative Damage Analysis in Wage and Hour Class Action
The Supreme Court affirmed the 2.9 million dollar jury award in Tyson v. Bouaphakeo for time workers spent donning and doffing personal protective equipment (often called PPE). To prove the amount of unpaid work, the employees relied on an expert study to calculate the average time it takes to don and doff the PPE. Relying on this […]
Why You Need To Understand Employment Laws
Sometimes employees, and even employers, forget what the appropriate behavior for work is, and end up saying or doing something during work hours that can land them in a lot of trouble. This is why it is critical that you understand employment laws and what is acceptable behavior at work. It is also important to recognize when you […]
CLASS ACTIONS CAN NO LONGER BE “BOUGHT OFF”
The Class action lawsuit, along with the Collective Action lawsuit used in FLSA overtime and wage cases, are critical tools for individuals to be able to vindicate their rights. By taking a small amount of money from a lot of people, a company can make a huge financial difference to its bottom line, without creating […]
Being Sexually Harassed at Work?
When it comes to understanding what an employee should do if they are being sexually harassed at work, many of them are too worried that they will be a victim of retaliation, or be seen as a liar, that they often neglect to report it. However, it is critical that they do so, and in a […]
Supreme Court Will Decide: Are Car Dealership Service Advisors Entitled to Overtime
Last week the Supreme Court agreed to review a case out of California that determined that Car Dealership Service Advisers were entitled to overtime. We discussed it at length here. The California decision was in stark contrast to two other decisions which held that Car Dealership Service Advisors were not entitled to overtime. The issue is whether service […]