Archive for 2014
New Pregnancy Discrimination Guidelines Issued
The federal government has just issued new, expanded, guidelines concerning pregnant workers and workplace discrimination. The new rules provide that any workplace discrimination or harassment against pregnant workers constitutes illegal sex discrimination. The guidelines were issued in response to what the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission described as persistent “overt pregnancy discrimination as well as the…
Read MoreCostly Wage And Hour Mistakes
A recent article looked at the top wage and hour mistakes employers make when paying employees. These mistakes may constitute costly Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) violation and entitle you to back wages and damages. If you believe that your employer has been committing one of these errors and has unfairly deprived you of wages,…
Read MoreSupreme Court to Hear Pregnancy Discrimination Case
The Supreme Court has just decided to hear argument concerning an significant question affecting many women across the nation: under what circumstances should an employer be required to provide “reasonable accommodations” to a pregnant employee? Generally, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act (ADAAA) set forth that employers…
Read MoreSchool Bus Company Settles Wage and Hour Lawsuit with Drivers for $1.6M
A school bus company – First Student, Inc. – has just agreed to settle a wage and hour class action lawsuit brought by its drivers based on alleged violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). According to the lawsuit, the bus drivers were illegally denied pay they deserve for maintenance duties performed both before…
Read MoreFiring Employee Day After Complaining Of Sexual Harassment May Be Grounds For Retaliation
Often, workers fear complaining about work place harassment because they think they may be fired or face retaliatory conduct. The good news is that federal and state anti-discrimination laws have been written to protect employees from just that type of conduct. In fact – retaliation claims may be easier to prove than the underlying discrimination…
Read MorePresident Obama Prepares To Issue Executive Order Barring Sexual Orientation Discrimination
Earlier this week President Obama issued a statement that he plans to issue an executive order barring federal contractors from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. Such an order would be a significant step in granting necessary protections to lesbian, gay and transgender employee. Last year the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA),…
Read MoreEmployee or Volunteer?
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) protects employees in several different ways such as providing that workers be paid minimum wage and non-exempt employees be paid overtime at a rate of one and one-half times their standard rate of pay for each hour worked in excess of 40 in any one work week. However, receiving…
Read MoreThe ADAAA Expands Definition of Disability
The Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act (ADAAA), was enacted five years ago with the goal of strengthening and broadening the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which made it illegal to discriminate against workers with disabilities. The ADA/ADAAA prohibits discrimination against “qualified individuals with a disability” in the terms and conditions of employment.” The ADA…
Read MoreRetaliation For Complaining About Misclassification May Violate The FLSA
One of the goals of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is to provide minimum protections to workers, such as minimum wage and overtime pay. In order to ensure that the workers can assert their rights, the FLSA also protects them from retaliation. “Retaliation” refers to actions taken by your employer that negatively affect your…
Read MoreCompany May Be Held Responsible For Co-Worker Harassment
Many workplace discrimination cases involve the situation where a supervisor harasses or discriminates against an employee. However, what happens where the harasser is a co-worker? A recent employment discrimination case – Velazquez-Perez v. Developers Diversified Realty Corp. – evaluated whether a man was wrongfully terminated based on his rejection of the human resources manager’s sexual advances. In Velazquez-Perez, a shopping…
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