Posts by Buckley Bala Wilson Mew LLP
Woman Allowed to Maintain Claim of “Regarded As” Disability Discrimination After Termination
In order to combat various forms of employment discrimination at work, Congress passed Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. While this law makes certain forms of discrimination illegal such as race, color, sex and national origin it does not include disability discrimination. Accordingly, Congress passed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to…
Read MoreOvertime And Minimum Wage Protections Extended To Home Health Care Aides
In a victory for home health care workers, the White House has just announced that these workers will finally be entitled to minimum wage and overtime protections. For 38-years, these workers have been denied the same protections granted to almost all workers in America. The long awaited amendment will take effect January 1, 2015 and…
Read MoreCollege Athletes Determined to Be Employees By NLRB
Recently, the National Labor Relations Board ruled that the college football players at Northwestern should be considered “employees” of the University and entitled to organize. This decision may have significant implications for college athletes, should the courts also consider the athletes “employees” who may be entitled to overtime pay and other wage and hour protections…
Read MoreShould You Be Paid If You Work Through Your Breaks?
Do you routinely have to work through your breaks? If you are not paid for time worked through breaks you may be entitled to back pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The FLSA requires that all non-exempt workers be paid overtime at a rate of one and one-half times their regular rate of…
Read MoreFailure To Act On Complaints Of Racial And Sexual Harassment May Lead To Substantial Liability
Unfortunately, racism is still alive and well in our society. The news regularly reports stories of nooses on factory floors and crude racist jokes being circulated through company email systems. Fortunately, Title VII prohibits employers from discriminating against their employees “because of” their race or color. That means that employers may not take your race…
Read MoreAttorney Told You’re Just “Not That Pretty” Can Bring Claim Of Sex Bias
A federal judge has just ruled that a female attorney whose superiors told her she was just “not that pretty” can bring a claim for sex bias against her employer, the city of Evanston. Unfortunately despite advances in work place equality, discrimination still remains an issue. Most studies show that women are not paid equally…
Read MoreSan Francisco Giants Agree To Pay Back Wages Following Allegations Of FLSA Violations
Following charges that the San Francisco Giants failed to pay 74 clubhouse and administrative employees all the compensation they were entitled to, the team has agreed to pay nearly $545,000 in back wages and damages. The 74 clubhouse and administrative employees accused the ball club of violating Federal labor pay – the Fair Labor Standards…
Read MoreAmerican Woman Files Reverse National Origin Discrimination Claim Against Indian Company
While many federal labor laws were initially adopted in order to prevent discrimination against minorities and women, these laws also work to prevent “reverse discrimination.” Thus, although Title VII was initially thought to be limited to Black people and other racial minorities the law actually protects individuals of all races and colors, not simply racial…
Read MoreStrippers File Overtime Compensation Lawsuit For Violations Of Federal Labor Law
A recently federal wage and hour lawsuit was filed on behalf of a strip club dancer against The New Dollhouse, formerly the Crazy Horse, alleging violations of minimum wage and overtime compensation laws. According to the lawsuit, the club treats the dancers as independent contractors, and not paid employees. The suit further alleges: “Over the…
Read MoreDiscriminatory Comments Made After Termination Can Be Used As Direct Evidence Of Bias
The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals — which includes Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee — has just determined that a supervisor’s “age related” comments made after a worker was fired could be considered direct evidence of age-related bias. Federal law makes age discrimination illegal. Because Title VII does not include age bias, Congress passed a…
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