General

A case being considered by the California Supreme Court has the potential to affect meal and rest breaks for all nonunion employees. At issue in Brinker v. Superior Court is whether an employer must ensure that hourly employees take breaks. Currently, California law provides that workers are entitled to a meal break after five hours of work.…

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…

A recent case out of Las Vegas places the tip sharing policies of some high profile casinos under intense scrutiny. At issue – a tip sharing policy that requires Las Vegas Strip casino workers to share their tips with their supervisors. Last week the Nevada District Court ruled that the policy in place at Wynn…

As the new Supreme Court session gets under way, an important case for worker’s rights will be determined. In Kasten v. Saint-Gobain, the Court will examine the issue of retaliation as it relates to the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). The FLSA covers a number of different areas, including minimum wage, overtime and child labor laws.…

Many Atlanta mothers returning to work after giving birth want to continue breastfeeding at work but wonder about finding the time to pump on the job and if they have any rights to do so. In an effort to encourage breastfeeding and protect women who want to take time out to pump or breastfeed, the Department…

Last November, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act “GINA” became law. GINA provides a general ban on employers’ obtaining genetic information about employees or job applicants, including the inadvertent acquisition of the information for use in employment decisions. Almost a full year after GINA became effective, the EEOC has issued final regulations interpreting its application. The EEOC final regulations are…

Many times job applications contain “legalese” – language that may waive a right or in someway limit an employee’s path to recovery. However, according to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, provisions contained in a job application which limit an individual’s legal remedies may not be enforceable if the applicant did not knowingly…

In the 1997 sci-fi thriller Gattaca, virtually every job on earth was determined by a person’s genetic makeup. With the map of the human genome now available for download, science fiction may rapidly become science fact. But U.S. employment laws, to be phased in this month and next September, have stepped in to attempt to eliminate…