Company 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…
Read MoreFailure To Promote Muslim Man May Be Grounds For Discrimination
In the last several years since 9/11, the United States has witnesses an increase in anti-immigrant sentiment – with the unfortunate by-product being a dramatic rise in the number of national origin discrimination lawsuits. The EEOC explains national origin discrimination as “treatment someone less favorably because he or she is from a particular race, because…
Read More“Unpaid” Summer Internships May Violate Federal Labor Laws
With the summer approaching, many college students seek out internships. Frequently these are “unpaid,” with the intended purpose that the student gain necessary experience in order to later obtain a paying job in his or her field of interest. However, stringent rules define just when an employer must pay an intern. The failure to follow…
Read MoreWho Is An Employer Under The ADEA?
A seemingly straightforward question has serious implications in many employment contexts – and can determine your right to recover damages if you have suffered illegal discrimination. That question – “who is your employer?” – was just evaluated in a significant Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) matter. In Holloway v. Water Works & Sewer Bd. Of…
Read MoreNumber Of Wage And Hours Cases Increases For 7th Straight Year
For the seventh year in a row, the number of wage and hour lawsuits filed by employees against their employers has increased. According to a recently released report by the federal government, more that 8000 Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) lawsuits have been brought by workers. This number represents only federal law suits, were state…
Read MoreUse of Drug Tests Found to Have “Disparate Impact”
In certain circumstances a company or business may have a policy that seems to be neutral, but upon closer look may in fact be discriminatory. This may be because the policy or practice has a “disparate impact” that negatively affects a particular race. In a recent case, Jones v. City of Boston, the U.S. Court of…
Read MoreBusiness Owner Found Personally Liable For Overtime Pay Violations
Recently, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the owner of a business could be held personally liable for damages resulting from violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The FLSA provides employees certain protections, including that workers receive at least minimum wage and that non-exempt employees be paid overtime compensation at a…
Read MoreFailure To Stop Customer Harassment Of Workers May Consitute Employer Negligence
Can your employer be held liable for failing to adequately respond to offensive conduct by customers towards workers? The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has ruled yes. In Freeman v. Dal-Tile Corp., the court ruled that a black female former employee had triable sexual and racial harassment claims under Title VII of the…
Read MoreWage Laws and Tipped Workers – What Are Your Rights?
Several sources have reported that wage and hour lawsuits are on the rise, often as the result of violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and/or state labor laws. Many times, these lawsuits arise concerning how “tipped workers” such as wait staff, bartenders and others who depend on tips as a portion of their…
Read MoreOvertime Compensation And Sleeping On The Job
A recent overtime lawsuit raised an interesting question – what employment laws apply when workers are required to “sleep on the job”? The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) provides workers many protections, including requiring that workers be paid at least minimum wage and that non-exempt workers be compensated at a rate of one and one-half…
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