Ever wonder what happened with the minimum wage fight that has been going on between Alabama and Birmingham? Well, here is the latest — the full panel on the Eleventh Circuit has now spoken: the district court rightly dismissed the lawsuit against Alabama’s governor and attorney general alleging discrimination in the state’s minimum wage law.
Sunday May Still Be Sacred: Texas Jury Sides with Employee Who Chose Church Service Over Work
If an employee misses work to attend church on Sunday morning and the company subsequently fires her, is that religious discrimination? A jury in Texas recently said yes and awarded the plaintiff close to $350,000. The verdict is a reminder to employers to remember your religious accommodation obligations.
Trouble with supervisor and work scheduled for
The Door Gets a Little Wider: D.C. Circuit Rules Employee-Plaintiff Can Get Comparator Discovery to Prevent Dismissal of Case
If your employee sues you for discrimination, they don’t get to look at how the decision-makers treated everyone else, do they? Well, in Cruz vs. US Homeland Security, the D.C. Court of Appeals says yes they do. Although the district court granted summary judgment and did not let the plaintiff take discovery on how
Bag the Gag Provision: New Jersey Is the Latest State to Restrict Non-disclosure Agreements in Settlements
You finally settled that tough discrimination or harassment claim. Now you just need to ink the settlement agreement, and obviously it will include a standard non-disclosure clause to prevent your claimant from ever talking about the events or settlement amount ever again – right? Well, depending on the state you are in, not so fast.
Take Two: Alabama’s City Versus State Minimum Wage Dispute to Get Full Appellate Review
Minimum wage laws invite controversy, and Alabama’s latest tug-of-war between the state and its largest city is going to get another wider review. You may recall that back in 2015, Birmingham, Alabama, passed a local minimum wage law. On the heels of that move, the Alabama Legislature then passed a state-wide minimum wage law,
You Don’t Get a Bite at the Big Dog: Texas Court Rules that Injured Worker Cannot Depose Company CEO
What if your employee plaintiff sues you and then demands to take the deposition of your company CEO or some other high-level corporate executive who has no personal knowledge about the facts of the case? No one would be excited about that prospect. Fortunately, a Texas appellate court recently ruled that high-level executives can be
Combining Classrooms and Class Actions: Trump Proposes Combining Labor and Education Departments
Could the Department of Labor (DOL) and Department of Education (DOE) possibly merge in the near future? President Trump thinks so and recently announced his desire to combine the two departments into a single federal agency to be called the Department of Education and the Workforce. According to a White House Statement, the new agency
Cooperate or Pay: Recovering Attorneys’ Fees to Get to Arbitration
Does your arbitration agreement allow you to recover attorneys’ fees if the employee rebels against arbitration and you have to compel it? Maybe it should. In Aralar v. Scott McRea Automotive Group, a court in Florida recently affirmed an arbitrator’s award of nearly $20,000 in attorney’s fees for the defendant’s hassle of moving for
Update: Soup, Salvation and Overtime – Sixth Circuit Reverses $400,000 FLSA Verdict
Apparently if you are doing the Lord’s work and seek only treasures in heaven, the Fair Labor Standards Act will not guarantee that you receive an earthly reward as well. In a significant ruling that impacts religious organizations, the Sixth Circuit reversed a nearly $400,000 FLSA verdict based on the fact that the volunteers did
“I Need to Work from Home” — Telecommuting May Be Your ADA Reasonable Accommodation Alternative
Does the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) require you to allow telecommuting? If the employee’s job, like most jobs, involves attendance and teamwork as essential functions, the answer is likely no. However, more and more employers are allowing telecommuting, and most employees welcome the opportunity to telecommute.
If an otherwise qualified employee has a disability,