The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) gives employees – even at non-union places of work – the right to criticize or protest their employer’s labor policies or treatment of staff. When the law was drafted Congress wanted to allow employees to strike and protest, so the protections extend to public criticism. In recent years, “public” also… More
Merry Campbell
DC Employers — Check Your Posters and Your Payroll!
DC is conducting inspections of DC businesses to ensure compliance with the new Wage Theft Preventon Act. Inspections focus on posters, but may also include a review of payroll records. It does not appear that the investigators are assessessing penalities, but they are issuing penalty notices and creating follow-up lists. As a quick reminder, in… More
Website May Be Ordered To Accomodate Disabled Users
Website owners beware – a federal judge in Vermont recently ruled that a company selling its products exclusively through a website, with no physical store, may be a place of public accommodation under the ADA and if so it must accomodate visually impaired customers. In National Fed. of the Blind v. Scribd, Inc., No. 14-CV-162… More
Even a Win in Court can be a Public Relations Nightmare
Ellen Pao’s lawsuit against her former employer, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, a venture capital fund, went to trial this past February in San Francisco Superior Court. In her complaint Pao alleged that her employer did not promote her because of her gender, retaliated against her for complaining, failed to prevent gender discrimination in the… More
We All Have to Deal with People – But If You Can’t, You Might Be Disabled
To find protection under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), an employee must have a disability or mental impairment that “substantially limits” one or more “major life activities.” In the recent case of Jacobs v. N.C. Administrative Office of the Courts et al., 4th Circ., No. 13-2212, March 12, 2015, the Fourth Circuit (Maryland, Virginia,… More
Dancers are Employees and are Entitled to $265k In Overtime and Penalties
A jury recently awarded $196,956 in unpaid minimum wages and overtime to six adult dancers who filed a class action against two nightclubs where they worked. The presiding judge, Deborah K. Chasanow, tacked on an additional $68,320 in liquidated damages onto the jury award, bringing the dancers’ total recovery to $265,276. In McFeeley v. Jackson… More
Equal Pay Owed for “Substantially Equal” Job Duties, Regardless of Job Title
Under the Equal Pay Act (“EPA”), form matters over substance. As the employer in Riser v. QEP Energy learned, tying compensation to job titles, rather than job duties, can create liability. Pursuant to court records, in the QEP case the employer initially employed a female as the Administrative Services Representative. In this role she was… More
DC Wage Theft- The Forms are Out and Must be Provided to New Hires
The Mayor’s office released the template notices that employers and staffing agencies must provide to new hires and incumbent employees under the D.C. Wage Theft Prevention Act. The forms are available on the DC.gov website. Effective IMMEDIATELY, new employees must receive the notice at time of hire. Forms must be distributed to current employees… More
Why You Cannot Look Away From Inaccurate Time Records
Under US wage and hour law, the employer must maintain time records for non-exempt employees in order to avoid overtime liability. As a reminder, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) typically requires employers to pay non-exempt employees time and a half for any overtime worked. If an employer fails to do so, and if an… More
Discrimination Laws Don’t Necessarily Care About Practical Concerns
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently issued a press release announcing its lawsuit against the international restaurant chain Ruby Tuesday, Inc. According to the EEOC’s complaint, Ruby Tuesday discriminated against men by refusing to consider male applicants for temporary positions at a Park City, Utah resort location. Male employees applied for the positions and… More