A class action lawsuit filed in California’s Northern District Court asserts the drivers who work for Uber are wrongly classified as independent contractors when in fact they should be employees. The ride-sharing service, one of several to crop up in recent years, shot back with a motion asserting the workers…
Professional cheerleaders are now recognized by California law as “employees,” entitled to minimum wages and overtime pay. It also provides them with sick leave, meal breaks and a host of other labor protections that are available to the team and other staffers. Now, instead of classifying them as “independent contractors,”…
Many workers in this digital age are familiar with the pings and rings of their smartphones, alerting them to work-related issues after work hours. Most assume it’s simply a part of the job, and few file for overtime compensation related to these expected duties. But that may change, depending on…
Employees who file workers’ compensation claims may run the risk of possible retaliation by employers who want to avoid paying the associated costs. The majority of states have laws that prohibit companies from lashing out against workers who have filed workers’ compensation claims. Workers seeking to prove retaliation have to…
In recent years, Disney World in Florida has been the subject of half a dozen similar lawsuits of discrimination on the basis of race, religion and national origin involving some of its 1,000 security workers. So far, none of the cases has succeeded. A jury ruled against one plaintiff whose…
In California, employers must provide up to four months of disability leave for workers who are disabled due to pregnancy, childbirth or some related medical condition. This time doesn’t have to be taken all at once, nor does it apply solely to full-time workers. A woman need not be totally…
In the case of Cote v. Wal-Mart, Inc., filed within the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, alleges the big box chain store engaged in gender discrimination when it refused to extend spousal benefits to the wife of a female employee. This argument hasn’t yet been vetted in…
One of the most dearly held rights Americans have is stated in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: The right of free speech. It allows us to speak our minds without fear of government infringement. But that’s just the thing: It pertains to government infringement, not infringement by private…
Somewhere between 1 and 3 million workers migrate from various locations across the world – usually Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean – to work as laborers in U.S. farms. Vital as these workers are to the labor force, they are often mistreated, underpaid and sometimes even abused. Employers sometimes…
The Family and Medical Leave Act – also routinely referred to as “FMLA” – entitles most workers to take unpaid, job-protected leave for specified family and medical reasons. Workers can take up to 12 months in a given period, and it can be for anything from the birth of a…