Plaintiff in Ledbetter v. Good Samaritan Ministries may have an uphill battle in proving his employment retaliation case, but there were too many “loose ends” for the trial court to have declared a summary judgment in favor of the defense, a federal appellate court recently ruled. According to the decision…
For more than two decades, health care workers were given the option to waive a second meal break that would otherwise be required on shifts longer than eight hours under the Industrial Welfare Commission’s Wage Orders, or IWC. However, in the recent decision of Gerard v. Orange Coast Mem. Medical…
When a company knows or should know a worker is under-reporting his or her hours, the firm can’t use the employee’s role to diminish its own responsibility under the Fair Labor Standards Act. That was according to the ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in…
In Betts .v McDonald’s Corp., a large restaurant chain was named as a defendant by 10 Hispanic and African American men who allege their termination by a franchisee of three Virginia-based restaurants amounts to racial discrimination. It does seem the workers have a fair amount of proof necessary to win…
A successor company can be held liable for the discrimination and retaliation of its predecessor, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently affirmed. The appellate court also found in Equal Emp’t Opportunity Comm’n v. N. Star Hospitality Inc. the successor firm can be compelled to initiate the…
The California Court of Appeal reversed a $90 million class action judgment in a case of alleged rest period violations under state law, finding the requirement of security guards to remain on-call during rest breaks was not improper. In weighing Augustus v. ABM Sec. Servs., Inc., the appellate court for…
A charter school teacher in South Carolina recently won her wrongful termination claim, which had been appealed by the school all the way to the state supreme court. The case of McNaughton v. Charleston Charter School is relevant to workers here in California because just like here, South Carolina is…
While sexual harassment claims are often filed by women who suffer discrimination or retaliation by male superiors, a recent federal case filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is a reminder that discrimination and harassment can go both ways. According to a statement from the EEOC, a well-known restaurant…
Employees who turn in an application to an employer may not realize they have significant rights under federal law – even if they are not hired. Employers who decide to use consumer background checks, including criminal history or credit reports, to make a hiring decision must follow a very strict…
With a growing elderly population, more families are turning to home health care services to help with the aid and medical needs of their loved ones. Many of these health service employees work for agencies responsible for salary and hourly wages, including overtime. For employees, it is important to remember…