Zero-Tolerance Policy — An employee who had previously filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) got into an altercation with a co-worker. The employer had a policy against fighting and fired both employees. One sued and claimed that the employer was retaliating against her for the EEOC complaint. The court however tossed out the lawsuit because the policy was indeed applied fairly to both workers.
On a Break – Are you entitled to a “take a break” during the day at work? Although federal law does not include any specific mandates for meal and rest breaks, employers must pay employees if lunch breaks last less than 30 minutes or employees work through their breaks. The vast majority of states have laws relating to meal and rest breaks.
Double Trouble – The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires a double payment if workers entitled to overtime pay are misclassified as “exempt”. Exempt refers to certain classifications of workers that are not entitled to overtime pay or minimum wage under the law. In a new case, workers in a Texas sheriff’s office sued for unpaid overtime pay and won. Although the employees’ job descriptions in the handbook said that it did not entitle them to overtime pay, that was simply not enough to get the job off the hook and hence damages including attorney’s fees were awarded!
If you are the victim of discrimination in the workplace and/or “wage theft”, call us. You may have a valid cause of action and be entitled to money damages! Typically, the cases are handled on a contingency basis, meaning there are no upfront fees and/or costs unless a recovery is obtained. Find out about your rights today.
