A lumber mill worker’s recent success in federal court represents a noteworthy outcome for multiple reasons. For the worker, it recognizes that an employer may be liable for retaliation under the Family and Medical Leave Act, both by terminating the worker and by subsequently refusing to rehire them. On the employer side, it…
The killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk has triggered strong reactions from both supporters and critics alike. However, the reaction of employers has not been even-handed. Employees perceived as making negative comments about the shooting have faced intense blowback; some have even lost their jobs. Meanwhile, those celebrating Mr. Kirk’s…
Here in Georgia, workers who experience discrimination based on specific statutorily defined characteristics, like, for example, age and sexual orientation, are protected by federal law. If you are a worker who has experienced this kind of discrimination at work (or are an employer facing such an allegation), it pays to…
Employers must tread carefully when disciplining (or firing) workers who have sought to invoke their Family and Medical Leave Act rights. Employers may be vulnerable to liability for FMLA interference or retaliation if they cannot demonstrate that the employee’s exercise of FMLA played no role in the decision-making that yielded…
One area of wage-and-hour law where employers can easily run afoul of the Fair Labor Standards Act is overtime pay… or, more specifically, underpayment of overtime. If an employer does not correctly assess the forms of compensation that go into calculating a worker’s regular rate of pay, then that employer…
The Family and Medical Leave Act provides strong protections for workers who need leave. These include things like being reinstated to the same or a similar position after returning from leave. As with most legal concepts, this protection is not absolute. The law carves out exceptions, such as when the…
A Fair Labor Standards Act collective action can be a powerful tool for workers. Similarly, employers may find it preferable to fight an individual action as opposed to a collective lawsuit. Whether you are a worker or an employer, it is beneficial to understand the standards the law erects for…
One of the more substantial mistakes a business can make is to misclassify employees as independent contractors. An employee whose employer erroneously labels them as an independent contractor may be denied health care insurance coverage, family leave, and unemployment protection. They may also be deprived of the right to receive…
A recent Family and Medical Leave Act dispute is a reminder of the importance of timing. In many FMLA retaliation cases, the matter may come down to whether an adequate link exists between the employee’s use of FMLA leave and the employer’s punitive action, and that existence may depend on…
In any legal or administrative dispute, one of the most consequential decisions you must make is whether to settle with the other side or to litigate the dispute all the way to a judgment by a jury or judge. With each option comes particular potential benefits and drawbacks, which is…