Employment Law

Celebrating Wins for the Working Class

September 3, 2014 | Parks, Chesin & Walbert

Much as single days celebrating mothers and fathers seem to fall short of fully acknowledging everything they do for their families, a lone Monday off in honor of America’s hard workers is far from all the reward they deserve. Of course, that shortfall is unfortunately what keeps employment law attorneys busy the other 364 days of the year. Instead of focusing on all that needs fixing to help ensure workers’ rights, however, today is a good day to reflect on some of the biggest labor wins of the past century.

By any objective standard, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) of 1938 should be near the top of victories for the working class. After decades of failed efforts to right wrongs that included excessive child labor, six-day work weeks of 10 or more hours a day, and unlivable wages, President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Congress engaged in years of back-and-forth negotiations to finally arrive at a bill that banned oppressive child labor, capped the work week at 44 hours, and set a minimum wage of 25 cents an hour–about $3.32 in 2014 dollars. (A detailed and compelling history of the FLSA can be found on the U.S. Department of Labor’s website.) While the FLSA couldn’t begin to solve all the ills faced by the labor force, and it didn’t achieve the 40-hour week or 40-cents-an-hour minimum wage that many had pushed, it cemented a huge win for workers’ rights.

Almost 80 years later, conditions for workers have generally improved. Still, access to fair, livable wages continues to dominate much of the conversation about what the labor force needs, with President Obama and labor unions using today to further their efforts to increase the federal minimum hourly wage from $7.25 to $10.10. So far, opponents have stalled any national movement on the issue, but several states and municipalities have already enacted higher minimum wages, with Seattle going so far as to raise it to $15 per hour.

Federal Court in Tennessee Rejects Argument That Employees Should Not Be Compensated For Work During Meal Breaks

June 18, 2014 | Parks, Chesin & Walbert

Recently, a federal court in Tennessee permitted a case to move forward that raises the question of whether the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) permits compensation for work activities that “bookend” a 30-minute meal break.

In Abadeer v. Tyson Foods, Inc., employees at Tyson Foods were required to remove, wash, and stow their frocks and other equipment during their 30-minute meal break. This activity lasted from five to eight minutes. They then needed to be suited and ready to return to work by the end of the 30 minutes. The employees claimed that Tyson Foods automatically took them off of the clock during this time, even though they were not really at lunch. The employees initially claimed that Tyson was either liable to them for the entire 30-minute period, since it was not a “bona fide meal period,” or at least for the work they performed during the 30-minute break, since it was part of a continuous workday. They eventually discarded the first claim and kept the second, which was that work performed during the meal period was compensable.

Tyson Foods tried to argue that the employees’ complaint did not put them on adequate notice of their claims, but the court disagreed. The company then filed a motion for summary judgment, arguing that the employees could not seek compensation for activities performed during the 30-minute unpaid period. Tyson Foods claimed that, due to precedent set by the Sixth Circuit, employees were not permitted to “carve out” such activities and divide the meal period into portions that were compensable and noncompensable. An employer in such a situation should not be held liable unless the employees failed to receive the “predominant benefit” of the entire period.

Understanding Wrongful Termination

January 16, 2014 | Parks, Chesin & Walbert

Many individuals who work in Georgia are already aware of the fact that their employment is “at will.” What that means is that an employer in Georgia is allowed to terminate an individual for practically any reason. Georgia courts typically state that an employee can be terminated for a good reason, a bad reason, or no reason at all. So how can someone working in Georgia be “wrongfully terminated?” The answer is that there is no generic claim in Georgia for “wrongful termination.” Instead, there are various specific claims—such as retaliation, discrimination, or breach of contract—that sometimes arise when an employee is terminated.

Sexual Harassment Lawsuit Filed Against Atlanta-Area Resturant

December 10, 2013 | Parks, Chesin & Walbert

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has filed a lawsuit against the owner of a well-known Atlanta-area restaurant/nightclub, Taboo 2 Bar and Bistro. The agency has alleged that Sirdah Enterprises, Inc. broke the law by permitting, on an ongoing basis, sexual harassment to take place with respect to its female servers throughout the course of their careers with the company.

Three-Judge Panel Finds US Labor Laws Apply To All Employees No Matter Their Status

November 11, 2013 | Parks, Chesin & Walbert

There has been a fair amount of buzz in the media about undocumented workers and fair wages for those individuals in recent months. Many Georgia employment lawyers have noticed that immigration reform is a topic of interest for many people, particularly the millions of immigrant workers who are part of the workforce in the United States. In fact, according to a MintPress news article, a three-judge panel decided that, regardless of an employee’s legal status in the United States, all employers are required to pay those workers legal wages, along with any other monies that have been promised to such workers.

What Can Happen If An Employer Falsifies Employee Timesheets?

October 28, 2013 | Parks, Chesin & Walbert

The falsification of timesheets in the workplace is a very serious offense under the law. When some people hear about falsifying timesheets, they immediately assume that it was the employee who was doing the falsifying. However, a Georgia employment attorney can tell you that it is not only an offense that is committed by employees–employers are often guilty of the violation as well.

Sexual Harassment: Negligent Hiring, Retention and Supervision Claims

October 21, 2013 | Parks, Chesin & Walbert

Whenever an individual is sexually harassed in the workplace, he or she might wonder about the best way to handle the situation. Sexual harassment is a problem not only for women, but for men as well. Thousands of charges related to sexual harassment are filed by both genders with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on a yearly basis. But what many victims of harassment don’t know is that there may be instances in which their employers can be held legally responsible for the harassment.

Retaliation Claims Under the False Claims Act

September 18, 2013 | Parks, Chesin & Walbert

Many individuals who have jobs are reluctant to report their employers’ wrongdoing or fraudulent activity because they fear that they might lose their job or suffer some other sort of adverse action. However, individuals should be aware that as employees, they enjoy certain protections against retaliation after engaging in protected activity under the False Claims Act.

Are Employees Entitled to Payment for On-Call Time?

September 11, 2013 | Parks, Chesin & Walbert

One of the most common questions in wage and hour cases is whether employees must be paid for “on-call” time . As business needs increase and customers demand more service at any given time of the day or night, many employers have found it necessary to have some of their employees remain “on-call” for a certain period of time or even 24-hours a day.

EEOC Finds No Age Discrimination In Not Hiring 71-Year-Old Applicant For Investigator Position

August 27, 2013 | Parks, Chesin & Walbert

Individuals are turned down for jobs for a variety of reasons. Some job applicants are simply unqualified for the position sought, while others are over-qualified. However, there are occasions when job applicants are turned away for discriminatory reasons, such as race or age. Accordingly, it is important for business owners to work with a Georgia employment attorney to ensure that their policies and hiring practices are legal and nondiscriminatory in every way. An attorney can appropriately evaluate employment policies and make a determination with respect to the possibility or existence of discriminatory hiring practices that might subject a business to litigation.