Atlanta Employment Attorneys Blog

The Impact of the Fair Labor Standards Act and Break Rules on Georgia Employees Who Work from Home

February 14, 2023 | Parks, Chesin & Walbert

Today, remote work is more common than ever before, with much of explosion coming in the last 2-3 years. With that vast growth of people working from home comes new and different ways that employers can run afoul of federal wage and hour laws. If you’re a non-exempt employee working from home and your employer has denied you the leave, breaks, or other benefits that federal law mandates, check with a knowledgeable Atlanta wage and hour lawyer to find out how best to protect yourself.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) issued an important new “field assistance bulletin” document discussing this cutting-edge issue implicating the Fair Labor Standards Act, break rules, and remote workers who are non-exempt employees.

Field assistance bulletins are documents that lack the force of a statute or a regulation, but they do represent important reflections of Labor Department policy and the federal government’s view on the correct interpretation of various laws and/or regulations.

An FLSA Class Action, Collective Action, or Individual Action: Which One Makes the Most Sense for My Unpaid Overtime Claim?

February 7, 2023 | Parks, Chesin & Walbert

If your employer has denied you overtime pay that you earned, you potentially have several possible legal options. You can seek compensation individually, you can initiate a class action, or you can pursue a collective action under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Determining which avenue makes the most sense can be a complicated and nuanced legal determination, so make sure you get the advice you need from an experienced Atlanta unpaid overtime lawyer before you start.

Earlier this month, one north Georgia nurse achieved an important success in her unpaid overtime case, successfully persuading the federal district court in Atlanta to approve her collective action.

The nurse was a Gwinnett County woman who worked as a “medical management nurse” for a major insurance company. Her main duty (along with the primary duty of several colleagues with various titles) centered on performing medical necessity reviews for the employer. That entailed “reviewing medical authorization requests submitted by healthcare providers against pre-determined guidelines and criteria for insurance coverage.”

My Employment Discrimination Case Just Got Moved to Georgia from Out of State. Now What?

January 31, 2023 | Parks, Chesin & Walbert

Ours is a national and, in many cases, global economy. The realities of the world of work often include job changes or promotions that necessarily include relocation to a new state. If that’s happened to you and you’ve also suffered discrimination on the job, your case potential can present some unique challenges, such as a case that starts in one state but later gets transferred to another. If you’ve brought your lawsuit in Georgia — or the other side has successfully gotten your case moved to Georgia — then you need to be sure you have a skilled Georgia lawyer to represent you in your action.

A recruiter who relocated to Georgia was someone in that sort of position. C.J., a Black woman, worked for a company in suburban Detroit. C.J. was very successful at her job and earned a promotion to “field distribution leader.” As part of this new role, C.J. was tasked with launching a new program for the employer in Georgia, so she moved here.

Two years later, the company underwent a round of layoffs. The employer gave the workers two options: apply for one of the remaining positions or take early retirement. C.J. applied for a director role and a specialist job but got neither position, so she sued for age discrimination (Age Discrimination in Employment Act) and race discrimination (Title VII).

What Happens if My Employer Takes an Automatic Pay Deduction for Meal Breaks But I Did Not Actually Get My Break?

January 24, 2023 | Parks, Chesin & Walbert

In wage and hour law, as with any area of the law, there are issues that arise with elevated frequency at certain moments in time. (For example, a few years ago the courts saw a flurry of employee-versus-independent-contractor misclassification cases involving exotic dancers.) More recently, an issue before multiple different courts involves employers taking automatic meal-break deductions, regardless of whether the workers got their full break (or any break at all) or not. When this happens, it may constitute a Fair Labor Standards Act violation for which you may be entitled to compensation. An experienced Atlanta wage-and-hour lawyer can tell you more about whether your situation represents a violation of the law.

One of the most recent incidents occurred to our north, where Ohio workers initiated a class action against their employer, a medical company that owns hospitals, rehab centers, and clinics. According to the workers, the employer had a practice of automatically deducting 1/2 hour from their hours to account for each worker’s meal break. The alleged problem was, however, that the realities of the workplace (especially during periods of understaffing) meant that workers often had to work through lunch or were able only to take abbreviated meal breaks. Even when those circumstances arose, the employer still took the automatic 30-minute deduction, according to the complaint.

On that basis, the workers alleged that the employer violated the FLSA by failing to pay overtime wages the workers earned. The class that the workers proposed was an expansive one; namely, “all current and former hourly, non-exempt direct care employees of defendant who had a meal break deduction applied to their hours worked in any workweek where they were paid for at least forty (40) hours of work.”

The FLSA, the Agriculture Exemption, and a Class Action by ‘Independent’ Poultry Farmers Alleging Misclassification

January 17, 2023 | Parks, Chesin & Walbert

An ongoing case in federal court in Macon represents a potentially important data point in an emerging area of Fair Labor Standards Act misclassification litigation: lawsuits between big agribusiness entities and the farmers with whom they work. These farmers are typically classified by the agribusiness companies as independent contractors, but now the farmers are suing, alleging that they actually are employees. As with any industry or field of business, if you think you’ve been illegally classified as an independent contractor, you should get in touch with an Atlanta employment misclassification lawyer right away.

The workers making up the class were a group of chicken farmers. The purported employer was a poultry processing company (the third largest in the country) that classified the farmers as independent contractors.

The farmers argued that the evidence they presented demonstrated a relationship where the poultry company retained an extremely high degree of control over the farmers, which is generally a hallmark of an employee-employer relationship, not an independent contractor-principal one. Although the company promised the farmers independence, it actually held the reigns over “virtually every aspect” of the farmers’ operations, according to the complaint. This allegedly included demanding specific “feed, medication, vaccinations”, and more, including barns.

When Misusing “Sir,” “Ma’am,” and Gendered Pronouns Will — and Won’t — Amount to Gender Identity Discrimination Under Title VII

January 10, 2023 | Parks, Chesin & Walbert

Two years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court declared that employment discrimination based on workers’ sexual orientations or gender identities constituted violations of Title VII. Since that time, the exact extent of federal law’s protection against gender identity discrimination remains an issue that is still developing. Whether you’re a worker who believes you’ve suffered this sort of harm or you’re an employer facing this type of charge, you definitely should consult a knowledgeable Atlanta employment discrimination lawyer with all due haste, who can advise you on the latest developments in the law and what your next steps should be.

As an illustration, we can look at all that has taken place just in the last six months.

In August, the Georgia Department of Corrections won a victory in a case regarding the interplay of preferred pronouns and gender identity discrimination. The employee, T.C. was a trans man who was AFAB (“assigned female at birth” or “born a biological female.”) In 2017, T.C. began hormone therapy. A year later, he legally changed his name.

Disability Accommodations, Interactive Processes, and What Constitutes ‘Thwarting’ Those Processes

December 29, 2022 | Parks, Chesin & Walbert

Every successful disability discrimination case necessarily involves several essential ingredients. You have to have suffered from a qualifying disability. You must have made a request that was sufficiently specific to put your employer on notice that you were seeking a disability accommodation. You also must have engaged in the interactive process in good faith. As you seek to build your failure-to-accommodate case, an experienced Atlanta disability discrimination lawyer can provide you with invaluable aid in securing and presenting the proof you’ll need to succeed.

A North Georgia employee’s case accusing her employer of failing to reasonably accommodate her disability recently scored an important victory in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. While the trial court had sided with the employer, the appeals court reversed that ruling and revived the case.

P.W. worked as a claims examiner in the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Atlanta regional office. The examiner, who was also a veteran, had degenerative disc disease in her back and partial paralysis in both her feet. Based on those conditions, the examiner asked for an accommodation regarding her parking spot. Normally, probationary examiners like P.W. had to park in an off-site parking lot one mile from the office; P.W. asked for permission to park on-site.

A Georgia Employer Agrees to Pay $47K After Allegedly Failing to Accommodate a Worker’s Lung Disease and Elevate Risk of Contracting COVID-19

December 23, 2022 | Parks, Chesin & Walbert

As we enter the holiday season this year, one thing for which we can be thankful is that most of us generally can celebrate the season with many fewer restrictions as compared to two years ago. Even as COVID-19 has dissipated from its 2020 worst, the virus (and complications from it) remains a reality for many people. That includes people who have one or more COVID-connected disabilities that require a workplace accommodation. If you’re one of those people and your employer denied you the accommodation you need, you should get in touch with a knowledgeable Atlanta disability discrimination lawyer to discuss what the legal system can do for you.

Last year, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued a Newton County pharmaceutical manufacturing employer in a first of its kind: an action against an employer for an alleged failure to accommodate a worker’s disability that was related to COVID-19. Recently, the EEOC announced that the employer had agreed to settle the case.

R.M., the employee in the case, was a health, safety, and environmental quality (“HSE”) manager at the company’s facility located about 50 miles east of Atlanta. In early March 2020, the manager’s doctor diagnosed her with obstructive lung disease. The doctor recommended that the manager work from home and take frequent breaks while working.

Company Holiday Parties in Georgia and How They Can Run Afoul of Sexual Harassment or Wage and Hour Laws

December 16, 2022 | Parks, Chesin & Walbert

Employers celebrating the holidays with company-wide parties are increasing in numbers. While not at 2019 levels, research shows that, in 2022, more than half are having in-person events. With office holiday parties returning, so too are the legal risks that run concurrently with them. Whether you’re an employer or an employee, it is important to acknowledge that the company holiday party can violate the law in more ways than you might have considered. For employers, a skilled Atlanta employment lawyer can help you keep your party legally compliant. For employees harmed as a result of these kinds of violations, the right legal counsel can be invaluable in protecting your legal options related to those violations.

The Chicago-based firm of Challenger, Gray & Christmas conducts an annual survey of employers regarding holiday parties. The firm’s 2022 survey revealed a massive uptick in in-person events, rising from 27% in 2021 to 57% this year. While not at 2019’s high (75%,) the 2022 number approaches where employers were in 2018 (65%.)

Holidays carry a unique set of risks for employers and employees alike. Especially in recent years, employers and employees alike have become more aware of the risks of sexual harassment at company holiday parties, especially when those events also involve the availability of alcoholic beverages.

An Atlanta Hospital Worker Receives $55K After Her Employer Failed to Accommodate Her Mental Health Disability

December 9, 2022 | Parks, Chesin & Walbert

As of 2020, according to the National Institute of Mental Health, nearly 53 million American adults — or 21% — had one or more forms of mental illness, which can cover a wide array of disorders from depression to anxiety to schizophrenia to addiction. Fortunately for those who experience mental illness to an extent that it impairs major life activities, the Americans With Disabilities Act offers substantial protection against employment discrimination. If you have a mental health disability and your employer failed to accommodate that disability, then they may have violated the ADA. You should contact a knowledgeable Atlanta disability discrimination lawyer to find out if an ADA violation has taken place and, if so, what your next steps should be.

That sort of failure to accommodate was exactly what allegedly happened to one employee of Atlanta’s largest public hospital, and it ended with the worker securing a payout via a settlement.

The worker, a certified medical assistant (CMA), began experiencing symptoms of depression in September 2019. The woman visited a doctor, who diagnosed her with severe depression. Based on that diagnosis, the employee asked for a little more than a month of leave.