Atlanta Employment Attorneys Blog

What Happens When an Employer Willfully Misclassifies a Worker as an Independent Contractor Instead of an Employee

April 22, 2022 | Parks, Chesin & Walbert

Regrettably, employee misclassifications occur all too frequently. Sometimes, they may be the result of good-faith errors. Other times, though, the employer knew (or should have known) that it was not following the law. When that happens, you can seek a finding in your unpaid overtime case that your employer willfully violated the Fair Labor Standards Act, which can greatly enhance the compensation you can receive. If you think your employer willfully broke the law, you need an experienced Atlanta unpaid overtime lawyer to help you get everything to which the law entitles you.

J.M. was one of those people. She worked for a company that provided “in-home healthcare and companion services.” According to her lawsuit, J.M. frequently worked more than 80 hours a week. However, she received only $1,500 per month for her work. The employer allegedly never paid J.M. any overtime for any of the hours she worked.

The employer did this by classifying J.M. as an independent contractor rather than an employee. J.M.’s lawsuit asserted that her independent contractor status was a misclassification, that the employer knew (or ought to have known) it was a misclassification, and that the employer willfully violated the FLSA.

A Six-Figure Civil Judgment and the Lessons That Can Be Leaned About Psychological Conditions and Disability Discrimination

April 15, 2022 | Parks, Chesin & Walbert

Mental health conditions can be challenging things for those who have them. People may fail to understand your condition, may fail to appreciate the severity of the condition, or otherwise not treat the condition with the care necessary. When those failures have an impact on your job, they may represent disability discrimination in violation of the law. If you’ve endured such a scenario, an experienced Atlanta disability discrimination lawyer may be able to help.

Recently, news sources around the world reported on the case of a Kentucky man who recovered a six-figure civil judgment. Some headlines appeared to say that the man received a $450,000 payday because his employer threw him a birthday party he didn’t want.

The truth, as is often the case, was far more complex. The employee was a man who had an anxiety disorder that intermittently triggered panic attacks. One such trigger was being placed at the center of attention, such as celebrations of his birthday.

Federal Law Prohibits Employers from Retaliating Against You for Pursuing Your Rights Under the FMLA and the FLSA

April 8, 2022 | Parks, Chesin & Walbert

When it comes to things like minimum wage, overtime, and Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave, there are multiple different ways that your employer can violate the law. First, there’s the violation itself, in which your employer denies you what the statute demands. Additionally, though, many cases involve retaliation, where an employer punishes an employee for asserting (or, in some instances, merely inquiring about) their statutory rights. An experienced Atlanta employment lawyer can help you determine if retaliation occurred in your case and how to pursue relief for that retaliation.

Last month, the U.S. Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) issued a new guidance document focusing on the issue of retaliation. Specifically, the bulletin placed a spotlight on instances of retaliation against workers who assert their rights under the FMLA, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), and other labor laws.

As the bulletin noted, legal protections against retaliation are necessary to safeguard workers’ rights. A worker forced to choose between being illegally underpaid or having no job at all reasonably might choose the former over the latter. As a result, “it continues to be of paramount importance that WHD fully enforce the anti-retaliation provisions of the laws.”

A Georgia Worker’s Self-Authored Discrimination Complaint Fails Due to Multiple Pleading Mistakes

March 31, 2022 | Parks, Chesin & Walbert

If you believe that you’ve been the target of discrimination at work, the right Atlanta employment discrimination lawyer can help you in innumerable ways. One of the key areas where your attorney will help is the composition of the complaint that you’ll file with the court.

There are certain things you must do and certain things you must not do, and failures in these areas can lead to the dismissal of your case. Getting this right is critical, and many potential traps await those who don’t know what they’re doing.

The discrimination case of an employee at a southwest Georgia college makes for a good example. In any discrimination case, you have to allege that you suffered some type of adverse employment action. There are a lot of different actions your employer can take that the law may recognize as adverse. Obviously, getting fired is an adverse action. So is a demotion, and even a lateral transfer may be adverse if your new job has lower pay or is less desirable or prestigious.

Getting Technical: How an Experienced Atlanta FLSA Attorney Can Help When Your Case Presents Procedural Issues

March 24, 2022 | Parks, Chesin & Walbert

Sometimes, some people can lull themselves into a false sense of confidence when it comes to litigating their unpaid overtime, minimum wage, improper classification, or other Fair Labor Standards Act case. They may tell themselves they don’t need an experienced Atlanta employment lawyer. They might say to themselves “I worked 40 hours each week and I only got paid $200 per week, so how hard can it be to present — and win — my minimum wage case?”

Don’t let yourself fall into this trap. Even cases that seem to have very clear-cut facts in your favor often present thorny issues of law and/or court procedure that require (or at least can benefit from) the deft touch knowledgeable legal representation will provide.

Take, for example, the FLSA case of H.T., a man who worked as a builder/installer for a South Georgia construction company. The construction company allegedly “controlled all aspects” of the builder’s work, including choosing the construction sites where the builder worked and assigning the tasks the builder completed while there. The company also set the builder’s work schedule, provided him with all the necessary materials and equipment, and controlled the amount of payment the builder received, according to H.T.’s lawsuit.

How Long You Have to Take Legal Action in Georgia If You’ve Been Denied Overtime or a Minimum Wage

March 17, 2022 | Parks, Chesin & Walbert

In certain areas of business, sports, or life in general, it is often said that “timing is everything.” If you are someone whose employer has failed to pay you appropriate overtime compensation or pay you in accordance with minimum wage laws, timing isn’t everything but it is undeniably a crucially important thing. Waiting too long can mean a case outcome where you recover nothing, regardless of how strong your proof is. If you’ve illegally underpaid, don’t wait to act. Go out as soon as possible to talk to a knowledgeable Atlanta unpaid overtime or minimum wage lawyer about your situation.

A recent overtime and minimum wage case from a federal court in neighboring Florida is a reminder of how important a thorough understanding of how the statutes of limitations, and the deadlines they impose, are.

In that case, J.R. worked at a motel in Lakeland, Florida, starting in 2010. According to her complaint, the woman averaged roughly 98 per week on the job. In return, the motel owner allegedly paid her anywhere from $0 to $30 per week.

How ‘No-Fault’ Attendance Policies May Run Afoul of the FMLA or the ADA

March 11, 2022 | Parks, Chesin & Walbert

Employers today continue to innovate in many areas related to the operation of their workplaces. When they do so, modifications in the way workplaces function may impact many areas. Sometimes, they may even violate certain employment laws, like the Americans with Disabilities Act and/or the Family Medical Leave Act. If that has happened to you, don’t suffer in silence. Instead, retain an experienced Atlanta employment retaliation lawyer and take action.

One of those relatively recent innovations is the “no-fault” attendance policy. These policies are used by some of America’s biggest employers, in industries ranging from food processing to hospitality to manufacturing to retail. Under a “no-fault” system, you, as an employee, incur a “point” (sometimes called an “occurrence”) each time you have an unplanned absence, late arrival, or early departure, regardless of the reason.

On the surface, it might sound good, as it potentially removes the need to jump through various paperwork-acquisition tasks and other hoops to justify or excuse your absence. However, these policies have downsides. For one thing, some can automatically trigger severe consequences after an employee exceeds a certain number of occurrences. These consequences may include a suspension without pay or termination, even if all of the employee’s absences were legitimate and medically based.

Successor Liability and Your Federal Unpaid Overtime Case in Georgia

February 21, 2022 | Parks, Chesin & Walbert

When your employer fails to pay you what you’re owed under the law, you inevitably are going to face certain challenges in getting that compensation. Having your employer engage in legal subterfuge to avoid paying you should not be one of them, but it does happen. Any time you need to pursue legal action for the pay you’ve wrongfully been denied, but especially when your employer has engaged in illegal steps to try to escape paying, you need the advocacy of a knowledgeable Atlanta unpaid overtime lawyer.

One of those techniques may be for your employer simply to shutter their old business and create a new one at the same location, run by the same people, doing the same work.

A pair of paralegals who worked at a law office in Miami recently filed a legal action where they claimed that that was what happened to them. According to the paralegals, the employer improperly failed to pay them proper regular and overtime compensation, so they quit in the summer of 2019 and initiated a Fair Labor Standards Act lawsuit in federal court.

An Atlanta Worker Gets $130K After Her Employer Wrongfully Delayed Approving Her Use of Non-Revolving Entrance Doors

February 14, 2022 | Parks, Chesin & Walbert

Some years ago, an employment discrimination attorney on the other side of the country said, after analyzing a court ruling in his state, that the key point employers should take away from the decision was, essentially, “don’t be a schmuck,” (only he didn’t say “schmuck.”) Today, too many employers are making the lives of some workers with disabilities needlessly difficult — as well as violating the law — because they didn’t heed this lawyer’s wise advice when came to approving disability accommodations. If you’re a person with disabilities here in Georgia and your employer has engaged in similar conduct toward you, they may have violated the Americans With Disabilities Act, so you definitely should make the effort to contact an experienced Atlanta disability discrimination lawyer to talk about your situation.

A federal disability discrimination case that was recently settled seems like it may have been one of these times. The employee, S.M., worked for a large health insurance employer in Atlanta. The building where the woman worked had multiple entrances but, generally, employees were required to pass through revolving doors to enter the building.

S.M., however, had significant claustrophobia, and passing through a revolving door was exceedingly problematic for her. Based on her condition, the woman sought a workplace accommodation, which was to use a non-revolving door. S.M. provided the employer with a letter from her doctor stating her need for the accommodation and, though the court did not delve into the details of the building’s entrances, hers would seem like a modest accommodation request.

‘Enter Username and Password’: When the Minutes You Spend Prepping for Your Shift May Be Countable Time for Calculating Your Overtime Pay

February 7, 2022 | Parks, Chesin & Walbert

Lots of workers know the drill. Officially, your workday begins at 8:00 am or 9:00 am or whenever, but it doesn’t really begin at that time. “Eight o’clock” means you have to be ready to take calls or manufacture items or enter data into a computer at 8:00, which means that your workday actually begins at 7:50 or 7:45 or 7:whatever, when you have to be at your workstation and get started prepping for the tasks that must start at the top of the hour. What you may not know, however, is that those minutes prepping may potentially count in calculating overtime pay and in determining whether your pay meets the minimum wage. If your employer isn’t counting this time, it is possible your employer is shortchanging you in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Get in touch with an Atlanta minimum wage and overtime lawyer to find out more.

The law says that certain forms of preparation are things that must be counted when calculating your total hours worked. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, employers’ failure “to count and properly pay for pre-shift work is a common violation” of the FLSA and other related federal laws.

A recent example of this kind of FLSA violation involved a company based in neighboring Florida that the Labor Department cited for violating the law, affecting dozens of workers, the Miami Herald reported.