Atlanta Employment Attorneys Blog

Federal Court in Tennessee Permits Sexual Harassment and Hostile Work Environment Claims to Move Forward

July 28, 2014 | Parks, Chesin & Walbert

A district court in Tennessee has permitted some claims in a sexual harassment suit to move forward after one male employee accused a male coworker of inappropriate behavior.

In Smith v. Rock-TENN Services, Inc., Jeffrey Smith worked for Rock-Tenn Services, Inc., a box and packaging materials manufacturer from August 2010 until the end of September 2011. Around the beginning of 2011, Smith claimed that a male coworker, James Leonard, slapped him on the rear during a shift. In accordance with the company’s sexual harassment policy, Smith first informed Leonard that he did not want Leonard touching him. A few days later, Leonard allegedly grabbed Smith “in the crack of his butt,” hard enough that his rear was irritated for two days. This time, Smith grabbed Leonard by the arm and threatened him, but he did not report either incident to a higher authority. However, Leonard was eventually placed on a performance improvement plan for “horseplay sexual harassment” after another employee reported him. Leonard was informed that any further sexual harassment allegations would be grounds for termination.

Nonetheless, in June 2011, Smith claimed that Leonard grabbed him by the hips while he was bent over a machine and thrust his genitals against him. Smith then grabbed Leonard by the throat and held him for roughly 30 seconds before releasing him. Smith then reported the incident to his supervisor, as well as to two other supervisors. One supervisor he informed of all three incidents. After an investigation was done, the supervisors concluded that Leonard should be terminated. However, the general manager, who was unaware of all three of Leonard’s actions toward Smith, disagreed and thought that the evidence was only enough to merit a three-day suspension as a final warning.

Federal Court in Georgia Grants Motion for Summary Judgment in Sexual Harassment Lawsuit

July 21, 2014 | Parks, Chesin & Walbert

A federal court in Georgia has granted a motion for summary judgment in a sexual harassment case and entered judgment in favor of the employers.

In Denmark v. RPM, Inc., Tina Denmark, an African American woman, worked for TCI Powder Coatings as a quality control technician through an agency, The Staffing People, Inc., from 2008 until 2009. During that time, Denmark claimed to have suffered from gender discrimination, sexual harassment, and retaliation in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. After she filed her lawsuit against both TCI and The Staffing People, TCI filed a motion for summary judgment. It argued that Denmark failed to satisfy the administrative prerequisite to filing a suit under Title VII, that her claims did not establish a prima facie case for gender discrimination, sexual harassment, or retaliation, and that Denmark failed to meet the burden of raising a dispute as to whether TCI’s reasons for terminating her were just a pretext.

The court examined whether TCI’s claims had merit. Denmark worked through The Staffing People at TCI’s small batch plant in Ellaville, Georgia, before being promoted to work in the main plant. Although Denmark’s job duties were assigned by TCI, she was required to execute a checklist before starting her position that acknowledged The Staffing People’s policies and procedures. Among other things, The Staffing People required Denmark to contact both TCI and The Staffing People if she was ever going to be late for work. The Staffing People permitted one instance of tardiness and one absence in the first 90-day period and each 90-day period thereafter. Should Denmark be terminated from TCI, she would also be terminated from The Staffing People.

Federal Court in Georgia Dismisses Discrimination Lawsuit in Part Because Plaintiff Failed to State a Claim

July 14, 2014 | Parks, Chesin & Walbert

A federal court in Georgia recently partially dismissed an employment discrimination suit on the grounds that the plaintiff failed to state a claim.

In Williams v. Vilsack, plaintiff Mary Williams filed a complaint “pro se,” which means that she did so without representation by an attorney, claiming that she was discriminated against due to her race and gender, and also faced a hostile work environment.

Williams worked for the United States Department of Agriculture, which she claimed discriminated against her in the form of reprisal for a previous report of discrimination, when Williams’ employer denied her a non-competitive promotion to another position. Williams filed her complaint in 2008, and the matter went before an administrative law judge at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). In 2010, the judge found that the USDA did not discriminate against Williams on the basis of reprisal, and Williams appealed the Final Order. Yet in February 2013, the EEOC Office of Federal Operations affirmed the Final Order and denied Williams’ request for reconsideration. Williams then filed a civil lawsuit in federal court in December 2013.

Federal Court in Tennessee Permits FLSA Retaliation Case to Proceed

July 7, 2014 | Parks, Chesin & Walbert

A federal court in Tennessee recently rejected an employer’s attempts to have a retaliation case dismissed. In Sanders v. Whites Creek Healthcare, LLC, Lesia Sanders had filed a retaliation case under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), claiming that she was terminated from her position after reporting her employer’s illegal labor practices.

Sanders allegedly observed that a member of Human Resources was altering the employees’ time sheets and failing to pay hourly employees proper wages for work they performed off the clock. On “numerous” occasions, she allegedly informed her immediate supervisor that certain employees were not being properly compensated, and she also attempted to inform her District Manager, only to be ignored. Following her report, Sanders was placed on a performance improvement plan, followed by suspension and then termination. Sanders’s termination letter reportedly stated that her sole reason for termination was that she was aware a member of Human Resources was violating federal law and the employer’s policies yet “continued to condone” Human Resources’ practice.

Sanders filed a lawsuit in federal district court, and Whites Creek Healthcare filed a motion for summary judgment to have it dismissed. The federal court looked at whether, as Whites Creek Healthcare claimed, there was no genuine issue of material fact, and Whites Creek Healthcare was therefore entitled to judgment as a matter of law.

Federal Court in Georgia Conditionally Certifies Class of Home Service Consultants

June 25, 2014 | Parks, Chesin & Walbert

A federal court in Georgia recently permitted conditional certification of a class of Home Service Consultants in Randle v. AllConnect, Inc. The plaintiffs seeking conditional certification had charged that their employer, AllConnect, had failed to pay overtime compensation for all hours in excess of 40 per week, and that AllConnect failed to pay overtime compensation at the required overtime rate, in violation of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

AllConnect was a company that provided third-party sales support for telephone and cable service providers. The main plaintiff, Ayisha Randle, worked at the Atlanta-based Allconnect call center from March 2012 through November 2013. Randle’s duties as a Home Service Consultant were to receive telephone calls from potential customers, sell them new services, and set up their accounts. Randle received pay on an hourly basis as well as a commission based on her sales. She received supervision from her team lead, Crystal Johnson, who reported to Victor Moore, the Floor Manager.

Randle argues that AllConnect managed to avoid paying Home Service Consultants for all of the hours worked per week by having a policy that required them to work off of the clock to complete their sales calls. Randle’s supervisor would direct to log off of the company’s telephone system (and timekeeping system) at the end of her shift, but still direct calls to her so that she was required to continue working. In a typical week, Randle claims that she worked three to five hours off of the clock. In January 2014, Randle finally filed a claim, seeking to represent current and former Home Service Consultants from AllConnect’s Atlanta-based call center within the last three years who were not paid overtime for their off-the-clock work. She then moved to have AllConnect produce the names and addresses of potential class members. AllConnect motioned that it did not oppose conditional class certification.

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.

Federal Court in Tennessee Denies Summary Judgment in Case Where Employee Retaliated Against For Reporting Illegal Activity

June 11, 2014 | Parks, Chesin & Walbert

A federal court in Tennessee recently denied a motion for summary judgment against an employee claiming that he was retaliated against by his employer after reporting illegal activity.

In Walls v. Tennessee CVS Pharmacy, LLC, Michael Walls worked for CVS from 1998 to 2011, mainly as a store manager. As part of his position, Walls was responsible for the entire store, although each pharmacy fell under its pharmacist’s responsibility. In 2007, Walls became the manager for the Madison CVS store, where he observed that the pharmacist, Dr. Warner, suffered from a loss of cognition. Walls reported the problem, but nothing was done to correct it. Eight months later, Walls raised the issue again at a meeting of district managers. One week after that, he was transferred to a different CVS store in Nashville.

Soon after Walls began work at that store, he and a pharmacist discovered that more than 20,000 prescription medicines in the pharmacy were past the expiration date printed on the bottle, some as many as four years. Since many of those bottles were just partially full, Walls became concerned that the pharmacy had been dispensing medicines to customers that were past their expiration date. This included HIV medications, anti-rejection drugs, children’s medication, and pain medication. Since it was against CVS policy to have out-of-date medication, Walls reported the problem to his superiors at the company, including the District Manager and supervising pharmacist. His superiors never showed any indication that they were investigating his concerns.

Federal Court in Tennessee Allows Racial Discrimination Case to Move Forward

June 4, 2014 | Parks, Chesin & Walbert

A federal court in Tennessee granted in part and denied in part an employer’s motion for summary judgment in a case involving racial discrimination and unpaid wages.

In Davis v. FedEx Corporate Services, Inc., Rosie Davis was an African American who began working for FedEx in 1989. Beginning in 2003, she began working as a Marketing Coordinator, considered to be a nonexempt position, which means that she was entitled to overtime pay for hours exceeding eight in one day, or 40 per week. However, Davis believed that she was performing the duties of an Associate Marketing Specialist, an exempt position with higher pay.

Davis made a complaint in 2010 that she was working “out of class,” and her coworkers testified that she had performed significant managerial tasks, including training numerous colleagues and conducting meetings. FedEx then performed a job reclassification audit, which included an interview with Davis, review of her performance appraisals, and discussion with her supervisor. Davis detailed the extent of her job duties, and the investigator appeared surprised by the scope. Even so, Davis learned later that month that her job would not receive a reclassification because her work was primarily administrative. The conclusions were based on findings that Davis had never run a meeting and her statements were highly exaggerated.

Federal Judge in Georgia Denies Conditional Class Certification in Unpaid Overtime Case

May 24, 2014 | Parks, Chesin & Walbert

A federal judge in Georgia recently denied a plaintiff’s motion for conditional certification of a class-action lawsuit over wage and hour violations.

In Wallace v. Norcross Associates, LLC, the plaintiffs sought unpaid overtime wages under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Alvina Wallace and the other litigants were sales associates or sales representatives employed by Norcross Associates, a telemarketing business that sold long-term telephone service contracts for providers like Verizon. During their employment, Wallace and the others worked on various sales campaigns geared toward business and residential customers. In return, they received payment along several different compensation schemes, including hourly pay, hourly pay and commissions, commissions only, commissions with $10 per hour recoverable draw, and an increasing hourly rate based on the total number of products and services sold.

Under these schemes, Wallace was employed from April 2007 until March 2012, during which time she was compensated at an hourly rate, an hourly rate plus commissions, and commissions only with a $10 per hour recoverable draw. Other litigants were paid on a commissions-only basis with a $10 per hour recoverable draw or an hourly basis plus commissions. All involved claimed that they regularly worked more than 40 hours per week but were never paid overtime. They also argued that their employer never paid them all of the commissions that they earned. Their employer, for its part, claimed that it had paid the litigants for all of their time. Nonetheless, Wallace and the other litigants sought FLSA section 216(b) class status.

Federal Court in Georgia Denies Motion to Dismiss in Wage and Hour, Sexual Harassment Lawsuit

May 17, 2014 | Parks, Chesin & Walbert

A federal court in Georgia recently denied a motion to dismiss in a case where an employee alleged wage and hour violations and sexual harassment.

In Malphurs v. Cooling Tower Systems, Inc., Amanda Malphurs worked at Cooling Tower Systems in an hourly position from November 2011 to May 2012. Her duties included working in her employer’s warehouse, posting cooling tower lines and other equipment for sale on an auction website, and doing other office work. During this time, Malphurs was allegedly denied overtime compensation for her work beyond eight hours in the day. At the same time, she was allegedly exposed to “frequent, ongoing, and continuous harassing conduct of a sexual nature” by Joe Coates, the sole owner of Cooling Tower Systems. He would require Malphurs to work long hours late into the day allegedly so they could be alone, and when Malphurs requested overtime pay, he refused to compensate her unless she acquiesced to his sexual demands.

Malphurs frequently asked Coates to stop his harassment, but Coates ignored her. As he was her sole boss, she could not turn to anyone else to discipline or terminate him. Finally, unable to cope with the situation any further, Malphurs quit.