Atlanta Employment Attorneys Blog

The FLSA’s Pay Practice Rules Regarding Inclement Weather-Related Business Closures

August 12, 2024 | Parks, Chesin & Walbert

Compliance with the federal overtime compensation and the minimum wage standards can be affected by many things… even the weather. These wide and varied influences on businesses’ compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act (and accompanying regulations) serve as a reminder that ensuring compliance is an extensive and multifaceted project. Whether you are an employer seeking to ensure your pay practices are compliant or a worker denied proper compensation, an experienced Atlanta wage and hour lawyer can advise you about your rights and obligations.

Hurricane Debby struck Florida earlier this month as a Category 1 storm but quickly entered Georgia packing tropical storm-force winds and massive volumes of rain. The storm forced schools, government offices, and businesses to close across South Georgia, including Savannah and Brunswick.

In North Georgia, our businesses are more likely to close temporarily because of snow and ice rather than tropical weather, but closures do happen. Employers may reasonably wonder what their pay obligations are under the FLSA when workers are not at work because of weather-related closures.

Resolving a Minimum Wage Lawsuit… and Steps to Reduce Risk Before Problems Arise

July 31, 2024 | Parks, Chesin & Walbert

As an employer, there are many ways to resolve a minimum wage dispute. Sometimes, there is no way within your control to keep the matter from going to trial but, oftentimes, options to avoid time-consuming and potentially expensive litigation exist if you desire to pursue them. When you are facing a potential Fair Labor Standards Act issue, a knowledgeable Atlanta wage and hour lawyer can provide assistance on many fronts. Your legal team can investigate the issue, determine what happened, and then advise you regarding the strengths and weaknesses of your position, in addition to advising you about all your options and which one makes the most sense, whether that is settling, arbitrating, or litigating.

A skilled advocate can also spot when the best solution is none of those. A 2024 case to our north is an example of such a solution.

In January, a server at a Tennessee Waffle House restaurant sued her employer for minimum wage violations of the FLSA.

What a Congressional Bill Could Mean to Georgia Employers When It Comes to FLSA Compliance… and the Penalties Attached to Violations

July 25, 2024 | Parks, Chesin & Walbert

Across the country, many state and local governments are enacting – or debating — legislation to combat wage theft. Another body considering statutory changes is the federal government, where a proposed bill would substantially increase the penalties on employers found to have violated the FLSA’s prohibitions against wage theft. Whether you are a worker who has been denied pay you were owed or yours is a business seeking to ensure statutory compliance, get the answers you need by consulting an experienced Atlanta wage and hour lawyer.

Governments that have recently enacted, or are debating, new wage theft laws include Oregon, California, Minnesota, New York State, and the City of Denver, to name a few.

The proposal pending in the U.S. House of Representatives, which has come up in each of the last two Congresses, is a bill called the “Wage Theft Prevention and Wage Recovery Act.”

Firing a Worker on FMLA Leave and the Law of FMLA Retaliation

July 17, 2024 | Parks, Chesin & Walbert

Sometimes, a worker’s requesting or taking Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) will cause an unethical employer to fire that employee wrongfully. Other times, though, a legally compliant employer legitimately needs to fire an employee on FMLA leave. Whether you are an employee caught in the former scenario or an employer thrust into the latter circumstance, you need a clear understanding of your FMLA rights and responsibilities, which is where the advice of an experienced Atlanta FMLA leave lawyer can be vital.

An example of the latter of those two FMLA situations occurred in a case that ended in federal litigation recently. The lawsuit pitted a municipal employer against one of its park employees.

The employee, M.M., was an assistant park manager who started and maintained a food pantry at the park’s family center. In early 2022, the city’s HR team enlisted a local police detective to investigate allegations that the manager had been unloading donated pantry items at her home and keeping them for herself

Lessons About Exempt Versus Non-exempt Classifications from a Recent Call Center Employee Case

July 11, 2024 | Parks, Chesin & Walbert

As an employer or an employee, compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act is important to you. If you are a worker, non-compliance often means denial of the total compensation the law says your employer owes you. As an employer, non-compliance can have numerous damaging and costly consequences. If you have questions about FLSA compliance, including classification and exemption issues, make sure you are getting reliable answers by contacting an experienced Atlanta wage and hour lawyer.

For employers, misclassification is a common basis for FSA violation liability. Errors can occur in the context of employer-versus-independent contractor classifications or exempt-employee-versus-non-exempt-employee determinations. When deeming a worker as an exempt employee, it is important to identify all bases under which that worker may be exempt under the law, as a recent ruling from the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals illustrates.

The unpaid overtime case involved an auto dealership group in West Palm Beach, Florida, and three of its call center employees. The employees, who worked in the dealership’s “business development center,” a separate building next door to the dealership’s auto showroom, spoke to prospective car buyers over the phone to convince them to make appointments to visit the showroom and speak with showroom salespersons.

The Emergence of AI in the Workplace and How AI Can Potentially Contribute to FLSA Violations

June 28, 2024 | Parks, Chesin & Walbert

These days, ads for artificial intelligence-related programs and applications seem to be everywhere. AI has the potential to do many beneficial things like making workplaces more efficient and safer. It also has the possibility of negative impacts, including in the area of employment law. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) recently released a publication warning of ways that AI can lead employers into violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Whether or not they are tied to AI, an experienced Atlanta wage and hour lawyer can provide very human answers to all your questions about FLSA compliance.

The WHD’s recent publication, Field Assistance Bulletin No. 2024-1, looked at ways AI could lead an employer into non-compliance. The first area the division discussed was AI productivity monitors.

Modern AI technology can monitor workers “in real time,” using metrics like website browsing, the number of computer keystrokes or mouse clicks, or eye movements (via webcam,) to ascertain an employee’s activity and productivity levels. While employers may use this technology and these metrics to assess employees’ diligence and productivity, those determinations do not necessarily govern how the law calculates workers’ hours worked.

Recent Actions by the U.S. Department of Labor Point to Ways Employers May Run Afoul of Rules Governing Tipped Worker Pay

June 21, 2024 | Parks, Chesin & Walbert

Many bartenders, restaurant servers, and others in the hospitality industry depend on tips for a substantial portion of their compensation. In these industries, minimum wage and overtime disputes are common, whether they arise from good-faith recordkeeping errors or intentional misconduct by employers. Whether you are an employer or a tipped employee, look to an experienced Atlanta wage and hour lawyer when you have questions about the laws and regulations regarding tipped work.

If you are a tipped employee or your team includes tipped employees, it is important to understand thoroughly the FLSA and the Labor Department’s rules regarding tipped workers.

The FLSA bars employers from paying tipped workers only in tips. Minimum wage law requires employers of tipped workers to pay those employees sub-minimum wages, but that sub-minimum floor is not zero. For states that do not have standards above the FLSA requirement, federal law controls.

The Price of Non-Compliance: An Automaker in Alabama to Pay $438K for Engaging in Illegal FMLA Retaliation

June 14, 2024 | Parks, Chesin & Walbert

The Family and Medical Leave Act grants substantial rights to workers and has the potential to impose significant penalties on employers who fail to comply with the law, as an employer in neighboring Alabama found out recently. Given how costly a violation can be (either to you as an employer or a worker,) it is highly important to know your FMLA rights and responsibilities. If you have questions or concerns, you should consult an experienced Atlanta FMLA retaliation lawyer.

An investigation that the U.S. Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division recently wrapped up is a good example of how employers can engage in FMLA retaliation, possibly even without malicious motivation.

The case involved two workers at an auto plant west of Birmingham, Alabama. One worker sought FMLA leave to care for a family member, and the other requested time off due to their own medical condition.

Maintaining Independent Contractor Status Now that the U.S. Department of Labor’s New Rule Has Taken Effect

June 10, 2024 | Parks, Chesin & Walbert

Commentators sometimes cast independent contractor status as a tool for employers to exploit employees and avoid paying those workers properly. In reality, independent contractor status can provide substantial advantages to workers… and some prefer it. With the U.S. Department of Labor’s new final rule regarding employee-versus-independent-contractor status having taken effect on March 11, independent contractors and hiring entities may wonder what they can do to ensure compliance with the new rule. A good place to start is peaking to a knowledgeable Atlanta wage and hour lawyer.

As noted above, some workers firmly prefer independent status. Independent contractor status allows workers to set their own schedule/hours, control how they do their work, and, in many situations, not have the income limitations that salaried work does.

One industry with many independent contractors is real estate. According to the National Association of Realtors, around 89% of its members work as independent contractors.

‘Discretion and Independent Judgment’ Within the Context of the Administrative Exemption to the FLSA’s Overtime Rules

May 31, 2024 | Parks, Chesin & Walbert

One way for an employer to defeat an employee’s unpaid overtime claim is to establish that the worker was exempt from those provisions in the Fair Labor Standards Act. The law has several types of FLSA exemptions, including the executive exemption, the administrative exemption, the professional exemption, the computer employee exemption, the outside sales exemption, and the highly compensated employee exemption, among others. Whether you are an employee or an employer, understanding the scope of these exemptions, and when they do (or don’t) apply can be crucial. An experienced Atlanta wage-and-hour lawyer can provide much-needed advice and information about these exemptions.

A recent case from the Middle District of Georgia looked at one exemption in particular – the administrative exemption.

According to the employees’ lawsuit, their employer illegally failed to pay them overtime compensation in violation of the FLSA. The employer contended that it did not owe the women overtime pay because the administrative exemption applied.