An Employer is Not Responsible to Pay Off-the-Clock Work Time about Which It Knows Nothing A company normally must compensate an employee for any time he/she put in service to that company even if such work was not authorized. Thus, while an employer can issue policy barring overtime work or policy requiring advance approval for […]
An Employer’s Lesson In Thorough Documentation In Los Angeles County, it is not uncommon to see 100 lawsuits filed weekly against employers for alleged unlawful discrimination or retaliation, often both in the same complaint. One could say that unless a business knows and applies the important basics in preventing such expensive and time-consuming claims, it […]
Underpayment of Minimum Wage and Overtime Is Foul Play Thirty-three former minor league ball players seek to pull back the curtain on alleged system-wide violations of minimum wage or overtime. Their federal class action suit challenges Commissioner Bud Selig, the Office of the Commissioner, and, in effect, every baseball team in the country to remedy […]
Companies Must Uphold Worker Rights to Religious Garb or Grooming Even if It Means Losing Business The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is responsible for enforcing the federal laws prohibiting discrimination in commerce, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964, nicknamed “Title VII.” In the wake of the September 11 attacks, the EEOC has fielded […]
When In Doubt, Choose Contracts Over Lunch In a 1990 copyright decision over a sci-fi flick featuring alien frozen yogurt enslaving the human race (yes, that is correct), federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Alex Kozinski noted that the producer defendant — a “low-budget horror movie mogul” – justified his attempt to use another’s […]
U.S. Supreme Court Turns to History and Webster’s Dictionary to Defeat a Class Action Against U.S. Steel A minimal underpayment of wages to a single worker can morph into a claim potentially worth millions if magnified across a “class” of many workers subject to the same alleged employment practices. Targeting larger employers, such “class action” […]