Labor & Employment

Claims of ‘wage theft’ spark movement to increase federal enforcement, require detailed pay stubs

Amidst a spate of recent lawsuits seeking to hold fast-food restaurants accountable for alleged illegal employment practices that cut into employees’ paychecks, advocates for workers are portraying these claimed abuses as part of a bigger so-called wage theft problem that needs to be addressed throughout the country. Altered time cards,…

Apr 4, 2014 7:50 PM CDT

Federal judge says his directive to increase staffing in union prosecution was a wish, not an order

A federal judge in Pennsylvania said Thursday he was only expressing a wish—and not giving an order—when he told the U.S. Attorney’s office to assign additional prosecutors in a racketeering case against union members. U.S. District Judge Michael Baylson appeared conciliatory when he spoke with U.S. Attorney Zane David Memeger…

Apr 4, 2014 12:36 PM CDT

Worker mistakes woman’s body for April 1 prank, is fired but not criminally charged

When a desk clerk at a Florida senior housing complex took a smoke break and spotted a shape on the ground in the wee hours on Wednesday, he assumed the body was an April Fool’s Day joke. In fact, the body was real, but that wasn’t discovered until hours later.…

Apr 3, 2014 3:40 PM CDT

In ‘revolutionary’ ruling, NLRB says football players are employees of Northwestern, can unionize

Football players are employees of Northwestern University and can unionize, the National Labor Relations Board said in a ruling released Wednesday that is expected to reverberate throughout the country. Robert McCormick, a professor emeritus at Michigan State University College of Law, describes the decision as “revolutionary for college sports.” If…

Mar 26, 2014 8:25 PM CDT

Posner cites in-chambers donning and doffing experiment; dissenter is ‘startled, to say the least’

An appellate opinion (PDF) by Judge Richard Posner relates how the court’s own experiment rebuffed suggestions that poultry processing workers needed as long as 15 minutes to change into and out of required clothing for their jobs. Dissenting Judge Diane Wood said she was “startled, to say the least,” to…

Mar 25, 2014 11:15 AM CDT

EEOC ‘listening session’ focuses on possible workplace discrimination via social media posts

A worker on medical leave is seen skydiving in a photograph posted on Facebook, or another social media site. Should he or she be disciplined? What if a fellow employee who saw the photo got access to a password-protected site? Does the answer to that question differ if the photograph…

Mar 18, 2014 9:10 PM CDT

8th Circuit nixes suit by breastfeeding mom, says employer conduct wasn’t constructive discharge

A federal appeals court has affirmed a grant of summary judgment to the employer in a sex- and pregnancy-discrimination case, agreeing with the trial court that not having a lactation room available to the employee the day she returned from maternity leave and later having a department head encourage her…

Mar 17, 2014 8:40 PM CDT

Wellness programs addressing obesity could lead to litigation, lawyers say

The prospect of disability suits by obese employees is more likely, given recent developments, according to lawyers with expertise in the field. The Wall Street Journal’s Risk & Compliance Journal (sub. req.) spoke with several lawyers who saw an increased liability risk. Claudia Center, director of the disability rights program…

Mar 14, 2014 4:46 PM CDT

Should napping at work be encouraged? | Federal judge returns to popular blog with an announcement

U.S. District Judge Richard Kopf announced in January that he would stop posting at Hercules and the Umpire. But the judge logged back on a week ago and told readers that he has been diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. “Because I made such a fuss about legal realism and transparency while…

Mar 14, 2014 1:45 PM CDT

Workers sue McDonald’s in three states over claimed ‘stolen wages,’ seek class-action status

Already under fire from proponents of higher pay for fast-food workers, McDonald’s was the subject of a litigation attack this week that contends the chain and some of its franchise owners have underpaid workers in violation of wage-and-hour laws. Seven lawsuits filed in three states allege that the defendants denied…

Mar 13, 2014 6:45 PM CDT

2nd Circuit says judge abused discretion by denying attorney fees in ERISA case

A federal appeals court says a district court abused its discretion by denying attorney fees in an Employment Retirement Income Security Act case in which an insurance company was found to have been arbitrary and capricious in refusing benefits to the plaintiff, John Donachie. Liberty Life Insurance “ignored substantial evidence…

Mar 12, 2014 8:55 PM CDT

Obama will order an expansion of eligibility for overtime

President Obama will direct the Labor Department to draft new regulations to expand eligibility for overtime pay. The new restrictions will curb the number of employees currently defined as executive or professionals who are exempt from overtime requirements, report the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.).…

Mar 12, 2014 12:02 PM CDT

NYC police unions in stop-and-frisk litigation say they may mention case in contract talks

Two New York City police unions that filed motions to intervene in the city’s stop-and-frisk litigation may use it as leverage in ongoing contract discussions, Capital New York reports. “At the end of the day, the goal should be, from both sides of the table, to achieve fair contracts and…

Mar 10, 2014 8:32 PM CDT

SCOTUS to decide if workers should be paid for time spent in security screenings

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether workers who are required to go through security screenings must be paid for the extra time it takes. The Supreme Court granted cert Monday, the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) and the Seattle Times report. The case was filed by temporary…

Mar 5, 2014 12:20 PM CST

Can whistleblower protections apply to law firms? SCOTUS says yes in case involving mutual fund

Federal whistleblower protections that shield employees of public companies from retaliation also protect those who work for the companies’ privately held contractors and subcontractors, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled. The court ruled in a case involving whistleblowers who work at privately held companies advising Fidelity mutual funds, but Justice…

Mar 4, 2014 3:49 PM CST