Posts by Buckley Bala Wilson Mew LLP
Fake Employment Letter Study Reveals Disability Discrimination
A recent article in the New York Times revealed a disconcerting finding and the uphill battle many face against employment discrimination. The conclusion comes as the result of a study conducted by researchers from Syracuse and Rutgers Universities. The researchers sent cover letters and resumes to thousands of employers from fictitious people seeking accounting jobs.…
Read MoreDellinger v. Science Applications International
In a recent court of appeals decision out of the Fourth Circuit, the court determined that while current and former employees are entitled to protection from retaliation under the Fair Labor Standards Act FLSA, prospective employees are not entitled to the same protection. In Dellinger v. Science Applications International, the 4th Circuit evaluated a woman’s…
Read MoreRetail Misclassification Prevalent
Pursuant to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), generally, all non-exempt workers who put in more than 40 hours in any workweek are entitled to earn overtime pay at a rate of one and one-half times their standard rate of pay for the extra time worked. Thus, determining who is exempt and who is not…
Read MoreAdvocates Petition President Obama To Fight Employment Discrimination
Federal and state laws protect against various different types of discrimination. For example, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employers from discrimination against employees on the basis of religion, gender, sex, national origin, or race. Additionally, the Americans with Disability Act (ADA) and the American with Disabilities Amendments Act (ADAAA) prohibit…
Read MoreChanges To FLSA Increase Number of Workers Covered
The Department of Labor (DOL) made several changes this summer, including two announcements that will likely expand the number of workers covered under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The first change involved “white collar” exemptions and the DOL’s proposed rule that the salary threshold for having exempt status be raised from $455/week to $970/week. Workers…
Read MoreWhat Actions Constitute Age Discrimination?
According to recent employment law reports, a man has filed an age discrimination lawsuit against 7-Eleven, the national convenience store chain. The employment discrimination claim asserts that a 73-year-old man was hired by a convenience store seven years ago as a cashier. The man earned $9.25 an hour. However, in January 2014, 7-Eleven took over…
Read MoreWage and Hour Lawsuits In the Hospitality Industry on the Rise
Recently, there has been a notable increase in lawsuits alleging violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), particularly in the hospitality industry. In fact, a recent Wall Street Journal article highlighted the surge in lawsuits against high-end Manhattan restaurants, noting that similar lawsuits nationwide have doubled in the past decade. This rise can be…
Read MoreRequiring “Strength Test” May Constitute Sex and Age Discrimination
Discrimination laws prohibit employment discrimination against current and prospective employees based on various protected categories such as race, sex, national origin, and religion. Not all instances of employment discrimination are blatant. In some situations, a company’s rules or policies, such as English-only rules or mandatory tests for job qualification, can constitute discrimination. For example, in…
Read MoreNew Bill Takes Aim At Employment Discrimination Based on Credit Report
Recently, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) introduced a new bill aimed at eliminating potential employment discrimination based on credit scores. The bill, called the Equal Employment for All Act, criticizes the practice of American employers checking the credit history of job applicants. The legislators argue that such credit history checks discriminate…
Read MoreIntern or Employee?
The question of whether student interns should be considered employees is a challenging one in employment law. If a student intern is deemed an employee, they may be entitled to employment benefits under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), including receiving at least minimum wage and overtime compensation for hours worked beyond 40 in a…
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