11th Circuit Sexual Harrassment To Be ReHeard
In a surprise decision, the 11th circuit has decided to rehear a claim for alleged sexual harassment and retaliation. Corbitt v. Home Depot involves two men who claim that a male human resources manager made unwanted sexual advances toward the men. When they complained, the men were allegedly fired in retaliation. Last August the 11th Circuit Court of…
Read MoreSales Commissions FLSA Case
Just because sales or other commissions are a part of your paycheck doesn’t mean that you are exempted from overtime pay under the FLSA, says the federal District court in the Southern District of Ohio. Since this case also followed a Kansas District case, it looks like it could be good Georgia employment law as well. The…
Read MoreNew Hostile Work Environment Decision from the 11th Circuit
The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, which has jurisdiction over Georgia employment law, recently stuck up for anyone, especially women, who have to listen to endless trash- talking and vulgarities in the workplace. The case, Reeves v. C.H. Robinson Worldwide (11th Cir en banc 01/20/2010), involved a female plaintiff who claimed that she suffered a gender- based hostile work…
Read MoreAttending AA Meetings not Compensable Overtime
Many Georgia employees have struggled to overcome problems of substance abuse, which can devastate lives both at home and at work. But is it compensable time if you attend a 12- step program that is required as a condition of your employment? Not according to a federal trial court in Kentucky, which ruled against an employee who…
Read MoreAlternative Treatments, Vacations, and the FMLA
Many people these days are seeking alternatives to standard medical treatments, many of which do not involve licensed physicians. Do those treatments qualify family medical leave under the FMLA? And what if the treatments are taken in such a way that they basically constitute a vacation? No and no, says a federal district court in Massachusetts.…
Read MoreEmployment Polygraphs
Have you been told that you have to take a lie detector test as either a part of getting a job or keeping the job that you have? Your employer, whether in Georgia or anywhere else, probably can’t do that, and, even if you take the test, probably can’t use the test to affect your job. Under the…
Read MoreRetail Commissions and Overtime
Just because you receive commissions doesn’t necessarily mean that you don’t qualify for overtime. The FLSA has carved out an exemption to overtime pay for people who receive commissions as a part of their salaries, but it is a very narrow exception. It is possible that people working in malls all across Georgia should be talking…
Read MoreCan Teenagers Drive for Work in Georgia?
Many summer jobs, particularly in agriculture and construction, require employees to drive various vehicles as a part of the job. Small companies, especially, may be tempted to put young people in positions of responsibility in general, and have them driving in particular, without really knowing what the rules about teenage driving on the job are. There…
Read MoreBelo Plan Contracts
One of the requirements in the FLSA to prove that an employee is under salary and not an hourly employee for the purposes of paying overtime is the concept of a “constant weekly wage,” where the employee gets a set salary for set hours worked per week. Any variance on that theme can result in…
Read MoreMinor Lifeguards and the FLSA
Summer isn’t yet in full swing, but it is already hot here in Atlanta. One of the great summer jobs is lifeguarding, but it is employment that brings with it potential hazards, especially for people under the age of 18. Lifeguards who are minors have their own classification under the Youth Employment provisions of the…
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