A Look at EEOC-Enforced Laws: 9 Prohibited Practices for Employers (Pt. 2)
Resuming A Look at EEOC-Enforced Laws: 9 Prohibited Practices for Employers (Pt. 1), here, we’ll continue pointing out some of the specific discriminatory actions that employers in the U.S. are NOT allowed to take, according to current U.S. law.
More Prohibited Practices for Employers
4 – Dis…
A Look at EEOC-Enforced Laws: 9 Prohibited Practices for Employers (Pt. 1)
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is the authority that oversees the enforcement of U.S. laws prohibiting various kinds of workplace discrimination.
In this blog series, we’ll highlight some of the specific practices these laws prohibit American employers from doing, as wel…
EEOC Sues FedEx Ground for Institutional Disability Discrimination
The United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) has filed suit against the shipping company FedEx Ground Package System, Inc., (“FedEx Ground”) claiming that the employer violated federal law nationwide by discriminating against a large class of deaf and hard-of-hearing package…
Pregnancy Discrimination and Light Duty – Hope on the Horizon?
In a blog post last month, I discussed the dilemma of the pregnant employee whose medical restrictions (i.e. not being allowed to lift something heavy) prevents her from doing something her employer considers the central function of her job. Is that employee out of a job? Can it be that her only…
A New First for the EEOC
A couple of weeks ago, the EEOC filed its first ever lawsuits over alleged sex discrimination against transgender individuals. In both lawsuits, transgender workers were fired for being transgender and not conforming to the employer’s gender-based expectations. Both cases involve employees who we…
FLSA violations in the Oil and Gas Industries
Recent U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) investigations into the oil and gas industry have uncovered an alarming trend of companies underpaying workers, many of whom perform high-risk jobs, in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). These violations seem particularly egregious when you…
Meet the Barrett and Farahany Team
Meet Linda Petmecky!
Linda joined Barrett & Farahany, LLP as an Administrative Assistant in 2010 and is now a Litigation Paralegal. Linda was born and raised in Atlanta and graduated from Emory University with a degree in Economics. She has four kids who share a great enthusiasm for SEC football…
This Week in Employment Law
Here’s some of what happened this week in the employment law world!
Pregnancy Discrimination, Special Delivery – Pregnancy Discrimination is a hot topic in employment law news today. Now SCOTUS will hear Young v. United Parcel Service this December after Judge Alisson Duncan found no evidence o…
Pregnancy Discrimination and Light Duty
Being pregnant is difficult, occasionally frustrating work! One of the frustrations that comes with being pregnant is the physical limitations such pregnancy imposes. For instance, doctors often order pregnant women to not lift anything over a certain number of pounds. What can you do if your job…
Oakland Raiders Agree to Pay Their Raiderettes
Fall is here, bringing cooler temperatures and the start of football season. Cheerleaders, who traditionally yell for their teams on the sidelines, have now started to speak out against their employers for committing illegal wage theft in courtrooms around the country. Last week, the Oakland Raid…
A Victory for the Employee Thanks to the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order
Employees had a victory this week over employers who are forcing employees to give up their 7thAmendment right to a jury trial. Many employers are requiring employees to give up this Constitutional right, just to be able to have a job, and requiring arbitrators – lawyers paid by the company – to…
LGBT Community Gains Ground on the Employment Equality Front
President Obama made headlines when he enacted an executive order last Monday (7/21) making it illegal for federal contractors to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity in hiring. This executive order is one modifying Executive Order 11246, signed by President Lyndon B…
Women Penalized for Promoting Women – Another Victory for the White Man
Is promoting equality a liability for the workplace? According to one University of Colorado study, unless you’re a white man, the answer to that question is “yes.”
David Hekman, an author of the study and assistant professor of management at University of Colorado’s Leeds School of Business, ha…
What’s hot in the Employment Law world? Check out the articles below!
Pregnancy Discrimination: For the first time in 30 years, effective immediately, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued new guidance on how employers must treat and accommodate their pregnant employees, this includes dads! Click below see what all the hype is about! The Guidance | …
The Work/Life Balance – Are There Employment Laws That Protect It?
For any working parent, it’s hard to maintain the coveted work/life balance. It doesn’t matter if you manage a fast food restaurant or a multi-billion dollar corporation – the ability to fit everything you need to in a 24-hour day is harder than ever before.
The majority of companies don’t make …
Gender Discrimination and Sexism in the Technology Industry
Old-School Sexism in a High-Tech Industry
Leaders like Marissa Mayer of Yahoo! and Sheryl Sandberg of Facebook have made an incredible impact on the high-tech industry and are admired for their accomplishments by men and women alike.
Yet, their positions in the industries are the exception. Sex…
Can You Exchange Overtime for Comp Time?
You’ve been working hard on a project for your company, putting in 48 hours instead of the standard 40-hour workweek.
To thank you, your manager gives you a day off in comp time the following week so you can spend time with your family. While the act appears to be one of generosity, in fact, it …
Discrimination Based On A Worker’s Health Care Choice
Protecting Whistleblowers Who Report Affordable Care Act Violations
The Affordable Care Act (ACA), otherwise known as Obamacare, reduces healthcare costs for American workers by abolishing dollar limits on health benefits, eliminating preventative care co-pays and deductibles, and capping out-of…
If You Have a Prescription for Medicinal Marijuana, Can You Be Fired for Failing the Drug Test?
The conversation surrounding the rights of employees engaging in legal conduct off-premises has expanded from an era of considering the use of...
New California Overtime Mandates Threaten Home Care Providers and Their Patients
Each year, more than 12 million Americans receive care at home temporarily or permanently because of an illness, injury or condition. These individuals are cared for by more than two million home care employees nationwide who perform every duty from providing medical care to cleaning the patient…
How You Are Fired Is Just As Important As Why You Were Fired
When employees knowingly take shortcuts that put a business and its employees at risk, their employer has every right to reprimand or even fire them for their actions. However, the company must follow the same baseline procedures for every employee in the organization to avoid possible litigation…
Big Lots Fires Employee for Taking Protected FMLA Leave and Pays the Price
Imagine the fear and distress you would experience caring for your seriously ill or injured child. On top of the worry you feel day after day as you watch him suffer, your employer reprimands you for taking time to be by his side.
TheFamily and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) gives a worker the right …
Obama Pushes for Changes in Overtime Pay Qualifications
In fast food restaurants, convenience stores and manufacturing facilities, salaried employees are working more than 40 hours a week without receiving the benefits of overtime pay to which they’re entitled. In fact, they’re making less per hour than the employees they “supervise” and less than min…
Protecting Americans’ Rights to Sue for Workplace Discrimination
The right of American workers to fight against discrimination and harassment in a court of law is now more protected than ever thanks to a landmark ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
According to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, employees may sue their employ…