Allyn & Fortuna LLPBy: Megan J. Muoio, May 29, 2015 The issue of the minimum wage – whether it should be increased, how, and whether increases should be centered on workers in specific industries – has been in the news lately. In this blog post, several recent developments in the area of the minimum wage in California, New York, and New Jersey will be discussed. A New Minimum Wage for California? In California, a state-wide ballot measure aims to increase the minimum wage to $15 by 2021. The ballot measure is…
Paula Lopez, May 12, 2015. On May 6, 2015, Mayor Bill De Blasio signed into law Bill A-261A, which amends the New York City Human Rights Law (NYC HRL) to prohibit employers, labor organizations and employment agencies from conducting credit checks as part of their hiring process and from discriminating against an applicant or employee based on credit history. Although the new law provides for certain exemptions where employers are permitted to request and rely on credit-related information, the exemptions are limited. Employers with four or more employees…
By: Megan J. Muoio, May 4, 2015 On Wednesday, April 29, 2015, the Supreme Court issued a decision in Mach Mining LLC v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which was argued before the Court in January 2015. The unanimous decision, written by Justice Kagan, was a win for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in its efforts to bring litigation after engaging in conciliation with employers and permitted federal courts a narrow review of the conciliation process. A woman filed a charge of discrimination in violation of Title VII…
Diana Uhimov, April 20, 2015. After an initial denial, a New York federal judge for the Southern District of New York granted permission last week to a group of former Gawker Media LLC interns’ to notify potential class members of a proposed action through social media, namely Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. The judge limited the approval by finding that “friending” class members on Facebook is too extreme. The interns brought the proposed collective action, Mark et al. v. Gawker Media LLC et al., in 2013 under the Fair…
By Diana Uhimov, March 18, 2015. The U.S. Supreme Court recently heard argument in EEOC v. Abercrombie & Fitch Stores. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission brought suit against Abercrombie over its refusal to hire a Muslim teen, Samantha Elauf. Although she scored highly in her interview for a sales associate position with the retailer, she was not hired because she wore a black hijab—a Muslim headscarf she has worn since the age of 13. When the interviewer consulted with a manager about the headscarf, she gave Elauf a low score in…
By: Megan J. Muoio, March 9, 2015 The first quarter of 2015 has already seen a great deal of activity in the area of class action lawsuits brought by plaintiffs suing their employers under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Three recent cases demonstrate the difficulties plaintiffs have faced under the collective action certification standard of the FLSA, which requires plaintiffs who opt in to the collective action to demonstrate they are similarly situated. Although there is no statutory test in the FLSA for determining whether plaintiffs are…
Paula Lopez, February 20, 2015. It is important for employers to always implement proper policies as a tool for staving off litigation. While doing so employers should understand that the statements contained in their policies are binding on them in the same manner that they would be on their employees. Therefore, they should take the proper steps to ensure that their policies accurately reflect the state of the law so as to not expose themselves to legal liability that otherwise could be avoided. A Michigan employer learned this…
Diana Uhimov, February 13, 2015. Workplace relationships may be initiated at any time of the year, but the romantic theme of Valentine’s Day can lead to inappropriate behavior that employees might not otherwise engage in. That makes February an opportune time for companies to reevaluate their policies on office romance and harassment, and to remind employees of the rules. A recent survey by Career Builder found that 37% of workers have dated a coworker. But when intraoffice relationships sour, employers can be subjected to legal claims of discrimination…
By: Megan J. Muoio, February 6, 2015 As ride-sharing services such as Uber and Lyft expand across the United States, many employment law scholars are carefully watching two cases in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. Both cases, O’Connor v. Uber Technologies Inc. and Cotter v. Lyft Inc., are wage-and-hour class action lawsuits in which drivers have challenged the companies’ classification of them as independent contractors rather than employees. Although the class action plaintiffs have sought to represent all Uber and Lyft drivers…
Diana Uhimov, January 14, 2015. On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court denied review of the Sixth Circuit’s holding in Kalamazoo County Road Commission v. Deleon, permitting employees to bring an action for workplace discrimination after being given a position that the employee had actually pursued. The suit was brought by Robert Deleon, a 53-year-old Mexican-American man who had worked for the Kalamazoo County Road Commission for 25 years. Deleon applied for a vacant position that involved working in an office located in a garage with diesel fumes, but the job…