A recent decision by the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals demonstrates that an employer can be liable for overtime pay even if employees have been forbidden to work overtime. The case is Chao v. Gotham Registry, Inc. and can be read here. The court examined whether an employer must pay overtime work where it has prohibited the employee from working overtime and does not want the employee to work. According
A recent decision by the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals addresses “association discrimination” under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) in the context of medical insurance expenses. The plaintiff in the case contended that she was fired because of her husband’s high medical bills. The company was self-insured for the first $250,000 of annual covered medical costs, and the medical bills for the plaintiff’s husband had been over $316,000 in
An interesting ERISA class action addresses whether treatment for an eating disorder should be covered by an employer health plan. The case addresses an Aetna health plan that limited coverage for “nonbiologically based mental illnesses.” An article about the case can be found here.
Human Resource Executive Online has an interesting article here on recent increases in the number of disability benefits claims filed each year. The duration of disability claims is increasing too. A 35-year-old, white-collar male today who suffers a disability lasting 90 days or longer will be out of work an average of about six years.
In most states, including Washington, an employee who wins a lawsuit for unpaid wages is entitled to reasonable attorney’s fees. As most employers know, a getting sued for unpaid wages brings additional risks that the company must pay the unpaid wages plus substantial attorney fees, which fees could in many cases be more than the wages owed. In addition, in Washington, an employer can be liable for double damages (double
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has issued new guidance on employment of veterans with service-connected disabilities. The EEOC’s guide for employers is here and the guide for veterans is here. The new guidance explains (1) how protections for veterans with service-connected disabilities differ under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), and (2) how the ADA applies to recruiting, hiring,
I wrote a few words below about non-compete agreements and their proliferation. Now comes a story about a company that must pay $4 Million for denying compensation to an executive who refused to sign a non-compete agreement. Articles about the case can be found here and here. In this particular situation, the employer (H&R Block) attempted to force its Chief Operating Office to sign a non-compete. When the executive refused,
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has filed a lawsuit against a Lowe’s store in Longview, Washington for sex discrimination and sexual harassment. There is an article about the case here. According to the media reports, two heterosexual employees allege that they were repeatedly called "gay" by store managers, and a female employee alleges that a store manager told her she could advance in the company if she had
Here is an interesting article in today’s Chicago Tribune about the proliferation of non-compete agreements. I thought this was a good opportunity to say a few words here about non-compete agreements. As the article observes, more and more employers are using non-compete agreements for more and more employees, but the article also notes that such agreements can be difficult to enforce. Indeed, whether to enforce a non-compete agreement is a
The U.S. Supreme Court is busy with an unusually large number of employment cases this term, and today the Court issued its opinion in one closely watched case. By many accounts, the decision is somewhat of a letdown for employment attorneys because the Supreme Court did not really decide much of anything, and certainly did not change the law or the way that employment discrimination cases will be litigated. The
Today a federal court jury in Florida awarded a sexual harassment plaintiff $5.4 Million. The case was filed by a woman who alleged the defendant touched her and offered her money for sex, among other things. An article about the case appears here. The defendant in the case, Florida real estate mogul David Siegel, no doubt can afford to pay the verdict from his estimated $1.8 Billion net worth.
A new published case from the Washington Court of Appeals addresses the proper remedy when an employer fails to pay under a settlement agreement. The case is Rosen v. Ascentry Technologies, Inc. and can be found here. In this case, Rosen sued Ascentry for breach of contract and unpaid wages. Ascentry agreed to settle the case for $50,000. For some reason, Ascentry did not pay Rosen. One year later, Rosen
Today the Supreme Court said that a 401(k) participant can sue for losses when a plan fiduciary fails to follow investment directions. A copy of the opinion is here. In the case, James LaRue of Southlake,Texas, contends that his stock market holdings plunged $150,000 because administrators of his 401(k) retirement plan failed to follow his instructions to switch to safer investments. The opinion clarified a remedy issue left open by
The Supreme Court agreed to review three more employment cases addressing: (1) whether an arbitration clause in a collective bargaining agreement can apply to statutory issues as well as contract issues; (2) whether a union may charge non-union members for litigation costs expended on behalf of the union members; and (3) how a divorcing spouse may waive rights to the other spouse’s ERISA pension benefits. Richard Bales has a good
Those following employee benefits litigation know that there have been hundreds of cases filed over the trend by companies to convert their traditional, defined benefit pension plans to cash balance plans. Another ruling was issued late last week in a class action case involving a plan conversion by CIGNA. The judge summarized the background the case as follows: Since the mid-1980s, hundreds of U.S.employers have converted their traditional defined benefit
Legislation has been introduced in 13 states, including Washington, to allow employee lawsuits against employers for bullying or offensive behavior even when the conduct is not illegal harassment under discrimination laws. For an interesting article on these bills see "No Putting Up With Putdowns". No state has enacted one of these so-called workplace bullying laws. Employers for good reason are concerned with the “flood gates” being opened to employment lawsuits
A federal district court judge in California has certified a class action of former managers suing for overtime pay. The managers argue that they were improperly classified from overtime because most of their time was spent doing manual labor rather than managerial tasks. The case is Wiegele v. Fedex Ground Package System Inc. A copy of the court’s opinion can be found here.
Here is an expensive lesson for an employer, in this case International Paper. One of its employees rear-ended another car while talking on a company cell phone causing severe injuries to the driver of the other car. A jury hit International Paper with a $5.2 million dollar verdict as explained in this article. The case is an expensive lesson. Employers should admonish employees that they should NOT use their cell
This interesting case is in the federal district court in Massachusetts. The employee was discharged for smoking while off-duty under an employer policy prohibiting all smoking, even outside of the workplace. A copy of the opinion can be found here, and an article about the case is here. The ruling states merely that discovery should proceed on an ERISA Section 510 claim and a state privacy law claim before a
The plaintiffs in this wage and hour class action challenged a practice whereby overtime earned during one month would be paid at the end the following month. In this case, corrections officers in Thurston County would submit time sheets for overtime at the end of the month and the wages were paid on the last day of the following month. The court held that the practice did not violate the
In a timely article for this Valentine’s Day, see this article from Nixon Peabody and this article from Human Resources Executive Online on romance in the workplace and so-called "love contracts."
The Department of Labor has issued an interesting advisory opinion holding that a Kentucky wage deduction withholding statute is preempted by ERISA to the extent it limits placement of employees into default health care plans. In this situation, employees who fail to choose a plan are placed into one by default and the employee’s share of coverage is collected through payroll deductions. Like many states, a Kentucky statute allows a
Daniel Schwartz of the Connecticut Employment Law Blog today published a Blog post on Employment Practices Liability Insurance (EPLI) called Insurance for Employers (EPLI) – The Good, the Bad, the Unknown. The post can be read here. It builds on some points by Michael Moore, of the Pennsylvania Employment Law Blog (posted here), and identifies some of the issues employers should look at and what employers should know. I wonder
In a recent ruling, the NLRB tweaked its views on whether and how employers may restrict the use of workplace email systems.
In addition to the MetLife case reported below, the U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear several employment law issues this term. Look for more information as these rulings are handed down. Crawford v. Metropolitan Government of Nashville and CBOCS West Inc. v. Humphries The court will address the scope of protections against retaliation under discrimination laws, and specifically whether employees are protected if they participate in an internal investigation.
Check out this article about a case that resulted in a $500,000 verdict in a discrimination case against a company in Alabama. The verdict was the result of the company’s failure to stop the use of racial slurs at work and the discharge of an employee after he refused to sign an agreement to arbitrate his claims.
Back in 2006, the City of San Francisco passed an ordinance requiring all businesses with 20 or more employees to pay a fee to help cover health care costs. A restaurant group successfully argued that the law was preempted by ERISA. The case is now on fast-track status in the 9th Circuit, with briefs due in April and a possible ruling next summer. Meanwhile, in a highly controversial ruling, a
The Washington Court of Appeals recently affirmed the dismissal of an interesting case involving allegations of sexual harassment, retaliation, and disability discrimination. Briefly, the plaintiff, Moon, was allegedly asked for sex and sexually assaulted by a supervisor at her home after a party with other coworkers. She complained about the incident 8 months later. The supervisor was then instructed to have no contact with Moon. Some time later, Moon’s psychiatrist
During the Vietnam War era, the late Sen. George Aiken, R-Vt., famously told both Presidents Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard M. Nixon that they should “declare victory and get the hell out.” It appears that is what both sides have done in the writers’ strike. For an analysis, see this article in Slate and this article in the New York Times. It appears that the real winner will be the
On January 28, 2008, President Bush signed the National Defense Authorization Act of 2008. The Act includes significant revisions to the Family Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA). FMLA coverage is expanded to employees who care for family members injured while on active military duty or for other exigent circumstances caused by active military service. Under the new law, up to twelve weeks of leave can be taken during any
The U.S. Department of Labor has issued its new proposed regulations for the Family and Medical Leave Act. They are published here. The DOL will accept comments until April 11 before issuing final regulations.
On April 23, 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in MetLife v. Glenn. This is an important case that may affect all future lawsuits to collect benefits under an employee benefit plan. Where a benefits case is subject to ERISA, the lawyers in nearly every case argue over the standard of review. Employees argue that the court should review the eligibility decision de novo while employers and plan
The Washington Supreme Court ruled on October 18, 2007, that time spent driving to and from work in a company vehicle should be considered as hours worked and included in calculations of overtime pay. The case, Stevens v. Brink’s Home Security, Inc., No. 79815-0 (Oct. 18, 2007), is an important ruling under wage and hour laws. The case involved a class action filed on behalf of workers who drove company
Superior Court Judge Sally F. Olsen dismissed a lawsuit filed in Kitsap County Superior Court alleging that an employee was wrongfully discharged for using marijuana. An article about the case can be found here. The employee alleged a claim for wrongful discharge in violation of public policy arguing she was using legally using medicinal marijuana under Washington law. The dismissal of the case follows a similar ruling by the California
