Latest Articles That Have Been Posted

Wal-Mart to Pay $4.8 Million for Unpaid Overtime

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., headquartered in Bentonville, Ark., has agreed to pay $4.8 million in back wages and damages to more than 4,500 employees nationwide for violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act’s (FLSA) overtime provisions. Wal- Mart misclassified its vision center managers and asset protection coordinators at Wal-Mart Discount Stores, Wal-Mart Supercenters, Neighborhood Markets and Sam’s Club warehouses as exempt employees from the FLSA’s overtime requirement. The U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division found that the employees were nonexempt and therefore due overtime pay for any hours worked beyond 40 per..

Are you required to provide past arrest information?

Title VII does not prohibit an employer from requiring applicants or
employees to provide this type of information. The EEOC today issued an
updated Enforcement Guidance on employer use of arrest and conviction
records in employment decisions under Title VII. An arrest record standing alone
may not be used to deny an employment..

Judge Ruled Liking Facebook Page Not Protected Speech

Norfolk, Virginia - A federal judge in Virginia ruled today that "liking" a Facebook page is not considered speech protected by the First Amendment.  Plaintiffs were employees at the Hampton Sheriff's Office.  During re-election of Sheriff B.J. Roberts, the plaintiffs "liked" the opponent, Jim Adams' Facebook page.  After Roberts won the election, he terminated the plaintiffs. The plaintiffs argued that their terminations violated their First Amendment rights and sued the Sheriff.  They claimed that the Sheriff terminated them in retaliation for their exercise of their right to freedom of speech when they chose to support the Sheriff's..

EEOC Rules Transgender Status Protected by Title VII

The EEOC held today, in Macy v. Holder (April 20, 2012), that discrimination based on gender identity, change of sex, and/or transgender status is discrimination on the basis of sex, is prohibited by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII), as amended, 42 U.S.C. section 2000 et seq.  The complainant, Mia Macy, is a transgender woman who worked as a police detective in Phoenix, Arizona.  In December 2010, Macy applied for an opening within the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Agency at a crime..

Hurricane Grill and Wings Settle Sexual Harassment Suit

West Palm Beach - The owner/operator of a Hurricane Grill and Wings restaurant franchise in Royal Palm Beach, Fla., will pay $200,000 to settle a class sexual harassment lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The EEOC’s lawsuit alleged that the company violated federal law when it permitted a class of female servers to be sexually harassed by a customer, a Palm Beach County Sheriff’s deputy. The EEOC alleged that the company fired a female server after management learned she had hired a private attorney to assist her in filing an EEOC complaint. The suit further alleged that the servers were frequently grabbed on their breasts and buttocks and humiliated by sexual innuendo, as well as..