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September 24, 2022
Pennsylvania diner ordered to pay $1.35 million in wages for wage & hour violations
A federal judge in Pennsylvania has ruled that Empire Diner, the owner himself and a manager are liable for $1.35 million in back wages and liquidated damages to 107 servers and kitchen workers following a five day trial which confirmed the business used an illegal tip pool and engaged in other wage and hour violations. […]
September 18, 2022
When complaints are made – don’t rush to judgment – investigate
When a complaint is made, employers should not rush to judgment or immediately determine someone is guilty as alleged. Instead, employers need to conduct an independent and objective investigation. And everyone deserves fairness in the process. Recently, a Black Duke volleyball player alleged that she was called racial slurs by a Brigham Young University fan […]
September 12, 2022
Employees resist employer calls to return to the office
Prior to March 2020, only about 8% of US workers performed their jobs fully remote, about 32% worked hybrid and 60% worked fully on-site at a workplace, according to a recent Gallup poll. Two and a half years later, employers have finalized return to work plans — announcing it’s time to get back to the […]
September 5, 2022
Gender dysphoria can be a disability under ADA
In a case involving a former inmate in a Fairfax County Adult Detention Center, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in a 2-to-1 decision that “gender dysphoria” can be a disability, and thus not excluded from the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act. According to the case, Kesha Williams is a “transgender woman with gender […]
August 29, 2022
Lawsuit alleging harassment against white workers settles for $60,000
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced last week that it reached a settlement with the owners of the North Carolina-based Mooresville Hampton Inn following a lawsuit filed by the EEOC against the owners last year for racial harassment. According to the lawsuit, a Black housekeeper (referred in the lawsuit only as “the Housekeeper”) engaged in […]
August 22, 2022
Workplace implications for evolving Covid-19 restrictions
Two federal agencies — the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention — have indicated that it’s time to minimize the disruption of COVID-19 in our lives, and that includes the workplace. Employers have been grappling with their COVID policies as the pandemic wanes. Last month, the EEOC updated its […]
August 13, 2022
Hospital agrees to pay employees over $10 million In dispute over vaccine mandates
Employees who were given a mandate to receive the COVID-19 vaccine or lose their jobs have agreed to settle their class action lawsuit filed against their employer for $10,337,500. Hospital workers from the NorthShore University HealthSystem were given an October 31, 2021, deadline to receive their vaccines. Fourteen workers filed a class action lawsuit against […]
August 6, 2022
Restaurant workers – You have a right to not be harassed by customers
“You look sexy today.” A customer said this to an 18-year-old female hostess at a restaurant in Richmond as she was handing the man a takeout order. It’s hard enough to prevent harassment by co-workers or supervisors, but restaurant workers in particular endure harassment by customers as well. Recently, my husband and I went to […]
July 30, 2022
Alleged “bro culture” costs Riot Games $100 million
Riot games California-based game developer, Riot Games, reportedly agreed to divide a $100 million settlement among over 1,000 women who were impacted by what the class-action lawsuit described as a “bro culture.” The 2018 lawsuit filed by two former female employees on behalf of a class of women detailed a work environment of rampant sexual […]
July 23, 2022
Jury awards over $5 million in damages to former flight attendant terminated after posting anti-abortion content
Earlier this month a Dallas jury awarded a former Southwest Airlines flight attendant over $5 million in her lawsuit against the airline and her union after she was terminated for, she claimed, her religious convictions against abortion. Former employee Charlene Carter stated in her lawsuit that she “is a Christian who believes that abortion is […]