Federal wage & hour laws require payment of overtime to all employees who (1) work more than 40 hours a week and (2) are not exempt as a result of the type of job they perform. Some of the exemptions are discussed here. The income threshold for the exemptions has been the same for many […]
US Supreme Court Issues New Guidelines on Religious Accommodation at Work
In a unanimous decision, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that Abercrombie & Fitch may have discriminated against a job applicant when it rejected the applicant because she wore a hijab (a Muslim head scarf) during her interview. At the time, Abercrombie had a dress code that prohibited employees from wearing hats or other head […]
Federal Legislation Proposed to Ban Noncompetes for Low Wage Workers
A group of senators has proposed a bill that, if passed into law, would bar companies from requiring low wage workers to sign noncompete agreements. The proposed law would bar such an agreement for workers paid $15 or less per hour. Because this is proposed as a federal law, if it were to be adopted […]
U.S. Supreme Court to Consider Pregnancy Discrimination Case
The U.S. Supreme Court has scheduled oral argument for December 4, 2014 in a case involving allegations of pregnancy discrimination. Historically, claims of pregnancy discrimination have been analyzed the same as all other claims of gender discrimination under Title VII, with pregnant women being entitled to no better or worse treatment than non-pregnant employees. Where […]
U.S. Supreme Court Hears Security Screening Wage and Hour Case
On October 8, 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument on a wage and hour case filed by employees of a warehouse business. The business provides storage facilities and order-filling staff for companies that include Amazon. Employees are required to stand in line and undergo a security screening after completing their work shifts and […]
U.S. Supreme Court Rejects Recess Appointments to NLRB
Those who have followed the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) over the past few years may be aware that there was a period of time when the majority of the 5-member Board consisted of “recess appointments” by President Obama. In other words, because Washington gridlock resulted in the President being unable to obtain Senate approval […]
