11th Circuit Rejects Department of Labor Student Intern Test
The U.S. Department of Labor uses a six-part test to determine whether interns should be classified as employees and therefore entitled to the minimum wage and overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Under the DOL test, all six criteria must be met in order for the worker to qualify as an unpaid trainee or […]
Is this 11th Circuit Case on Non-Competes a Game-Changer?
Under section 542.335, Florida Statutes, the violation of an enforceable restrictive covenant such as a non-compete agreement creates a presumption of irreparable harm to the party seeking enforcement. Irreparable harm is one of the key elements needed for an injunction, i.e. a court order preventing the former employee from continuing to violate a restrictive covenant. […]
Actionable Discrimination is not Always Intentional
Pepsi Beverages recently settled a matter with the federal government for $3.13 million which serves as a reminder that not all issues of employment discrimination are based on intentional conduct. Pepsi required its candidates for employment to undergo a criminal background check. Candidates who had been arrested or convicted were denied employment. Pepsi’s policy, while […]
Helpful Hints For Employees Experiencing Work-Related Issues
First and foremost, employees should familiarize themselves with their employee handbook and follow the steps in it, particularly complaint procedures. Too often, employees in employment law cases are challenged about the fact that they did not avail themselves of the company’s internal complaint procedures. In other words, one would expect that if an employee has […]
Overtime Eligibility Determined by Job Functions, Not Titles or Manner of Pay
Whether or not an employee is entitled to be paid time and one-half of his/her regular rate of pay for all hours worked in excess of forty per week is not determined by the employee’s job title or the manner in which the employee is paid. Whether or not an employee is entitled to overtime compensation […]
Employees Subjected to Domestic Violence Entitled to Leave From Work
Employees of companies who have 50 or more workers, and who have been employed for 3 or more months are entitled to take up to 3 working days of leave from work in any 12-month period if the employee or a family or household member of an employee is the victim of domestic violence or sexual violence. The […]
Transgender Individuals Can Bring Claims of Sex Discrimination
In what appears to be a continuing trend, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers the states of Florida, Georgia, and Alabama, has recently ruled that transgender individuals may bring claims of sex discrimination against their employers where they are adversely affected in the terms and conditions of their employment resulting from gender stereotyping. […]
What Patricia Arquette Failed to Say About Equal Pay for Women
What reasonable person would disagree with Patricia Arquette’s statement at the Academy Awards that “It’s our time to have wage equality once and for all and equal rights for women in the United States of America”? Clearly, there should be a federal law which requires that men and women be given equal pay for equal […]
Have an Occupationally Safe and Retaliation-Free New Year
Whistleblower complaints under the Occupational Safety and Health Act are up 45% since 2005, according to statistics released by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”). So employers should be aware of what constitutes legally protected activity under the OSH Act when deciding whether to take an adverse action against an employee. Section 11(c) of […]
In Non-Compete Agreements, a ‘Truly Obnoxious’ Choice-of-Law Provision May Be Unenforceable
I wrote recently about the importance of inserting choice-of-law provisions in non-compete agreements. But as a recent decision by a New York appellate court makes clear, a court may refuse to apply a choice-of-law provision if it finds that the chosen law offends the public policy of the state in which the court sits. In […]