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Four umpires who worked the 2011 U.S. Open Tennis Championship weren’t happy with the tournament’s outcome. It’s nothing personal against this year’s champions Samantha Stosur and Novak Djokovic, but rather the U.S. Tennis Association (USTA), who the umps say should have paid them overtime. The umpires say the Open regularly requires working more than 40 […]
Using independent contractors is a way to avoid paying unemployment, Social Security and Medicare taxes, overtime and benefits. However, if an employer is found liable of misclassifying an employee in tandem with committing wage and hour violations, DOL may fine the employer, and the employer may be assessed back wages and taxes. The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) […]
The warning “Beware of the Dog” is making employers fearful in a new way. One downside of offering telecommuting privileges is injuries that occur while an employee is working from home. If an employee is injured at home while he or she is on a work-related task, he or she may be entitled to workers’ comp benefits. This raises […]
By Lyne Duhaime and Emilie Paquin-Holmested On February 3, 2011, the Federal Court of Canada issued a decision in Vilven v. Air Canada, the prolonged legal battle of two Air Canada pilots who challenged the company’s mandatory retirement policy for pilots who reach the age of 60. In that decision, the judge sent the matter […]
To prepare us for next week’s season premiere of The Office, NBC concludes the summer rerun schedule with a replay of last season’s finale. The intrigue and chicanery surrounding the search committee’s efforts have been well documented in prior posts dating back to the spring. And, my fellow bloggers and I have thoroughly vetted both […]
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has released the newly mandated poster it says is necessary to inform employees of their rights under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The Board issued the final rule requiring most private-sector employers to display the poster on August 25, and it must be in place by November 14. […]
An employer’s desire to quickly fire an employee can drag it into violating labor laws. Recently, the firing of an employee for misusing 20 minutes of family medical leave led to conclusions that the firing was retaliation for union activity. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia decided to uphold an NLRB […]
Four thousand New York City Police Department (NYPD) sergeants are not exempt executives under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) because their primary duty is law enforcement, not management, a federal court has found. As a result, the court found the city liable to the sergeants for back overtime pay going back to 2001. The […]
By Julia Kennedy and Sean McGurran Bullying isn’t just a problem on the playground anymore. Eventually the bullies grow up and get jobs. Now Canadian employers are seeing more laws dealing with harassment in the workplace. As an example in June 2010, Ontario’s Violence and Harassment in the Workplace law came into effect. It requires […]
With just two weeks to go until the new season begins, I wanted to make sure we give proper attention to another potential candidate for Michael’s position (once Robert California vacates it and proceeds to rule the Company and then the world) — Kelly Kapoor. She has gone through a number of transformations since slapping Michael […]