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Employment Law

Arbitration won’t work on wage claims if agreements are too one-sided

01/03/2018

If you structure an arbitration agreement so it takes away too many employee rights, you may find yourself in federal court anyway—first to litigate the validity of the agreement and then to try the case. 

Court OKs double trouble in pay bias case

01/03/2018

A federal court hearing a case brought by the EEOC against a Texas county has allowed an alleged victim of discrimination to add additional charges in an Equal Pay Act case the EEOC is already litigating. As a practical matter, that means the employer will have to fight even more attorneys while defending its pay practices.

Title VII doesn’t cover sexual orientation

01/03/2018

A federal court has dismissed a lawsuit alleging a hostile work environment based on sexual orientation, despite the EEOC’s position that sexual orientation discrimination is sex discrimination under Title VII.

Kaplan named NLRB chair

01/03/2018

President Trump has appointed Marvin E. Kaplan to succeed Philip Miscimarra as chair of the National Labor Relations Board.

Snapshot: Sex discrimination comes in many forms

01/03/2018

A substantial percentage of working women say they have experienced gender-based bias in a variety of ways.

Court recognizes a new kind of claim: Retaliatory hostile environment

01/03/2018

Essentially, a retaliatory hostile environment claim looks at situations in which life was made generally difficult for an employee in small ways that in themselves would not affect a term or condition of employment.

Talula’s Garden settles OT suit for nearly $400k

01/02/2018

Talula’s Garden, the renowned farm-to-table restaurant in Philadelphia’s Washington Square, will have to pay 63 workers $197,917 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages.

Snyder-Lance pays $1.6 mil to settle misclassification suit

01/02/2018

A federal judge in the Middle District of Pennsylvania has signed off on a $1.6 million agreement between snack maker Snyder-Lance and its route drivers.

Ignoring FMLA paperwork may bar unemployment

01/02/2018

Workers who are fired for breaking a workplace rule generally aren’t eligible for unemployment compensation. That’s because rule-breaking may constitute willful misconduct, which bars benefits.

Document reasons for worker’s new, unusual assignment

01/02/2018

Some workers may feel that being given a difficult assignment is discriminatory, especially if others outside the worker’s protected class don’t have to do similar work. Having a business-related reason for the assignment will persuade a judge that discrimination wasn’t a factor.