Where fire battalion chiefs argued they were covered by a “first responder regulation,” which required they be paid overtime, because their primary duty was management and not front line firefighting, the first responder regulation was inapplicable. A review of their ...
Read More »Labor & Employment – Fire battalion chiefs not entitled to overtime
Labor & Employment – FLSA exemption incorrectly applied in restaurant wage dispute 
Where restaurant employees claimed that tips and automatic gratuities could not be considered in determining whether their employer met its obligations under the Fair Labor Standards Act, or FLSA, it was error to apply a statutory exemption—29 U.S.C. § 207(i)—to ...
Read More »Labor & Employment – Employee could not perform even with reasonable accommodation 
Where the employer granted several accommodations to an employee after his knee surgery, including limiting walking to four hours per day and work to eight hours per day and allowing the use of a motorized scooter, but the employee instead ...
Read More »Labor & Employment – Contract – Tenured Professor – Faculty Manual – Failure to Follow 
Despite a faculty manual’s declaration on nearly every page that “This is not a contract of employment,” the manual did in fact constitute the employment contract between the defendant-college and its tenured professors, including plaintiff. The college president decided to ...
Read More »Labor & Employment – Claim not cognizable under Equal Protection Clause 
Where a former deputy commonwealth’s attorney brought a claim under the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause claiming she was fired in retaliation for reporting alleged sex discrimination, her claim was dismissed because the Equal Protection Clause cannot sustain a pure ...
Read More »Labor & Employment – Allowing single-stock fund in 401(k) plan might violate ERISA 
Allegations that a 401(k) plan sponsor and management committee ignored an imprudent single-stock fund for several years was sufficient to support claims for breaches of the fiduciary duties of prudence and diversification imposed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act ...
Read More »Labor & Employment – Airline failed to reemploy pilot, violated USERRA 
Although the pilot was not cleared to fly, an airline nevertheless violated the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, or USERRA, by not reemploying him “promptly” in an alternative position. Background As Thomas Harwood neared completion of a tour ...
Read More »Labor & Employment – Jury’s $50K FMLA retaliation verdict overturned 
Although the jury found for the plaintiff on her claim under the Family and Medical Leave Act, and awarded her $50,000, the evidence was not enough to permit a reasonable jury to conclude the company’s proffered rationale for firing her ...
Read More »Employment Law – Salesperson’s unpaid commission claims reinstated 
Where a salesperson alleged IBM defrauded him by “capping” his sales commissions despite allegedly representing they would not be capped, his claims for fraud, unjust enrichment or quantum meruit were not foreclosed by disclaimer language in which IBM reserved its right to ...
Read More »Employment Law – No basis found for award of punitive damages in harassment case 
Although AutoZone remained liable for compensatory damages awarded to a former employee because of sexual harassment by a co-worker, the punitive damages award was vacated because there was insufficient evidence his managers engaged in intentionally discriminatory practices themselves with malice ...
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