The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently upheld summary judgment in favor of an employer who discharged an employee for failing to follow a company policy requiring employees to call in each day during an extended absence. This ruling is notable because the employee previously had been granted leave under the FMLA. Bacon v.
December 2008
Court finds apprentice program constitutes “joint employer” for purposes of FMLA coverage
By Marla Presley on
Posted in FMLA
A judge for the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington recently ruled that a Seattle apprenticeship program was the “joint-employer” of a plumbing apprentice for purposes of coverage under the FMLA. Frees v. UA Local 32 Plumbers & Steamfitters, W.D. Wash., No. C07-1469 (11/21/08).
Frees, a plumbing apprentice, was part…
Reduction in force sufficient to overcome pretext argument in retaliation case
By Marla Presley on
Posted in Title VII
The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld summary judgment in favor of an employer who asserted that it had terminated the employment of a human resource manager because of his poor performance and a reduction-in-force, and not because of his prior testimony in a sexual harassment claim filed against the company. Dennis v.
Lack-of-specific-knowledge not sufficient to avoid liquidated damages under FLSA
By Marla Presley on
Posted in FLSA
The Fair Labor Standards Act provides that employers violating the Act’s overtime pay requirements are liable for the amount of unpaid overtime. In addition, such an employer may be held liable for an equal amount of liquidated damages, unless it can show that it acted in “good faith” and with “reasonable grounds for believing” that…
On-call hours must be attributed to week in which hours occurred for purpose of overtime pay
By Marla Presley on
Posted in FLSA
The Fair Labor Standards Act requires that overtime compensation be paid at a rate of not less than one-and-a-half times the regular rate of pay of all hours worked in excess of 40 during a particular workweek. Recently, the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division responded to a request for an opinion on whether…