Practice: Employment Law & Litigation

• Employment Law & Litigation

  SCOTUS Hears Argument on Compensable Time under FLSA

  • October 30, 2014
  • By Allen & Gooch
  

  Is time spent in security screenings compensable time? On October 8, 2014, the United States Supreme Court heard arguments in Integrity Staffing Solutions, Inc. v. Busk, a case that considers the issue of whether time spent by an employee in security screenings is compensable under the Fair Labor Standards Act, as amended by the Portal […]

• Employment Law & Litigation

  Prescription & Trade Secrets: A Benefit To Your Business?

  • July 22, 2014
  • By Allen & Gooch
  

  Former Employee Develops Similar Technology Aspen Technology sued a former employee, who was director of technology and research, for violating a noncompete clause in his employment contract. Aspen added as a defendant, the new employer, M3 Technology, claiming tortious interference with the contract, trade secret misappropriation and copyright infringement. Aspen and M3 both develop, sell […]

• Employment Law & Litigation

  Pay to Quit Policies: How to Protect Your Business

  • June 4, 2014
  • By Allen & Gooch
  

  Major Companies Trying Out New Pay to Quit Policies Zappos introduced an innovative human resources policy known as Pay to Quit that is now being adopted by other employers. Amazon explained the policy behind a Pay to Quit policy in a letter to their shareholders “[t]he goal is to encourage folks to take a moment […]

• Employment Law & Litigation

  Court Highlights Importance of Drafting Consistent Employment Policies

  • April 21, 2014
  • By Allen & Gooch
  

  Vacation Time Owed Must be Calculated When Employment Ends In Grady v. Choices of Louisiana, Inc., — So.3d — (La. App. 5 Cir. 3/12/14), Plaintiff Tisha Grady was hired as a licensed practical nurse with Choices of Louisiana, Inc., an opioid treatment center. Ms. Grady was hired before July 1, 2010, and she was eligible […]

• Employment Law & Litigation

  FLSA Outside Sales Exemption: Recent Favorable Ruling for Employer

  • April 8, 2014
  • By Allen & Gooch
  

  Federal Court Rules Loan Officers are Exempt from Overtime Prospect Mortgage faces more than one hundred cases on whether loan officers were exempt from the minimum wage and overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Prospect has argued that the loan officers were exempt from the FLSA overtime provisions because the primary duties […]

• Employment Law & Litigation

  Employees Not Owed Compensation for Changing Into Protective Gear

  • February 6, 2014
  • By Allen & Gooch

  Unanimous Ruling by the Court In a 9-0 opinion by Justice Scalia, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Sandifer v. U.S. Steel that employees were not owed compensation for the time spent donning protective gear. The petitioners sought back pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act Sec. 203(o) for the time taken to put […]

• Employment Law & Litigation

  SCOTUS: Sandifer v. United States Steel Addresses 40 Hour Work Week

  • January 27, 2014
  • By Allen & Gooch
  

  UPDATE: SCOTUS RULES NO COMPENSATION OWED FOR TIME SPENT CHANGING INTO PROTECTIVE GEAR.  CLICK HERE TO READ FOLLOW-UP ON THE COURT’S DECISION. Changing Clothes Under the Fair Labor Standards Act On November 4, 2013, the US Supreme Court heard  oral arguments on what constitutes “changing clothes” within the meaning of Section 203(o) of the Fair […]

• Employment Law & Litigation

  Arbitration Agreements with Class Action Waivers Violate NLRA

  • January 10, 2014
  • By Allen & Gooch

  Employers Cannot Eliminate an Employee’s Right to Sue Over Unfair Labor Practices by Arbitration Agreement In D.R. Horton, Inc. v. N.L.R.B., 737 F.3d 344 (5th Cir. 2013), the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) held that D.R. Horton, Inc. (Horton) had violated the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) by requiring employees to sign an arbitration agreement […]

• Employment Law & Litigation

  Fair Labor Standards Act: When an Intern Qualifies as an Employee

  • December 13, 2013
  • By Allen & Gooch
  

  Does an Intern Fall Under the Protection of the Fair Labor Standards Act? The United States Second Circuit Court of Appeals is currently reviewing a pair of cases that address whether interns meet the definition of an employee under the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) that gives minimum wage protections to workers. The outcome […]

• Employment Law & Litigation

  NLRB Rules Against Costco for Social Media Policy

  • December 9, 2013
  • By Allen & Gooch
  

  Social Media Policy Held to Limit Collective Bargaining Last year, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruled that a provision of Costco’s Employee Handbook prohibiting employees from electronically posting statements that damage the Company or damage any person’s reputation constituted an unfair labor practice.  In so ruling, the Board found that the general prohibition would […]