On-the-Job Issues explained by New York Employment Lawyer Steven Mitchell Sack
Over the past couple of years, unionization has become increasingly popular across the United States, with an estimated 200,000 employees joining unions in 2022 alone. However, not everyone understands what benefits a union can bring, and wonder if unionization might be appropriate for their workplace. So what are the benefits of unionizing your workplace?
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On March 24, 2023, Governor Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan repealed the state’s “right to work” law, helping to bring greater access to labor unions to people of her state. This law, which was originally passed in 2012, was meant to hinder the efforts of workers to unionize their fellow employees. With its repeal, however, labor organizers will have a much easier time bringing the protections of unions to their workplaces.
In a recently decided court case, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that paid time off (sometimes referred to as PTO) earned through an employee’s job does not count as part of their salary. As a result, deductions made from an employee’s PTO by their employer does not violate the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). This case is the first of its kind to be decided at the Circuit Court level, meaning it may influence how other similar decisions are made. Continue reading “Federal Appeals Court Says PTO is Not Salary”
“Wage theft” is the term used to describe any practice where an employer refuses to pay their employee the money they are legally owed. This set of practices is shockingly common, costing workers billions of dollars every year due to lost wages and other costs. Watch for these seven signs to see if your employer might be stealing from you or your fellow employees:
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One of the nation’s biggest meat packing companies, Packers Sanitation Services Inc. (PSSI), was forced to pay more than $1.5 million in civil penalties after it was discovered they illegally employed more than 100 underage workers in dangerous occupations. Their duties often involved cleaning dangerous tools and working with dangerous chemicals. The National Labor Relations Board said that the company’s child labor violations stretched across eight states, including Arkansas, Colorado, Indiana, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, Tennessee, and Texas.
Continue reading “Meat Packing Company Fined $1.5m For Child Labor Violations”
A new law, known as the Speak Out Act, will make it illegal for employers to put nondisclosure clauses or non-disparagement clauses in employment contracts. This will make it far harder for employers to silence employees who try to blow the whistle on labor or employment law violations. It will also limit the ability of employers to silence employees who are the victims of discrimination or harassment on the job.
Continue reading “Speak Out Act Set to Invalidate Nondisclosure Clauses in Employment Contracts”
Two new federal laws, signed into law by President Biden at the end of 2022, are set to substantially improve the protections that pregnant workers have at their jobs. These two laws, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act and the PUMP Act, make it easier for pregnant women and those who recently gave birth to access reasonable accommodations from their employer. Together, they make it so that women no longer need to fear professional repercussions for having children.
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Crumbl Cookies, a national chain of bakeries specializing in cookies, has been accused by the U.S. Department of Labor of violating child labor laws in at least six states by making them work longer than is legally permitted. They are also accused of making these underage workers, some as young as 14 and 15, perform job duties that are considered hazardous, in violation of federal law. The company, when asked about the accusations, responded that it was “disappointed” that a “small number” of its franchisees chose to violate labor laws in this way, and emphasized its commitment to a safe working environment for its employees.
Continue reading “DOL Finds Crumbl Cookies Violated Child Labor Laws in Six States”
Age discrimination is a surprisingly common phenomenon, one that unfairly harms workers all across the United States. When people are the victims of this type of discrimination, they can potentially lose income, time, or business opportunities for no reason other than their age. But what exactly is age discrimination, and how do you know what it is when it is happening?
Continue reading “What is Age Discrimination, and What Does it Look Like?”
Twitter is once again facing a major federal lawsuit for alleged employment law violations, this time for potentially violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The lawsuit alleges that Elon Musk, the company’s new CEO, violated the law by suddenly requiring all employees to commit to 80-hour work weeks or accept severance, demanding an unreasonable amount of work without any accommodations. The suit also alleges an additional ADA violation by ending Twitter’s work from home policy without adequate explanation or notice. Continue reading “Twitter Faces ADA Woes Due to Changes in Work Policy”
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