Attorney Steven Mitchell Sack, “The Employee’s Lawyer,” says fast food workers in New York State do not make enough money and should be able to earn at least $15 an hour. This, he says, will mean not only increased employee morale but employee retention.
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Steven Mitchell Sack Supports President Obama’s Proposed Rule Change on Overtime Pay
Attorney Steven Mitchell Sack, “The Employee’s Lawyer,” says a new workplace regulation proposed by President Barack Obama to automatically qualify workers for overtime pay would mean those who work more than 40 hours a week will be fairly compensated.
Steven Mitchell Sack Supports Governor Cuomo’s Legislation to Protect Nail Salon Workers in New York State
Attorney Steven Mitchell Sack, “The Employee’s Lawyer,” says Governor Andrew Cuomo’s legislation that would crack down on nail salons which exploit their workers or operate without a license will provide much-needed protection for the employees who work in dangerous conditions while not being justly compensated.
NYC Employers Fined for Not Allowing Employees Sick Leave
Last year, Mayor de Blasio signed into effect new sick leave laws that would offer employees greater protection by expanding the previous legislation. Recently, companies such as Best Buy and FedEx have been fined for not complying with the law that went into effect last April.
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McDonald’s Joins Companies Nationwide that are Raising Wages
McDonald’s has recently taken measures to improve wages and benefits for its employees. However, these newly implemented policies will only affect those employed by the company stores, not franchisees. As part of the new benefits, employees will see an increase in salary to at least $1 above the local minimum wage, eligibility for time off, and a new program applying to all employees who wish to earn a high school diploma or fund their college education. 90,000 workers would be affected at 1,500 McDonald’s restaurants. This means that 90% of McDonald’s workers would not see these benefits as the majority of the restaurants are franchisee-owned.
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Women Celebrate Victory in Supreme Court Young v. UPS Decision
In the much anticipated Supreme Court decision in the case of Young v. UPS, the Court remanded the case back to the 4th Circuit. Although the Supreme Court did not directly decide the issue of whether UPS violated the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, in not offering Young a disability accommodation due to her pregnancy, it held that Young’s claim should at least be heard. Advocates celebrated this as a victory because at least Young would have her day in court that had been denied by the lower courts. Young’s attorney considered the decision to be a “big step forward towards enforcing the principle that a woman shouldn’t have to choose between her pregnancy and her job.”
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Abercrombie and Fitch Faces Another Lawsuit Based on Religious Discrimination
Abercrombie and Fitch has been subjected to several lawsuits in the last few years based on the company’s appearance policy. CEO Mike Jeffries was quoted in 2013 remarking that the company’s objective is to target “good looking people” which is why they “hire good looking people.” The company has been accused of discrimination based on weight, physical disabilities, appearance, and religion.
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Should You Be Compensated for Time Spent in Workplace Security Checkpoint?
Recently, the United States Supreme Court ruled that companies are not obliged to pay employees for the time they spend undergoing security checks at the end of their shifts.
The case presenting the issue of overtime pay involved the elite online marketplace Amazon.com and employees of a company in Nevada responsible for processing and shipping amazon purchases. Specifically, the employees of the Nevada company had sued the company for back wages and overtime pay. They claimed that they should have been compensated for time spent in security screenings. While the employees claimed that such screenings, designed to prevent against theft, took up to 30-minutes, Amazon maintained, that the screening process is designed to take 90-seconds per employee.
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United States Supreme Court to Take on Pregnancy in the Workplace
The United States Supreme Court is scheduled to hear a case (Young v. UPS, 12-1226) that has the potential to affect how pregnant workers are accommodated in the workplace.
The case involves popular package and parcel shipping company, UPS, and a female employee who had been working as a driver in Landover, Maryland. After becoming pregnant in 2006, the employee submitted a doctor’s note backing her request for a temporary assignment to avoid lifting heavy packages.
UPS declined to accommodate the employee and doctor’s request, reiterating its policy that drivers must be able to lift packages weighing up to 70 pounds.
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Are You Eligible for Overtime Pay in New York?
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) automatically qualifies certain types of workers who meet overtime pay requirements for guaranteed overtime for all hours worked over 40 in a single week (or daily overtime limits set by New York overtime laws). If your work involves manual labor (such as construction worker, factory attendant, cashier, etc.) you most likely fall within the protections of overtime law.
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