On May 18, 2016, after more than two years in the making, Obama’s administration has finally unveiled a final ruling effectively changing overtime eligibility under the nation’s Fair Labor Standards Act. The overtime salary threshold has doubled from $23,660 to $47,476 allowing millions of once exempt Americans to qualify for overtime pay. This regulation, effective on December 1, 2016, will hopefully allow hard working employees tallying more than 40 hours a week pay for overtime at time-and-a-half what ...
Continue Reading →17 MAY
Lowe’s, one of the largest home improvement retailers in the country, settled an $8.6 million lawsuit that alleged wrongful termination due to disability discrimination. A lawsuit was brought by three former employees alongside the Equal Opportunity Commission (EEOC) representing all workers who had taken a medical leave for more than the allowable time off by the company and subsequently fired because of it. The lawsuit alleged Lowe’s violated the Americans with Disabilities Act.
This case was resolved this past ...
Continue Reading →10 MAY
Laborers for construction companies are frequently paid improperly at the hand of their employers. They are often salaried or paid a day-rate which, as argued by a recent lawsuit against Cross City Construction, would entitle them to receive overtime pay when working over 40 hours per week. Cross City Construction, a construction contractor who operates at several sites throughout New York City, was hit with a class action FLSA lawsuit on Wednesday, May 10, 2016. Fitapelli & Schaffer, LLP is ...
Continue Reading →10 MAY
Having to deal with constant workplace harassment day in and day out, can be mentally and physically taxing to say the least. When starting out at any job, one always hopes for a pleasant and work conducive environment. When Victor Alexander King started working at Whole Foods, a leading gourmet supermarket nationally and internationally, he probably never believed he would have been discriminated and harassed so intensely due to being transgender. One of Whole Foods mission statements is ...
Continue Reading →13 APR
A hospital worker, Robert Volpe, at Staten Island University Hospital filed a wage and hour lawsuit against the facility in May of 2015. The phlebotomist and lab technician working within the hospital’s Dyker Lab Patient Service Center was completing at least 60 hours of work per week for the last 6 years and paid a salary of approximately $65,000. Volpe was never paid overtime but was required to work long hours. Now, not even a year later, the hospital has ...
Continue Reading →6 APR
P.F. Chang’s, a leading domestic and international Asian-inspired casual chain restaurant, was hit with a class and collective action FLSA Lawsuit on Friday, April 1, 2016. The class includes servers, bussers, runners, bartenders and other “Tipped Workers” who work or have worked for P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, Inc. in the United States. They are being represented by Fitapelli & Schaffer, LLP along with Werman Salas P.C.
The FLSA lawsuit alleges that P.F. Chang’s has instituted widespread practices and policies that violate ...
Continue Reading →28 MAR
Bank of America, the second largest national bank, has settled a class action overtime lawsuit for $14,000,000. The lawsuit alleged the bank failed to pay its Financial Advisor Trainees in the Merrill Lynch unit their overtime pay. The trainees claim they were working 60 hours or more per week and were not compensated at time and a half what their hourly rate would be for overtime.
Approximately 9,500 trainees nationwide will be benefiting from this settlement if approved by the court. ...
Continue Reading →18 MAR
An oil-field services company, SandRidge Energy Corp. has agreed to pay up to almost $5 million to settle an FLSA lawsuit alleging unpaid overtime and owed wages. Sixteen employees rallied together in a class action lawsuit filed back in July 2013. They believed the company was shortchanging them on their hours worked and ultimately did not pay them for their overtime hours allegedly violating provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
Like many other workers in this industry or those ...
Continue Reading →18 MAR
Last year in June of 2015, 51-year-old Tracy Quitasol filed a wrongful termination case against the online and news print mogul, The New York Times. Quitasol was terminated after complaining about the repeated sexist behavior of a male subordinate and also believes her dismissal was part of a larger purge by her boss. The lawsuit alleges that a top Times executive eliminated several dozen older workers of color and replaced them with mostly white employees under the age of 40.
The ...
Continue Reading →4 MAR
The popular casual dining and sports bar franchise, Buffalo Wild Wings, is being sued by two former tipped workers for unpaid wages. The plaintiffs, represented by Fitapelli & Schaffer, LLP, allege that Buffalo Wild Wings failed to pay the proper minimum wage and overtime to servers, bussers, bartenders, and other tipped workers as required by the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) and the New York Labor Law (“NYLL”). Additionally, the class action lawsuit seeks to recover damages for uniform-related expenses, ...
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