The United States Supreme Court, in an 8-1 decision, ruled in favor of a Muslim woman who was denied a job at Abercrombie & Fitch after she interviewed for a sales position because she wore hijab, a black headscarf worn for religious reasons.
The applicant, Samantha Elauf, never told her interviewer that she was Muslim. However, Elauf did not get the job and was told by a friend it was because of her headscarf. The headscarf violated Abercrombie & Fitch’s dress ...
Continue Reading →On May 20, 2015, Fitapelli & Schaffer, LLP filed a class action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Montana Billings Division against Exploration Drilling, Inc. (“Exploration Drilling”). The lawsuit is filed on behalf of all flowback operators and other similarly situated employees who work or have worked at Exploration Drilling nationwide.
The lawsuit alleges that Exploration Drilling has failed to pay overtime to flowback operators. Flowback operators are paid a day rate, which is a pre-set ...
Continue Reading →On May 13, 2015, Fitapelli & Schaffer, LLP filed a class action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York against Gaucho, LLC; Samba Brands Management; 7th & Barrow LLC; Avenue Spoon Inc.; Shimon Bokova; Danielle Billera; and Matthew Johnson (collectively, “Defendants”) who collectively own and operate the Sushi Samba restaurants in New York City, Miami Beach, Coral Gables, and Las Vegas. The lawsuit is filed on behalf of all servers, bussers, runners, bartenders, ...
Continue Reading →Governor Cuomo, frustrated from facing resistance and delays from the legislature in his attempts to raise the minimum wage rate once more, is resolute on making an increase a reality. This Thursday, the Governor will use his authority to direct the labor commissioner to convene a Wage Board and examine the current minimum wage in the fast-food industry. The board is expected to give its recommendations as to what it believes the minimum wage rate in this industry should be ...
Continue Reading →The countless nail salons in New York City and surrounding areas, as documented by a recent NY Times article, have recently been placed under the microscope in regards to wage and hour violations and hazardous working conditions. Several violations have become apparent such as these salons paying its workers way below the minimum hourly wage rate, no overtime pay, not being paid for all hours worked, and often not being paid at all. Last year, the Department of Labor ...
Continue Reading →On March 27, 2015, in the case of Scott v. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc., Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York granted and denied in part Plaintiffs’ motion to compel production of particular documents in Defendant’s revised privilege log. The motion was filed on February 24, 2015 by Fitapelli & Schaffer LLP and Outten Golden, LLP on behalf of Plaintiffs, in response to Defendant’s privilege log, provided in discovery, which ...
Continue Reading →On March 27, 2015, in the case of Flood v. Carlson Restaurants Inc., Judge Analisa Torres of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York denied Defendants motion to transfer the action to the Northern District of Texas and to partially dismiss Plaintiffs’ FLSA minimum wage claim. Plaintiffs originally commenced this action on April 17, 2014, on behalf of themselves and all similarly situated current and former tipped workers – including servers, bussers, runners, bartenders, barbacks, ...
Continue Reading →On March 26, 2015, Fitapelli & Schaffer, LLP filed a class action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York against Dinosaur Restaurants, LLC, JLN-Store, Inc. f/k/a Dino-Store, Inc., Soros Strategic Partners LP, and John Stage, who collectively own and operated the Dinosaur Bar-B-Que franchise. This lawsuit is specifically filed on behalf of all servers, bussers, runners, bartenders, and other “Tipped Workers” who work or have worked at the following Dinosaur Bar-B-Que restaurants: the ...
Continue Reading →In a recent 6-3 decision, in the case of Young v. United Parcel Service, Inc., the Supreme Court has overturned a Fourth Circuit decision which granted summary judgment in favor of the Defendants, in regards to their failure to grant Plaintiff reasonable accommodations under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act. Specifically, Plaintiff was a pregnant postal service worker who was told by her Doctor that she should not attempt to lift more than 20 pounds while pregnant. However, since the postal service ...
Continue Reading →On March 24, 2015, Fitapelli & Schaffer, LLP filed a class action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York against Landry’s, Inc. and its subsidiaries McCormick & Schmick Restaurant Corp. and Landry’s Seafood House-Arlington, Inc., on behalf of all servers, bussers, and other tipped workers who have worked at the “McCormick & Schmick’s Seafood & Steaks” that operated in New York City between March 24, 2009 and June 13, 2014.
Landry’s Inc. (“Landry’s”) is ...
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