Car dealerships are a commonplace for negotiating deals, however, over the last couple of years sales representatives have been realizing they might actually be the ones getting the short end of those transactions. Two former sales representatives at Star Nissan Autogroup, one of the largest privately owned car dealerships of the NY metropolitan area, have brought a lawsuit against the company to try and remedy violations that they allege include failing to pay minimum wage, overtime, agreed upon wages, unlawful ...
Continue Reading →16 SEP
Wells Fargo Ordered to Pay $185 Million
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recently caught Wells Fargo setting up more than 2 million fake accounts that its customers hadn’t asked for in order to try and reach product sales goals. After being fined $185 Million, Wells Fargo has responded by firing 5,300 employees who are believed to have opened these phantom accounts. They have also removed the unrealistic product sales goals for retail bankers in attempt to prove to its customers ...
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Even without the violation of any wage laws, we can agree that restaurant workers don’t have it easy. When these wage laws are broken, hard working employees are further exploited, at times causing their wages to sink below minimum wage. Luckily, there are laws set in place, like the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which help deter some of these work place violations. Recently, a class action lawsuit was brought against Granite City Food and Brewery by Fitapelli & Schaffer, ...
Continue Reading →24 AUG
Saving for your future is what “they” tell you to do. So when your place of employment sets you up in a retirement savings plan, the assumption is that the 401(k) plan is there to benefit you. However, lately, individuals at even the most prestigious companies have been finding out that may not be the case. Insurance and investment companies as well as top notch universities are being accused of misleading their employees into investments as well as ...
Continue Reading →12 AUG
Telemarketing calls or spam calls as we call them, have been invading our homes, interrupting our dinners and blowing up our cell phones for decades now. As smart phones, computers and tablet devices have grown in popularity, telemarketing communications have increased at an astronomical rate. However, most of these telemarketing communications are unwelcome leaving us to wonder the best way to stop them. Luckily, under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”), recipients of unsolicited calls, texts, or faxes have protection ...
Continue Reading →11 AUG
In the last couple of years there has been an explosion in filming throughout New York City almost daily. Crew members like production assistants can be seen running around, helping shut down traffic or detour pedestrians. They weave through the city streets exasperated on coffee runs or scramble around with walkie talkies in hand. As staples to the industry, these assistants have always worked long arduous hours for next to nothing. For decades it had been custom for production assistants ...
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Misclassifying the FLSA Status
A dirty secret in the employment world is that there are very few true independent contractors. That being said, legitimate employees have a number of rights and protections under the law. As an employee, many aspects of your daily work are dictated by the company like your schedule and terms of payment. Generally speaking, employees have more benefits, such as overtime pay and sick days. Independent contractors on the other hand, have fewer benefits and must ...
Continue Reading →1 AUG
Fitapelli & Schaffer, LLP is investigating claims against New York car dealerships. After successfully resolving a multi-million dollar unpaid wage case against The Major Automotive Companies, one of New York’s largest dealerships, our firm has found that the car dealership industry is riddled with many of the same violations. These wage violations deprive sales representatives of lawfully earned commissions and wages.
Many sales representatives for car dealerships often work long hours and are underpaid. For instance, dealerships often fail to provide ...
Continue Reading →8 JUL
On Thursday, July 07, 2016, Fitapelli & Schaffer LLP filed a class action wage lawsuit against Rosa Mexicana, a Michelin rated restaurant serving upscale Mexican inspired dishes with 17 locations worldwide. This lawsuit seeks to recover minimum wages, overtime pay, call-in pay, and other wages for Plaintiffs and their similarly situated co-workers – servers, bussers, bartenders, food runners, barbacks and other “tipped workers” – who work or have worked at Rosa Mexicano restaurants nationwide with the exception of Rosa Mexicano ...
Continue Reading →8 JUN
On Tuesday, June 7, 2016, Fitapelli & Schaffer, LLP filed a class action wage lawsuit against Red Rabbit, a business that focuses on the preparation of healthy school meals for over 150 schools in the New York City area. Despite the company’s positive initiative to offer healthier food options to NYC school kids, it seems as though they are doing it at the expense of its hard working employees. This wage lawsuit, which represents cooks, food buyers, porters and other ...
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