Federal Express has just settled an unpaid wages case in California for $5.2 million. The lawsuit was certified as a class action, so that many employees will be receiving money. The lawsuit claimed that employees were forced to work through meal and rest breaks without being paid for that time. Many companies commit similar violations, such as automatically deducting an hour for lunch, even if the employee eats at his desk and works through lunch.
Continue Reading →13 SEP
JP Morgan announced a class action settlement covering 1,600 current and former mortgage loan officers in California. The settlement is for $9 million. These loan officer settlements come on the heels of a Department of Labor opinion letter, whereby the agency indicated most loan officers were entitled to minimum wage and overtime pay. Loan officers are entitled to overtime even if they are paid on a commission only basis.
Continue Reading →9 SEP
A Federal Judge in Georgia has ruled that dancers at upscale gentleman’s clubs are employees, rather than independent contractors. As employees, dancers are entitled to certain rights, such as minimum wage and overtime. Historically, strip clubs classified all dancers, DJ’s and hair/makeup personnel in order to avoid paying them wages, payroll taxes, unemployment and worker’s compensation. Hopefully, Judges in New York will follow this decision, as there are many pending cases in New York against clubs for ...
Continue Reading →7 SEP
Tyson Foods Inc. on reached a $32 million settlement with chicken processing factory workers who sued the food giant over unpaid time spent donning and doffing work-related attire and safety gear. Donning and Doffing cases involve the time a worker spends changing in and out of a protective uniform before or after a shift. This settlement is one of the largest ever in this type of case.
Continue Reading →1 SEP
F&S mailed this court approved notice to all Major World salespeople who worked for the Company since December, 2006. If the notice is sent back to us, a person will join the case and be eligible to share in any settlement.
COURT APPROVED NOTICE
30 AUG
Lowe’s has settled a California Class Action on behalf of Loss Prevention Managers for $3 million. Each class member will receive an average of over $9,000, which is very significant. This is another example of a Company not paying salaried employees overtime. Unfortunately, most salried employees are entitled to overtime, but they are unaware of their rights.
Continue Reading →24 AUG
BOVIS, one of the largest construction companies in New York has agreed to settle a class and collective action alleging unpaid overtime. The class includes the following positions: Project Engineers, Assistant Project Managers and Engineers. The total proposed settlement is $2.53 million. This is similar to Fitapelli & Schaffer’s lawsuit against Hunter Roberts Construction on behalf of Assistant Project Managers and Administrative Assistants. It appears many construction companies mis-classify salaried employees, attempting to avoid paying them ...
Continue Reading →22 AUG
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers New York, Connecticut and Vermont recently issued a decision proclaiming that NYPD sergeants are entitled to overtime pay. This decision would likely extend to State Troopers and county police forces, such as Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester. One major issue in the case dealt with payment of comp time, rather than overtime. Also, the Court ruled that sergeants’ primary duty was not supervision, and thus, they were not subject to ...
Continue Reading →19 AUG
A collective action was filed against Walmart for failing to pay workers for time spent “off the clock.” According to the complaint, filed in Florida Federal Court, Lisa Gilliam and other similarly situated employees were forced to work before or after they punched in and out to work. This is a way companies are able to have workers put in over 40 hours per week, without paying them for all hours worked.
Continue Reading →18 AUG
Similar to Fitapelli & Schaffer’s class action lawsuit against KPMG, another of the Big-5 accounting firms, Price Waterhouse Coopers was sued for failing to pay overtime to associates in the New York office. Many large companies mislead salaried employees in order to avoid paying them overtime, in violation of state and federal law.
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