The popular drugstore chain, Duane Reade, has finally settled a 5 year long class action lawsuit that alleged it denied overtime pay to its employees. They have agreed to pay $13.5 million to cover claims that its assistant store managers were not paid for all of their hours worked in accordance to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
According to the lawsuit, Duane Reade required its Assistant Store Managers to work at least 55 hours per week but only ...
Continue Reading →The Grand Healthcare System, a nursing home chain based out of New York, was investigated by the Department of Labor (DOL) for possibly violating the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) by not paying its employees for all of their hours worked. This past Thursday, the DOL announced that the company has agreed to pay more than $2 million to affected workers.
Nearly 850 employees across five different nursing home locations will be entitled to back wages and damages. The ...
Continue Reading →The Life Care Centers of America has agreed to pay $145 million in a settlement this past week, including a whistleblower award of $29 million. The company was accused of overbilling government operated healthcare programs for unreasonable and unnecessary therapy sessions. Life Care, which operates more than 220 skilled nursing facilities nationwide, is the country’s largest private nursing home company in the United States. Forrest L. Preston, the owner of Life Care, was accused of knowingly allowing his ...
Continue Reading →Employees at Wells Fargo are now speaking out against the company in regards to unpaid wages. These hourly employees allege that in order to reach the unattainable sales goals set by the company, managers would force them to stay late and make cold calls to customers. This would happen during “call nights” that existed for employees who did not hit their numbers. Branch managers would instruct them to stay after work for an additional hour and have them ...
Continue Reading →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 ...
Continue Reading →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 →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 →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 ...
Continue Reading →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 →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 ...
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