February 19, 2010

Prevailing Wage News
20% of TN Construction Workers Underpaid

A study released earlier this week looking into Tennessee construction worker wages found that one in five construction workers was either misclassified as an independent contractor or paid under the table since 2006. The study was presented to Tennessee committee on House Consumer and Employee Affairs this Wednesday.

The study was based on state and federal agency data and conducted by professors at Middle Tennessee State University and Tennessee Tech. It concluded that 38,680 Tennessee workers were misclassified or paid under the table, which impacted the state by a nearly $15M loss in unemployment taxes and $92M to workers' compensation premiums. According to the study, those employers who don’t pay appropriate wages and associated employment costs poison the well for those honest employers who pay their premiums and follow federal and Tennessee employment law.

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20% of TN Construction Workers Underpaid" »

Posted by Jim Higgins | | Email This Post

Posted In: Minimum Wage

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February 14, 2010

Tennessee Migrant Forest Workers Class Action Settles

A collective/class action case that was filed in Tennessee Federal Court on behalf of migrant farm workers has been settled. Although the settlement still must be approved by the Court, the defendant has agreed to pay 2.75 million to more than 2,200 workers. The suit claimed that the workers were short changed their wages, including overtime pay. The defendant maintained their innocence in the settlement.

Hopefully, these type of cases send a message to all employers that employees must be treated fairly and that overtime is not an option. Overtime is the law and put simply it is both unethical and illegal to deny overtime to employees who have earned it.

Posted by Jim Higgins | | Email This Post

Posted In: Overtime

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February 7, 2010

Wage and Hour Lawsuits Increase Nationwide

As Tennessee Law Blog foresaw in the early months of last year in Tennessee Wage and Hour Cases on the Rise, wage-and-hour lawsuits have continued to explode across the county. In one report by a national employment law firm, non-government wage and hour settlements in 2009 grew 44% over 2008’s lawsuits.

Settlements for wage and hour lawsuits also increased in 2009. For those filed in federal court under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), lawsuit settlement amounts rose from $253 million in 2008 to $364 million in 2009 for the top 10 wage and hour cases of those years. The greatest growth in wage and hour lawsuits was along the coasts – California, Washington New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts – though the trend was upward in other states as well.

Continue reading "Wage and Hour Lawsuits Increase Nationwide" »

Posted by Jim Higgins | | Email This Post

Posted In: Minimum Wage , Overtime

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