Tennessee Employment Lawyer Blog

Many of us here in Tennessee and all over the country, see this country as being one of having opportunities that other countries do not have and may never have. This is why so many people from other parts of the world come to the United States to find work, and freedoms that they could not have where they came from. Unfortunately, many times these people become the targets for low wages, no overtime pay, and even false promises of work. It is not right and should not be happening, however, it happens more than many of may realize. If you or someone you care about has suffered due to these types of work conditions, then you should speak with a Tennessee minimum wage and overtime pay lawyer right away. They will help make sure you get the compensation that you deserve and that your rights are upheld.

In this case, a lawsuit was filed for a franchise owner of All Pro Cleaning systems because of claims that the Westboro Firm was targeting immigrants to encourage them to purchase franchise in the cleaning company, then failing to provide them with the promised work. The lawsuit also claims that the Westboro Firm wrongfully classifies their workers as independent contractors and makes deductions from their pay that is against the law. All Pro also denied workers minimum wage and overtime pay, charges the workers with jobs and makes them pay for expenses that normally are paid by an employer. The president and chief executive officer for All Pro, Ronald Showalter ,denies mistreating franchise owners and claims that franchises are sold according to federal guidelines.

This lawsuit names Leila Munik of Lowell as the plaintiff but there are also ten All Pro franchise owners that want to be part of the case which could lead to the judge seeing it as a class action to include all of the owners.

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In Tennessee and all across the country, when workers feel that their employment rights have been violated or that they were fired from their jobs without a good reason, it used to be more difficult to file a lawsuit against a former employer for this reason. This usually left many Tennessee workers without many options except for to get a new job and move on and hope that the company learned its lesson. Now however, the Tennessee Supreme Court has reversed a precedent which will make it easier for Tennessee workers to file a lawsuit against a former employer if they feel they were fired illegally. If you have questions on how this may affect your case or if you feel you were fired illegally, you should speak with a Tennessee employment lawyer right away. They will help answer your questions and make sure that you get the compensation that is rightfully yours.
In a court ruling of 3-2 last week, employers must now prove that a workers’ claim of discrimination or retaliation are false or possibly be faced with a trial. Before this decision, it was up to an employee to prove that they were wrongfully fired and this was often very difficult to do because most employers will not say, “I'm firing you because you're black' or 'because you're over 40,''' said Wade Cowan, the attorney for the plaintiff in the case, Gossett v. Tractor Supply Co. Inc.

In federal court, more than forty percent of cases were an employee had to prove they were illegally fired, never got the chance to go to trial before their cases would be dismissed, according to the American Bar Association. Before this decision, Tennessee used the federal model for determining whether or not these cases should go to trial. Many businesses fear that this will hurt small businesses and increase Tennessee business costs in general. Other attorneys think that this will give employees a right to present their case and not have it dismissed before it is even heard.

This decision will not only affect the number of cases that go to trial but also increase settlement values and have most Tennessee employment cases getting filed in state courts instead of federal ones.

Continue reading "Tennessee Court makes it Easier to File a Lawsuit against an Employer for Illegal Firings " »

Many of us in this country and here in Tennessee go to the grocery store, a video store or even a furniture store and do not even realize that the same minimum wage cases we hear about on TV or the Internet could be happening at these places as well. We just think that if the company is big and well known then their workers must get paid and treated fairly. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Many of the places we go each day fail to pay their workers proper wages and overtime pay whether they are a big or small company. If you feel that you have been treated unfairly concerning your wage and overtime pay, then you should speak with a Tennessee minimum wage and overtime pay lawyer. They will make sure that you get the pay that is rightfully yours.

A lawsuit was filed Berks County Court against an Ashley Furniture Inc store in Ontelaunee Township for failing to pay overtime and correct wages to three of its employees. The suit has asked the court to allow 3,000 people who have worked for the company in the last four years to be included in the lawsuit. Kevin A Moore, a Wyomissing attorney who filed the suit stated that 750 employees work at the store.

The lawsuit is asking for less than $75,000 for each former employee and also includes Joseph Murphy, the company’s director of operations, as the defendant. Bill Koslo, the attorney for Ashley Furniture of Arcadia, Wisconsin said that the company has not yet been served with the lawsuit. He also claims, “Ashley has fully compensated all of its employees for their work.” Moore who filed the suit stated that “Most employers in this community understand the rules associated with paying hourly workers for the work they perform. Ashley Furniture has not only flouted the rules and the law but has knowingly done so at the expense of thousands of hourly employees.”

The lawsuit also claims the company violated Pennsylvania minimum wage laws by not correctly paying hourly employees, failing to calculate and pay the proper overtime, and not paying hourly employees for working during break and meal times.

The lawsuit also is asking for back pay for each plaintiff for each violation of the labor laws.

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Many of us across the country and even right here in Tennessee hear about cases where workers are unfairly treated or paid very little for the hours they are expected to work. Many of us may shake our heads or feel sad for these people, but most of us may not realize how often it still happens each and every day and that it happens everywhere to just about every type of worker, including those who work at some of the country’s most famous tourist attractions. If you or someone you love believes your minimum wage rights have not been upheld, it is important that you speak with a Tennessee minimum wage lawyer right away. They will help make sure you are fairly compensated for the time you put in at work.

In this case, people all over the world know of Chinatown in San Francisco because of their cultural aspects and amazing food and the authentic items that you can purchase, but many people do not realize how little food workers get pay here and how they are treated for the work that they do. The San Francisco Department of Public Health along with UC Berkeley and UCSF found in a study that, half of the food workers do not even receive the $minimum wage. To make matters even worse, forty percent of them work overtime but seventy-six percent do not get paid overtime and sixty-four percent of the workers receive no training on the job, which has resulted in more injuries.

Former restaurant worker, Li Shuang Li stated that, “She did not get minimum wage. There were no health care benefits, no health insurance at all. And she worked very long days with no breaks”.

The Chinese Progressive Association which helped started the effort also commented that many of the restaurant workers are mistreated. In order to make things better, supporters of the study are going to invest more into Chinatown with stronger enforcement of labor, health and safety laws and a low wage workers’ bill of rights.

Continue reading "Food Workers in Chinatown Receive Little Pay" »

In this country and in the state of Tennessee, it should not matter what kind of work you do to provide for yourself and your family. You still work hard and deserve to be paid the proper wages and benefits according to the law. Unfortunately, too often many workers are unpaid and work long hours with very little to no benefits at all. If this sounds familiar to you and you suspect that your minimum wage rights have been overlooked, then you should speak with a Tennessee minimum wage lawyer right away. They will help to make sure you get the compensation and benefits you deserve for the work you do.

In this case, fifty women who worked as exotic dancers and massage therapists at Club Alex’s in Stoughton filed a lawsuit for being deprived of wages and benefits and received $400,000 in a settlement. Warren H. Pyle, a Boston lawyer for the case stated that, “in all, 100 to 150 women who worked at Alex’s between December 2006 and September 2009 may be eligible to receive a share of the money.”

This case is just one of many that has brought against strip clubs in throughout the country who treated their worker as independent contractors instead of employees who should receive minimum wage, overtime pay and other benefits. It appears that “Some have begun paying the state minimum wage for tipped employees. Some do and some don’t, Those who don’t are being sued. Those who (haven’t paid past due amounts) are also being sued.

These cases all started after a judge ruled that Lounge had been classifying their workers incorrectly last year and could face damages because of it. The status of the workers at Club Alex’s changed in September 2009 and they started receiving minimum wage then. According to the lawsuit, the club did not pay them minimum wage or overtime and required them to pay fees in order to perform.

Continue reading "Club Dancers and Massage Therapists Win Lawsuit over Wages and Benefits" »

Illness is a difficult thing to face, especially if it involves chemotherapy treatments, surgeries and large amounts of pain. The illness and suffering that comes with cancer is difficult enough without having your employer harass you about how many days you are taking off work, or even fire you because of the cancer. Unfortunately even though it is against several laws to do so, this kind of treatment happens to many people across the country and even right here to many Tennessee residents. If you have been treated unfairly or harassed due to an illness, you should contact a Tennessee employment lawyer right away about your case. They will help to make sure you get the treatment you deserve.

Kara Jorud, who worked at Michael’s Arts and Crafts store in Boca Raton returned to work after a double mastectomy and chemotherapy in August of 2008, only to face harsh questions and harassment from her boss Skip Sand, such as asking her “How often do you have to do this?” and “You will be here Monday after chemo,” as well calling her daily to find out when she planned to return to work. This harassment continued and led to her ultimately being fired.

A jury found on Wednesday, September 1, 2010, that this violated several federal employment laws and ordered Sands and the Texas-based arts and crafts store to pay $8.1 million to Jorud for pain and suffering and for discriminating against an employee who has cancer. Her attorneys, Brian McPherson and Joseph Curley, say she is also entitled to $1 million in lost wages for in the past and future. Finally, because the jury found that the company acted with “malice and reckless indifference” the judge could increase the lost wages amount she may be entitled to.

Jorud said,” My whole goal in this thing is to make sure no one has to go through this. This just shouldn't happen in this day and age. Cancer is hard enough without the extras. With the extras, it's just impossible."

Continue reading "8.1 million Awarded to former employee harassed for having cancer " »