Tennessee Employment Lawyer Blog

In Tennessee and all over the United States, most employees that work more than forty hours in a single work week, you are entitled by law to receive overtime pay even if you work for a celebrity. Unfortunately, many companies and bosses including celebrities like to find ways around paying overtime or just fail to pay it completely. In a recent case, Jennifer O’Neil was employed as Lady Gaga’s personal assistant for thirteen months. She claims that she was required to handle after task that Lady Gaga demanded. This meant she did tasks such as handling the singer’s scheduling, finances, meals, and making sure Lady Gaga had a towel in her hand when she was finished taking a shower. O’Neil was with Lady Gaga during her 2010 Monster Ball world tour, and she claims that was barely awarded time for breaks, meals, or even sleep so that she could be available to the singer at all times of the day and night.

O’Neil’s job was supposed to pay $75,000 but she claims she was never paid overtime. She filed a lawsuit last week, claiming almost $380,000 in back pay. The lawsuit was filed against Lady Gaga’s company, Mermaid Touring, Inc. The former assistant also states that she was owed an estimated 7,168 hours of overtime. The employment lawsuit is also seeking unspecified damages.

Continue reading "Former Personal Assistant for Lady Gaga Filed Overtime Pay Lawsuit against the Singer " »

According to a new lasuit, in August of 2011, David Sakich, Kevin Holton, Scott Jones and Todd Hammond as well as others facing a similar situation filed a suit against Sheriff Randall Boyce and the county under the Fair Labor Standards Act claiming that they were denied overtime as well as straight time pay and worked “off the clock.” They also claim they were retaliated against for bringing up the issue. Sakich and Holton also claim that they were demoted from positions as detective to patrol duty for whistle blowing activity. They later requested a preliminary injunction to prevent retaliation against others who may want to be a part of the lawsuit. Jeremy Beech, a maintenance worker joined the federal lawsuit two weeks later.

A federal judge has granted the detectives motion for a hearing on their preliminary injunction request as well as their motion for a case management conference in the lawsuit. The judge has told both sides to be prepared to present proof during the upcoming hearing, scheduled for January 5th, 2012, related to the factors the judge must weigh in considering the detectives motion for the injunction. The judge also stated that after the hearing if it is warranted, he will conduct a scheduling conference in the case.

However, the judge also told both sides of the case to discuss whether they will consent o have a U.S. magistrate judge conduct all further proceedings in the case, including trial and entry of a final judgment. The judge has also recommended that both sides become familiar with the judicial preferences of the judge before attending the scheduling conference.

Continue reading "Hearing Scheduled in Lawsuit against Sheriff’s Department Concerning Unpaid Overtime" »

In Tennessee and all over the United States, employees working in any business or position deserve overtime rights as well as minimum wage rights. Unfortunately, however, in some positions workers are not given these rights or protections. However, the White House and the federal government are working to change these rules. If you or someone you work with feel that you do not get the overtime and minimum wage rights you deserve or want to know how these changes may affect you, then you should talk to a Tennessee employment overtime and minimum wage lawyer right away. They will work with you to make sure you get the employment rights and compensation that you deserve.

The White House has announced a proposed rule to mend the Supreme Court’s decision in Coke by extending minimum wage and overtime protections to home health care workers who are employed by third party agencies. Before this decision, Coke, impacted hard working and low paid employees all across the country. Many home healthcare workers, who provide care for the elderly and disabled, were extremely underpaid for the work that they do because of a Fair Labor Standards Act exemption and Coke made this worse by extending this exemption to third party agencies. Coke was a harsh precedent because it crushed the Fair Labor Standards Act narrow construction of the exemption rule and it made a sub-class of low wage employees who could have suffered from wage abuse by third party agencies. The White House’s proposal to mend Coke’s decision is a great decision for these employees and other employees in similar situations all across the country.

Continue reading "White House Proposed Rule for Overtime and Minimum Wage Protections for Home Care Workers" »

In Tennessee and all across the country, employees are entitled to the proper wage amounts for their specific job. Unfortunately, many companies and businesses find ways around these wage requirements by misclassifying their employees or keeping improper records of payment. If you or someone you work with feels that your rights to a certain wage have been violated, then you should speak with a Tennessee employment lawyer as soon as possible. They will hear your case and work with you to make sure you get the compensation you are entitled to by law.

According to this case, The U.S. Department of Labor stated on December 14th, 2011, that “35 franchised hotels and motels, including eleven in Middle Tennessee, violated minimum wage, overtime and other labor laws during the fiscal year ended Sept. 30.” The Department also said that those businesses received fines and they owed $14,552 and the agency was able to recover more than $173,000 in wages which were owed to two hundred and eighty-three employees. These business violations included charging employees excessive room and board if they also lived on the property and paying housekeepers by the number of rooms they cleaned. These violations led to these employees receiving less than $7.25 minimum wage. They also only paid employees regular pay or “straight” pay for all the hours they worked, including overtime, and failed to pay for hours that temporary employees worked. Some of the hotels and motels also misclassified their employees as independent contractors which denied them their wage rights according to federal law.

These citations were part of a multi-year enforcement initiative which focused on Tennessee’s hotel and motel industry during which the U.S. Department of Labor found, “found widespread noncompliance with the minimum wage, overtime and record-keeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act.” Ten hotels and motels in Nashville were cited and also one in Smyrna.

Continue reading "Eleven Tennessee Hotels Receive Fines for Wage Violations " »

Some companies and businesses find ways around paying their employees the wages they deserve by paying their employees and then not keeping records of it or failing to pay them overtime pay. According to a recent case, The U.S. Labor Department stated that more than $1 million in back wages has been recovered for two hundred and ninety-five gas station workers after they investigated and found that the gas stations were not compliant with the regulations of the Fair Labor Standards Act, specifically minimum wage and overtime pay requirements. The Fair Labor Standards Act district director of the federal Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division stated that only twenty-five percent of the gas stations were compliant with the Fair Labor Standards Act.

The investigation by the U.S. Labor Department discovered violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act such as paying below the federal minimum wage of 7.25 an hour and not receiving time and half rates of pay when working more than forty hours in a single workweek. Finally, they also discovered that some employees were being paid “off the books”.

The executive director for the Gasoline C-Store Automotive Association stated that gas station employers are not trying to cheat their workers out of proper paid but that they just need lessons in correct bookkeeping according to federal law. In this case, the employees as a result of its investigation was able to recover a total of $ 1,014,895 for workers during the 2011 fiscal year.

Continue reading "Gas Station Workers to Get Back Wages after Being Cheated out of Proper Pay " »

Recently, Jim Higgins, was interviewed with regard to a new app that helps employee's keep track of their work hours. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) all non-exempt workers are entitled to overtime if they work more than forty (40) hours per week. There are now several applications out there to help keep track of your hours. You can watch the interview below to learn about these programs.

Continue reading "Our Employment Law Partners discusses new overtime apps" »

In Tennessee and all across the United States, when employees work more than forty hours in one work week, they are entitled by law to overtime pay. However, many companies, businesses, and even rock stars find ways around this law or fail their employees overtime at all.

In this case, the former personal assistant for Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich is filing a lawsuit against the drummer for violating the Fair Labor Standards Act and failing to pay him overtime. Steven Wiig, Ulrich’s former personal assistant claims that Ulrich failed to pay him overtime when he worked between fifty and seventy hours a week. Wiig also claims that his job duties included maintaining Ulrich’s music and movie collections, hosting guests at concerts, driving the drummer to late night social events, videotaping personal and professional appearances, and dealing with issues related to Ulrich’s art collection. The lawsuit states that Wiig performed these tasks while at Ulrich’s home, studio, and on worldwide tours.

Ulrich may argue that Steven Wiig was exempt from overtime pay because of the domestic service exemption which makes household employees such as cooks, waiters, butlers, caretakers, and chauffeurs of vehicles for family use exempt from overtime pay requirements. However, courts have stated that in order to qualify for this exemption the job duties must be solely domestic and not include such work as answering phones or taking messages.

Continue reading "Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich Faces Overtime Pay Lawsuit " »

Police K-9 Office Bob Diorio filed a an FLSA lawsuit against the Village of a local park so that he could collect money for the time he has spent taking care of the department’s service animal, Thor. According to the lawsuit, Diorio is seeking compensation for the two to three years worth of time he claims he has spent with Thor outside of his regular work hours, which should be time and half an hourly rate.

The lawsuit states that Diorio, “spends an excessive amount of time outside his regular working hours caring for, feeding, grooming and transporting his service animal.”
Finally, according to the lawsuit, Diorio's annual salary totals $83,096, along with an added $2,000 stipend for being the K-9 officer. He earns $39.95 per hour, Village Manager Scott Niehaus stated, and was reimbursed $1,472 last fiscal year for food and supplies he bought for the pooch. Village Manager Scott Niehaus also stated that, “the village has not been formally served with the lawsuit and no internal grievances were previously filed by Diorio on the topic of overtime pay”

Continue reading "K-9 Officer Seeks Overtime Pay in Lawsuit against Village of Park" »

According to this lawsuit, two men who worked on the movie “Black Swan” are challenging the industry’s accepted unpaid internship policy by claiming that Fox Searchlight Pictures, the production company for the movie, had their interns do basic work that should have been done by paid employees and they also claim that the company did not provide them with any type of educational experience that labor rules require in order to exempt employers from paying their interns.

The lawsuit also states that, “In misclassifying many of its workers as unpaid interns, Fox Searchlight has denied them the benefits that the law affords to employees.” One of the plaintiffs’s Alex Footman, worked on “Black Swain” from October 2009 until February 2010 and claims his responsibilities included preparing coffee for the office, making sure the coffee pot was full, taking and handing out lunch orders to the production staff, cleaning the office and taking out the trash. The other plaintiff, Eric Glatt, claimed he prepared documents for purchase orders and petty cash, traveled to the set to get signatures on documents, and created spreadsheets to track missing information in an employee’s file.

The lawsuit is seeking class action for what the plaintiffs claim were more than one hundred unpaid interns on various Fox Searchlight Productions. The lawsuit is also seeking back pay under federal and state minimum wage laws and seeking an injunction barring Fox Searchlight from improperly using unpaid interns. Russell Nelson, a Fox Searchlight spokesman, said, “We just learned of this litigation and have not had a chance to review it so we cannot make any comment at this time.”

Continue reading "Unpaid Interns for “Black Swan” Movie File Lawsuit against Studio over Minimum Wage and Overtime Pay " »

In Tennessee and all across the country, when employees go to work each day and work hard, they expect to get paid for the hours they work and expect that their workplace will follow federal laws and guidelines. However, sometimes businesses find ways around paying their employees for the hours they work and may not even follow federal laws considering the hours in which minors are allowed to work. If you or someone you know has worked overtime hours and failed to receive overtime pay, then you should talk to a Tennessee labor overtime lawyer right away. They will hear your case and make sure you get the compensation you are entitled to by law.

In this case, a restaurant chain known as This is It! BBQ and Seafood has been ordered by the federal government to provide $104,000 in back pay to two hundred and thirty of its workers at five locations and was fined $1,900 for allowing minors to work later than allowed by federal law. This action was taken after the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division nvestigated the chain restaurant and discovered violations of minimum wage, overtime pay, and record keeping provisions of Fair Labor Standards Act. The investigation found that the company improperly classified employees as being exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act and failed to pay them time and a half for hours worked over forty in one work week.

The investigators determined that the employees were not paid minimum wage because the company deducted uniform expenses and lunch breaks. They also discovered that workers who were younger than sixteen were being permitted to work later than 9 p.m. between June 1st and Labor Day and later than 7 p.m. at other times of the year violating federal restrictions for younger workers. Finally, the investigation discovered that the company also failed to keep accurate records of tips earned and hours worked violating the Fair Labor Standards Act record-keeping regulations.

Owner Shelly Anthony did not comment but the company agreed to maintain future compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act by keeping accurate records and paying full and proper wages for all hours worked.

Continue reading "Restaurant Fined and Ordered to Pay $104,000 in Back Wages " »

In Tennessee and all across the United States, employees when they go to work expect to be treated with respect and given the proper pay for the hours that they work. Unfortunately, many companies find ways around paying their employees the overtime they are entitled to by misclassifying them or just failing to pay them for the time altogether. If you or someone you care about feels that you have been improperly paid for the overtime hours you have worked, then you should talk to a Tennessee employment overtime pay lawyer right away. They will hear your case and make sure you get the compensation you are entitled to by law.

According to this case, a district court granted class action status to a lawsuit against AT&T which was filed by BellSouth Telecommunication’s workers who allege that they are owed $1 billion in overtime pay. This decision is for the company’s “First Level” employees who work for AT&T across the country, including in Tennessee and is the third ruling approved for class action status against AT&T following other class action decisions against the company in 2009 and 2010 involving overtime pay.

All three lawsuits claim that AT&T and its subsidiaries violated the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act as well as other state laws by having a company-wide policy to misclassify thousands of the company’s level one managers as being exempt from overtime pay. The complaints in the lawsuits claim that AT&T fails to pay its level one employees for work over forty hours a week and eight hours a day. According to these lawsuits, AT&T also fails to give these employees mandatory meal times and rest breaks and fails to keep accurate records of the hours these employees work.

These lawsuits are seeking that AT&T and their subsidiaries stop their unlawful payment practices and pay all level one managers their unpaid wages and all damages allowed by state and federal wage and hour laws.

Continue reading "Court Granted Class Action Lawsuit against AT&T for Overtime Pay" »

According to this lawsuit, the owner of the T.J. Maxx retail chain store is facing claims that salaried shift supervisors at a local warehouse have been improperly classified as managers and have been denied overtime pay. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Carolyn Dunn Luksza and Patricia Foser who are seeking class-action status to represent themselves as well as all T.J. Maxx employees in similar situations. The lawsuit shows that those eligible to join in the lawsuit are T.J. Maxx supervisors in Nevada including forty to sixty supervisors at the Las Vegas distribution warehouse.

The claims state that Carolyn Dunn Luksza and Patricia Foser usually worked over forty hours per week for the T.J. Maxx retail Company but were not paid all of their earned wages for their time worked over the forty hours in each individual work week. They were also misclassified as “exempt” from receiving overtime pay which is in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The shift supervisors in this lawsuit are required to supervise line workers and must maintain a quota which represents the number of packages shipped per shift, per shift supervisor. The supervisors are not professionals, executives, or administrators according to federal law and do not have the authority to make independent decisions or to make policies.

The lawsuit alleges violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act and of state wage and hour statutes including alleged misclassification of positions of being exempt from overtime pay as well as alleged entitlement to additional wages for off the clock work by hourly employees. The lawsuit is seeking unspecified monetary damages, injunctive relief, and attorneys’ fees.

Employees all over the United States go to work every day with the understanding that they will paid properly for the hours they work and for what job position they have. Unfortunately, however, many companies find ways around paying employees the way they should by misclassifying them as employees of a certain position and also failing to pay them overtime pay. If you feel that you have not received the overtime pay you are entitled to at your workplace, then you should speak to a Tennessee employment overtime pay lawyer as soon as possible. They will hear your case and make sure you get the compensation you deserve for the hours you have worked.

Continue reading "T.J. Maxx Owner Faces Lawsuit over Overtime Pay " »

In general, if an employee works any hours over forty in a one week they are entitled by law to receive overtime pay. However, many companies try to get around paying their employees overtime or just fail to pay them overtime at all. If you or someone you know has worked overtime hours and failed to receive your overtime pay, then you should speak with a Tennessee employment overtime pay lawyer right away. They will work with you to make sure you get the overtime pay you are entitled to by law.

In this case, a lawsuit was filed against Tennessee’s Metropolitan Security Systems also known as Walden Security and against officer Curtis Hoosier, by the Labor Department claiming that guards were not pay wages and overtime pay. The Labor Department is seeking to block the companies from obtaining government contracts for a three year period of time.

The lawsuit is also seeking recovery of $510,991 in back wages and benefits for two hundred and thirty-one current and former employees employed by Walden Security at Fort Sam Houston. Walden Security was given this contract by the U.S. Army Installation Management Command Headquarters in order to allow armed security guard services at “access control points” at Fort Sam Houston.

Continue reading "Tennessee Security Company Faces Overtime Pay Lawsuit" »

In Tennessee and all over the country when employees work for more than forty hours in one work week, they are entitled to receive overtime pay. Unfortunately, many businesses only pay their employees some overtime pay or fail to pay them for overtime hours altogether. If you or someone you know has worked overtime hours but failed to receive overtime pay, then you should speak with a Tennessee employment overtime pay lawyer as soon as possible. They will work with you to see to it that you get the overtime pay you deserve.

According to this lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Labor against Kinder Morgan and Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, the U.S. Department of Labor claims that the pipeline transportation and energy storage company violated federal wage and hour laws. The U.S. Department of Labor filed the lawsuit after an investigation that found “systemic violations” of federal overtime laws at eleven of Kinder Morgan’s locations.

Also, according to the lawsuit and the U.S. Labor Department, the Kinder Morgan Company improperly rounded hours in the company’s favor and failed to pay their employees at several locations, who attended meetings before their shifts started. The company also failed to include bonuses paid to employees when they calculated overtime compensation which is another violation of federal law according to The Fair Labor Standards Act. Kinder Morgan and Kinder Morgan Energy Partners have agreed to pay $830,000 in back wages to 4,659 current and former employees. The Kinder Morgan spokesman said, “We have reached a settlement with the DOL that we believe is in the best interest of the company and our employees.”

Continue reading "Transportation and Energy Storage Business to Pay Back Pay to Workers " »

In this case, a class action lawsuit was filed for former and current Kansas City employees who are emergency medical technicians and paramedics. The lawsuit claims that the “city has had a policy of failing and refusing to compensate its EMTs and paramedics straight time for all hours worked and overtime compensation for all hours worked over forty hours per week.” The lawsuit claims that this city’s overtime pay policy is in violation of federal law for some employees.

The Kansas City Fire Department has approximately one hundred and forty paramedics and over one thousand emergency medical technicians and the City Attorney Galen Beaufort stated that, “there have been recent changes in shift assignments for some paramedics and EMTs, but officials think they are in compliance.” The president of the local 42 of the International Association of Fire Fighters also claims that the system was carefully researched and he did not think that the fair labor standards act (FLSA) was being violated.

In Tennessee and all over the United States when employees work more than forty hours in a single week they are entitled to receive overtime pay. However, many businesses try to find ways around paying their employees overtime pay or just fail to do so completely. Sometimes some of these failures even go against federal law requirements for overtime pay.

Continue reading "Lawsuit Challenges Overtime Pay Policy " »

Tennessee workers and employees all over the United States go to work and expect that if they follow the rules and do their job, they will get paid appropriately for the hours that they work and they will be paid accordingly for any hours worked over forty in a week. However, many companies fail to pay their employees overtime pay or find ways around it by misclassifying them so that they are exempt from the pay. If you or someone you work with feels that you have not been given the overtime pay you are entitled to, then you should talk to a Tennessee employment overtime attorney as soon as possible. They will hear your case and make sure you get the compensation that is rightfully yours by law.

According to this lawsuit, Amber Salazar and other business banking specialists had been required to work off the clock on designated “call nights”. Also according to this lawsuit, the job of a business banking specialist requires helping business customers open accounts and get small business loans. The lawsuit claims that these Wells Fargo employees had to work on these call nights.

Wells Fargo denied these claims and submitted statements from twenty-two business banking specialists and branch managers stating that the specialists had been paid in full. Wells Fargo also claims that Salazar lacked credibility because she knew it was the bank’s written policy that employees have to report all the hours they work and claimed it was Salazar who falsified her time cards. Wells Fargo also added that in the forty-seven weeks she worked in 2009 as a business banking specialist, twenty-six of those weeks Salazar recorded working less than forty hours and also took seventeen days of paid time off during this time because she “admits she struggled as a business banking specialist and that she was a poor performer."
Since the attorneys for the class action lawsuit were claiming hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages and legal fees, Wells Fargo agreed to pay a settlement of $100,000 plus $5,000 in order to give payments to the plaintiffs. The agreement was made with the understanding that Wells Fargo was denying the claims. Notice of the settlement has been mailed to 186 potential class-action plaintiffs, but just 64 filed claims.

Continue reading "Wells Fargo Agreed to Pay $105,000 in Overtime Lawsuit Settlement " »

Tennessee workers and workers all over the country deserve to be paid overtime pay when they work more than forty hours in one week. Unfortunately, some companies try to find ways around paying their workers the overtime pay they are entitled to. Some companies even deny not paying their workers overtime pay. If you or someone you know has worked your overtime hours and failed to receive overtime pay, then you should talk to a Tennessee employment overtime law firm as soon as possible. They will hear your case and make sure you get the compensation you are entitled to by law.

According to this lawsuit, security agents that were employed by the Las Vegas Sands gaming Corporation, claim that they worked over forty hours a week and often over one hundred and fifty a week and the driver, Kwame Luangisa, claims he is owed more than $100,000 in unpaid overtime. However, the Las Vegas Sands Corporation and their CEO Sheldon Adelson deny these allegations and their attorneys claim that Luangisa was a salaried employee who was fired in March of this year.

The Corporation stated that the "Plaintiff has been paid all wages due and the plaintiff was properly exempt from federal overtime requirements." The Corporation also claims that Mr. Luangisa did not speak with any of the defendants about the subject of the lawsuit before filing the lawsuit. The defendants only first heard about the lawsuit after it was published in the newspaper, according to the lawsuit.

Also, the corporation and their attorneys claim that Luangisa was never individually employed by Adelson yet he chose to name him as a defendant in the lawsuit. Attorneys for the corporation claim that including Adelson in the lawsuit was an attempt to create negative publicity about him as shown by how quickly it was published in the newspaper and that Luangisa is also currently involved in two other lawsuits against Adelson and that Luangisa’s claims have nothing to do with his Fair Labor Standards Act claim and have to do with allegations about Luangisa resigning in March after an abusive outburst by Adelson.
Defendants are seeking to have Adelson dismissed from the case and claim that any claims about violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act were not intentional.

Continue reading " Gaming Company Denies Allegations about Worker Overtime Pay" »

The FLSA allows employers to pool some tips of restaurant servers. However, often these tip pools are illegal and take money from the servers that earned the money. If this occurs the servers may have a right to claim the lost money, unpaid wages and overtime.

Tennessee Employment Lawyer Jon Street discusses tip pooling:

Continue reading "Tennessee FLSA Lawyer Discusses Illegal Tip Pooling" »

In Tennessee and all across the country, workers deserve the pay they receive and in some workplaces, this may include the receiving of tips from customers at food service businesses. However, sometimes some businesses get around paying their employees what they are actually owed by illegally pooling tips and then the company receives the benefits instead of the employee. If you or a loved one feels that you have not received the wages you deserve while at work, then you should speak with a Tennessee employment rights lawyer right away. They will hear your case and make sure you get the compensation you are entitled to for the work you do.

In this case, two Hard Rock Café employees have filed a lawsuit against the restaurant claiming that the restaurant did not properly pool tips and that they received tip credits which is against the law. The employees are seeking class action status for their lawsuit and claim that because of the tip pooling the Hard Rock Café was not entitled to receive tip credits to make up for parts of minimum wages that the company was required to pay their servers and bartenders from January 14, 2006 to July 2009. When tips are illegally pooled or illegally given out to managers and kitchen staff, this violates the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.

The Fair Labor Standards Act states that tip sharing or pooling should only be to those employees who are usually tipped by the public and this causes issues when some employers have given out the collected tips to other staff or to managers. In this case, the employers were in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act because they gave out the pooled tips to kitchen staff who did not usually receive tips from the public. This case is different from other tip pooling lawsuits because it deals with minimum wage laws. In some states, employers are allowed to pay their employees who receive tips less than minimum wage” only if the requirements for the tip credit under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act are met,” according to this lawsuit.

Continue reading "Hard Rock Restaurant Faces Lawsuit over Tip Pooling " »

Recently, our very own employment law attorney, Jon Street, discussed common overtime issues on WSMV. You can watch the video here:

The Higgins Firm has handled FLSA (Fair Labor Standards Act) cases in a multitude of courts. Overtime pay cases can be difficult and very expensive to litigate. As such, it is important that you obtain a firm that has both experience with FLSA cases and the resources to pursue the cases.

Continue reading "Tennessee Attorney, Jon Street, discusses overtime claims in Tennessee" »

Continue reading "Tennessee Attorney Jon Street discusses overtime issues" »

Attorney, Jon Street, was recently interviewed about a new Supreme Court case. The case will have an impact on overtime cases throughout the country.

Continue reading "Attorney Jon Street discusses impact of new Supreme Court Case on Employment Law" »

In Tennessee and across the United States when an employee works more than forty hours in one week, by law, they are entitled to receive overtime. However, overtime complaints and lawsuits are becoming one of the biggest problems between employees and their employers while at the workplace. Now, there is an iphone application put into place by the U.S. Department of Labor that could help workers resolve their overtime pay problems with their employers. If you have questions about how this new application may affect your case or if you are a worker who has not received overtime pay, then you should speak with a Tennessee employment overtime lawyer right away. They will answer any questions you may have and work with you to get the compensation you deserve.

This iphone application which is being offered in both English and Spanish will let employees add comments then e-mail a summary of these comments to their employer and to themselves. This will help empower employees to understand and stand up for their rights when their employers may deny them overtime pay. This application will not only be useful for employees but their employers and businesses as well. It is estimated that 220,000 employees collect back wages or other unpaid overtime per year when the Labor Department hears about the case.

When employees use this application, they will have to keep in mind that there may be some problems that they will need to discuss with their employers right away. Employees should also keep in mind that employers are allowed by the Fair Labor Standards Act to round to the nearest fifteen minutes and some employees may not be aware of this. This application may help employers to keep better records of the hours that are worked by their employees since they will be aware of the fact that the employee is keeping track.

It is recommended that if you do use this application to keep track of your hours that employees do so every week. It is also important to make sure that employees understand their company or business policy about working beyond the normal hours.

Continue reading " U.S. Labor Department iPhone Application Could Reduce Overtime Disputes " »

Tennessee employees and employees all across the United States work hard for their money and deserve to be paid for the hours the work. If an employee works more than forty hours in one week, then they are also entitled to receive time and half for each hour over forty or overtime pay. However, many companies and businesses find ways around this law or just fail to pay their employees any overtime pay at all. If you or someone you care about has worked overtime but have not received your overtime pay, then you should speak with a Tennessee employment overtime lawyer as soon as possible. They will work with you and make sure you receive compensations for the hours you have worked.

In this case, employees of the company that provides janitorial services to JC Penny stores, claim that the cleaning company “regularly required” them to work over forty hours in a week but failed to pay them overtime and for all the hours that they worked. The employees argue in court papers that the cleaning company often failed to credit or pay them for all their hours from 2003 to 2008, in one hundred and fifty-seven locations where the company provides services. More than one hundred employees are part of the class action lawsuit. According to the lawsuit, the cleaning company is in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

This case is proceeding to federal court and the amount of unpaid wages will be determined by the court. The lawsuit is also seeking damages equal to unpaid wages, plus interest, attorney fees and other costs.

Continue reading "JC Penny Janitors Overtime Lawsuit Proceeds as Class Action Suit in Federal Court" »

Many people these days are struggling to make ends meet and are working all the hours they can to have enough money to provide for their loved ones. Unfortunately, in Tennessee and in many places all over the country, many companies and business do not pay their employees the overtime pay they deserve by law. They either find ways to avoid it such as making them clock out early or wait to clock in, or they just do not pay them overtime at all. If you work hard for the money you get, then you deserve your overtime pay. If you are not getting it, then you should talk to a Tennessee employment overtime lawyer right away. They will work with you and make sure you receive the compensation you deserve for the hours you work.

In this case, employees at a hospital claim that two health systems denied them overtime pay because they used a fourteen day, eighty hour pay period which was found to be in violation of states Minimum Wage Act. The lawsuit also contends that the employees were entitled overtime pay any time they worked more than forty hours in a seven day period of time.

The seven hundred employees of the hospital will receive between $50 and $5,300 after winning a settlement regarding their overtime pay. About $400,000 of the $2.75 million settlement will be paid by one of the two health systems. This settlement shows that hospitals are not exempt from the requirement that overtime pay should be calculated based on a seven day work week. The actual amount each employee will receive will depend upon individual circumstances, but the average is around $489.

Continue reading "Hospital Employees win in Overtime Lawsuit" »

In Tennessee and across the country, employees that work more than forty hours in one week are entitled to overtime pay for each hour over the forty hours. However, many companies and businesses find ways around these laws or just fail to pay their workers overtime altogether. When this happens, employees are entitled to complain about not being paid properly for overtime. However, until recently it was unclear whether or not an employee complaining orally about overtime pay was protected against retaliation from an employer. If you are a Tennessee worker who feels that you were not paid the overtime you deserve or have questions about how this new ruling may affect your overtime lawsuit, then you should speak to a Tennessee employment overtime pay lawyer right away. They will hear your case and make sure you get the compensation you deserve.

In this case, Kevin Kasten worked as an hourly employee for the Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Corporation. He complained to his company, Saint Gobain, about how the time clocks were placed in an area which prevented employees from receiving credit for job related activities such as putting on and taking off of work clothes. After winning a lawsuit related to not being compensated for time spent dressing and undressing for work, Kasten filed another lawsuit which claimed that he had been terminated for complaining about the location of the company’s time clocks. This was Kasten’s second anti-retaliation lawsuit under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

The Fair Labor Standards Act requires employers to pay certain employers a minimum wage and one and a half times the rate of pay for any hours worked over forty in one work week. This act also does not allow an employer “to discharge” an employee because they filed a complaint that is in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. When this case went before the Supreme Court the issue was whether or not Kasten’s oral complaints were “filed” within the meaning of the Fair Labor Standards Act anti-retaliation terms.

The Supreme Court in their ruling focused on the fact that the Fair Labor Standards Act was passed during the Great Depression when workers needed to be protected against poor working conditions and unfair treatment by their employers. The Supreme Court stated that during that time, workers who could not read or write could not make an effective written complaint and concluded that the Fair Labor Standards Act was intended to protect all complaints, both written and oral. The Court ruled that oral and written complaints are protected by the anti-retaliation terms of the act and an employer is not allowed to terminate an employee for making an oral complaint.

Continue reading "Supreme Court Ruling to Change the Way Employees can Complain about Overtime Pay" »

Tennessee employees and employees all over the country work hard for their pay and many employees put in more than forty hours in one week in the hopes of getting some extra money to pay bills and support their families. Unfortunately, many companies find ways around paying their employees the overtime pay they are owed. These ways may include asking them to come in early but not clock in or telling them to go home early in order to avoid paying overtime. If you or someone you know feels that you have not received the overtime pay you deserve, you should speak with a Tennessee employment overtime pay lawyer. They will hear your case and make sure you get the compensation you are entitled to for the hours you worked.

The jean company, Levi Strauss, was found to be violating the Fair Labor Standards Act when the Labor Department’s San Francisco district’s office found the company had “misclassified several groups of workers, including assistant store managers of newly acquired stores, as exempt from overtime”. Employees with the same position at other stores were exempt from overtime pay but the new employees were not. The Levi Strauss Company also required their misclassified assistant store managers to work off the clock during late night hours, early morning hours, and when the store was short on staff. Some of the administrative employees at the San Francisco company headquarters were also misclassified as exempt from overtime and it was found that they were owed overtime back pay. Following a two year investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor Levi Strauss agreed to pay $1,011,413 in overtime back pay to five hundred and ninety-six employees across the United States.

Continue reading "Levi Strauss Company to pay 1 Million in Overtime Pay Lawsuit " »

Rick Piliponis was recently interviewed regarding cases where medical and pharmaceutical sales reps may be entitled to overtime pay. The Higgins Firm is pursuing these cases in Tennessee and throughout the nation. You can watch the interview here:

Continue reading "Interview regarding overtime for medical and pharmaceutical sales reps" »

Tennessee workers and workers all across the United States work to support their families and their loved ones every day. Some people even work overtime so that they can make sure all the bills get paid or that there is enough food on the table. By law, when an employee works more than forty hours in one week, their employer is required to pay them time and a half for any overtime they work, unless they fall into a category that is exempt from this regulation. However, many companies find ways around this law and fail to pay their employees overtime. If you or someone you know has worked overtime hours but not received overtime pay, then you should talk with a Tennessee employment overtime pay lawyer. They will work with you and see that you get the compensation you deserve.

In this case, a federal court found in favor of the Quicken loan company in a lawsuit claiming that the company owed overtime pay back to former Quicken loan employees. The jury decided that the almost four hundred former Quicken employees seeking overtime were not just salespeople but also had additional responsibilities and this makes them ineligible for overtime pay. If the jury had found the employees just be salespeople than they would have qualified for the overtime pay according to federal law. The employees will receive nothing as a result of this verdict.

The attorney representing the former Quicken employees stated he would appeal certain parts of the verdict. He also states that his firm is still working on three other Quicken Loan overtime cases that are pending. These cases include more than one thousand workers.

Continue reading "Court Finds in Favor of Quicken Loan Company in Overtime pay Lawsuit" »

Tennessee workers and workers all across the country are putting in more hours at their workplace these days to help them feed and take care of their loved ones in these rough economic times. By law, employers are required to pay their workers time and a half for hours they work over forty in one week. However, too many companies and other places of business find ways around these laws or just fail to pay their workers overtime pay altogether. If you or someone you care about has worked overtime hours but not received overtime pay, then you should speak with a Tennessee overtime pay lawyer right away. They will help make sure you get the compensation you deserve.

In this case, a class action lawsuit that was filed last year claims that a health insurance company and its subsidiaries misclassified an estimated one hundred and thirty-three tech support workers has being exempt from receiving overtime pay. A federal judge in February preliminarily approved a settlement for these workers of $1.45 million. The judge is to decide on the final settlement approval in June. The spokesman for the health insurance company says, “The settlement does not indicate any wrongdoing, but allows the company to avoid the risks and significant expense of continued litigation."

Continue reading "Judge approves $1.45 million settlement in overtime lawsuit" »

One of the most common overtime violations we see arises when an employer believes they can escape paying overtime by paying a salary. Unfortunately, many workers also believe this misconception. Put simply it is now how you are paid that determines if you are legally entitled to overtime but it is what you do.

In general unless you are exempt from overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act (flsa) you are entitled to overtime pay when you work over 40 hours in a week. There are several exceptions but the most common exception is if you are a manager. This does not mean you are called a manager but that you act like a manager and have the authority of a manager. If you do not have manager authority you are likely entitled to overtime pay. This law applies not only to Tennessee but it is a federal law so it applies to all 50 states.

Continue reading "Some Tennessee Employers try to Escape Overtime by Paying a Salary" »

Tennessee residents and people all across the country work hard for their money and when they put in overtime they expect to be paid properly for the time they work. However, many times companies and other people will find ways around paying employees the overtime they are entitled to by law. If you or someone you love feels that you deserve overtime pay and did not receive it, you should talk to a Tennessee employment overtime pay lawyer right away. They will hear your case and make sure you get the compensation you deserve for the hours you have worked.

According to this case, Robert De Niro and his wife Grace Hightower were accused by their former nanny Alexis Barry of not paying her for more than seven hundred and fifty hours of overtime. The lawsuit claims that Barry started working for the celebrity couple in August of 2006 at a pay rate of $31.25 an hour and $46.88 an hour for overtime to take care of their son. Barry is claiming that De Niro and Hightower failed to pay her for overtime or for $496 in expenses. Barry was fired in 2007, after informing the couple that she was quitting.
Robert De Niro and Grace Hightower will pay Alexis Barry, the former nanny, $30,000 to settle the lawsuit. The terms of the settlement as well as any matter related to Barry’s employment are to be kept confidential according to the court.

Continue reading "Robert De Niro Pays $30,000 to Former Nanny in Overtime Pay Lawsuit" »

http://employeelawfirm.com/Overtime/Tennessee employees and employees across the country all deserve to be paid properly for the hours they work each day, including any overtime hours. It should not matter whether the employee is an assistant or an employee of a big million dollar corporation. Unfortunately, many companies continue to find ways around paying their employees the overtime pay they deserve. If you or someone you care about feels like they did not receive the overtime pay that is deserved, then you should talk to a Tennessee overtime pay and employment lawyer right away. They will hear your case and see to it that you get the overtime pay you are entitled to by law.

In this case, four security guards for Madison Square Garden claim they should have been paid time and a half for their overtime according to state and federal laws. “These security guards were working multiple shifts or shifts and then other shows and some of them were working as much as 60 hours a week,” according to the lawsuit. Madison Square Garden paid $1.3 million to these four security guards along with three hundred others when the lawsuit became a class action suit.

The security guards earn a base pay of $30,000 and $40,000 a year and could get anywhere from few hundred dollars up to $75,000 once the settlement is approved by a federal judge.

Continue reading "Madison Square Garden Security Guards Get $1.3million in Overtime Lawsuit" »

Tennessee residents and people all across the country have heard about the recent overtime class action lawsuit against Novartis and its outcome resulting in a settlement for drug sales representatives because of being misclassified as exempt from overtime compensation. This settlement has now lead to more people in Tennessee and all over the country to question whether or not their job entitles them to overtime compensation as well. If you or someone you know believes that you are entitled to overtime pay and are not receiving it, you should speak with a Tennessee overtime pay lawyer right away. They will help make sure you get the compensation that is rightfully yours for the hours you work.

In this case, an appeal was recently filed against the GlaxoSmithKline overtime lawsuit because the drug sales persons are claiming that they were improperly denied their overtime pay. The Obama Administration’s Secretary of Labor also recently filed a brief supporting sales reps and enforcing the Fair Labor Standards Act to make sure that all employees get the compensation they are entitled to.

In this particular case, even workers who are on salary are required to be paid one and a half times their regular pay rate for any hours worked over eight in one day. Also, under the FLSA employees are entitled to overtime pay for hours worked over forty in a work week unless their specific job tasks make them exempt. Outside sales reps are only exempt from overtime pay if they spend more than fifty percent of their working time away from their employer’s business or away from their home office while they are making sales.

In the Merck complaint the sales reps claim they were not making sales because at the most all they could receive was doctors agreeing to prescribe drugs to clients when they were appropriate. The Novartis sales reps claimed that they were responsible for visiting doctor’s offices, dropping off drug samples, and delivering scripted messages about the company’s products. Novartis claimed that their employees were outside sales reps outside sales people and exempt from overtime compensation. However, the court ruled that the pharmacy reps are not actually sales people and that they are not exempt because they were tightly controlled and could not exercise discretion or independent judgment in their primary job tasks both of which are required to make them exempt.
Novartis was important because it was the “first federal appellate decision finding that the outside sales and administrative exemptions don't cover pharmaceutical sales reps,” stated by an attorney for the Novartis sales reps. This case and its outcome have lead to other industries and people questioning whether or not they are exempt from overtime compensation.

Continue reading "Drug Sales Reps Entitled to Overtime" »

Thanks to recent efforts by Congress, U.S. workers pursuing claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) now have additional assistance in obtaining a private lawyer. In the past, the Wage and Hour Division was unable to assist all claims due to such a high volume of workers needing help with minimum wage, overtime, and family medical leave laws. This left many workers with valid claims unassisted. The Wage and Hour Division will now direct these workers to a local referral service which will point them in the direction of a lawyer who will assist in their claims. This is a welcomed change for U.S. workers who, for so long, were held at a disadvantage against their employers.

In Tennessee, overtime cases have been on the rise over the past few years. Our office is currently handling several individual overtime and several class-action overtime cases. If you have any questions regarding an overtime claim, please feel free to contact our office.

Recently Channel Four in Nashville, Tennessee interviewed Jim Higgins about overtime cases. You can watch the interview here.

Continue reading "The Higgins Firm Interviewed Regarding Recent Tennessee Overtime Cases" »

Tennessee residents and people all across the United States go to work and expect to be paid properly for the number of hours they work. However, many times companies and other places of work will find ways around having to pay their employees the overtime pay they deserve. This happens in all different types of work places, no matter how important the job might be. If you have been denied pay for the overtime you have worked, then your rights have been violated and you should speak with a Tennessee overtime pay lawyer as soon as possible. They will work with you to make sure you receive the compensation you are rightfully entitled to.

According to this lawsuit, two dozen paramedics claim that the Federal Labor Standards Act was violated because under this law they are entitled to receive time and a half in overtime pay for hours they work over forty in a week. The lawsuit was first filed by four paramedics who claimed that they were usually only paid for sixteen hours of a twenty-four hour shift. They lawsuit also claims that the paramedics were denied compensation for the meals and rest that were required while working their shifts.

Since the lawsuit started, nearly one-third of the workforce has joined in on the case.

Continue reading "Nearly Two Dozen Paramedics Have Filed a Lawsuit over Being Denied Overtime Pay" »

In Tennessee and all across the country, people need all the money they can get due to the struggling economy and people being laid off or losing their jobs completely. However, many companies still try to get away with not paying their workers overtime for hours worked over forty in one week. This not only hurts employees but it is against the law. If you or someone you know believes you have been denied overtime pay, you should speak with a Tennessee overtime pay lawyer right away. They will work with you and make sure you get the compensation you are entitled to by law.

In this case, Jeffery Bethune, a former pharmaceutical representative filed a lawsuit against the Bristol-Myers Squibb Company alleging that the company illegally denied him overtime pay for hours he worked over forty. The lawsuit claims that Bethune often worked over forty hours a week but only received an annual salary with no overtime pay. These actions violate the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act which states that employees who work more than forty hours a week are to receive time and a half, unless they are exempt for a specific reason.

Earlier this year, Novartis pharmaceutical representatives were found not be exempt from overtime pay on the same grounds that this lawsuit is claiming. Bethune states that “This company has violated the labor law, and will continue to do so unless it is held accountable by the court. That is why we have filed this lawsuit." The federal class action lawsuit was filed for Bethune and all the other Bristol-Myers Squibb pharmaceutical representatives who were employed by the company in the last three years, anywhere in the United States.

Continue reading "Former pharmaceutical representative Files Lawsuit against Bristol-Myers Squibb for Denying Overtime Pay" »

With very few exceptions Tennessee overtime law is fairly straightforward. For every minute over 40 hours worked in a week, you are entitled to overtime pay. It's a simple as that. Work more than 40 hours, get paid time and a half. It's not rocket science and it's not being a bad employee, it's just the way it's supposed to be, even for many salaried workers.

Unfortunately, many workers are denied the wages due to them by employers who play games or tricks with scheduling, terminology or "company policy". When this happens, they are breaking the law, plain and simple. Employers may shift the days within the workweek in an attempt to keep overtime from occurring. They may try and not pay for required training or travel that is demanded by the job. These are all considered hours worked.

Continue reading "Overtime 101" »

The economy is struggling, and many people here in Tennessee and across the country are doing all they can to save money. For some Tennessee residents and other people this means shopping at discount and dollar stores for the things they want or need. However, even dollar stores employees face problems with not being paid properly for their overtime. It does not matter where you work; you deserve to be paid overtime pay according to the law. If you or someone you know feels that you have not been paid properly for your overtime, then you should speak with a Tennessee employment overtime pay lawyer. They will hear your case and make sure that you get the compensation you deserve for the hours you work.

In this case, lawyers filing on behalf of several employees claim that the employees of the Dollar Tree were often expected to go to the bank for the company after business hours and were also required to work through their lunch breaks without receiving any proper compensation. The lawsuit also claims that the violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act include the Dollar Tree paying below the state’s minimum wage of $7.25 and decreasing pay when asking employees to work through their lunch breaks.

According to additional news sources this is not the first time that the Dollar Tree Company has had lawsuits due to wage violations. The spokesman for Dollar Tree Inc, Timothy Reid declined to comment on this recent lawsuit.

Continue reading "Dollar Tree Store Employees File Lawsuit Due to Overtime Pay" »

Tennessee residents and residents in states all across the country put in long hours at work to help pay the bills and to provide for their families. Under the law, they are entitled to receive overtime pay if they work more than forty hours a week. Unfortunately, however, many companies find short cuts and ways to avoid paying their employees this extra wage each and every day. With the economy struggling and many people struggling to find work, every cent matters. If you or someone you care about has not been paid the overtime pay you deserve, then you should speak to a Tennessee employment and overtime pay lawyer right away. They will help to make sure you get the compensation you deserve for the hours you work.

In this particular case, a city police lieutenant is filing a lawsuit against the city of Chattanooga claiming that city police officers are not being paid proper overtime. The lawsuit was filed in Federal Court by Lt. Corliss Cooper and is asking that it be considered as a class action complaint. The complaint states that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1985 that the Fair Labor Standards Act applies to both state and local government employees and that the act applied to city employees starting in April 15, 1986.

The lawsuit includes all police department employees who are currently or have been employed by the Chattanooga Police Department in any position as non-exempt FLSA employees who worked overtime on and after July 20, 2010, who did not receive compensation for each hour worked including overtime compensation. The lawsuit claims that the department has continued to fail in paying time and a half for hours worked over eight hours per day. It also claims that the department has also failed to keep proper records of overtime hours worked.

Continue reading "Chattanooga City Police Officers Were Not Paid Proper Overtime" »

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.

Continue reading "Cleaning Company Accused of Targeting Immigrants in Lawsuit" »

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" »

When Tennessee workers and any workers across the country put in extra hours and time at their jobs, they expect to be paid for their time and effort. Unfortunately, many times employers fail to pay their workers overtime pay or give them a special exception title, so that they can avoid paying them overtime. However, overtime pay is required by law and if you do not get the pay you deserve, you could be entitled to compensation and should contact a Tennessee Employment Overtime Pay Attorney.

In this specific case, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second circuit ruled that pharmaceutical sale representatives who visit doctor’s offices to deliver drug samples and deliver pre-scripted messages describing their employer’s pharmaceuticals are not exemptions to overtime pay because they should not be considered by federal or state law to be “outside sales” or in “administrative” positions and are entitled to overtime pay under federal law. This also applies to Tennessee employees.

This decision was extremely significant for Novartis overtime and other overtime lawsuits concerning pharmaceutical sales representatives across the country. This decision by the Second Circuit “not only reversed the trial judge's dismissal of the Novartis Reps' overtime case, but has now held, as a matter of law, that Novartis owes its Reps overtime pay”. This decision is also very important because it is the first federal appeals decision that says that “outside sales” and “administrative” overtime exemptions does not apply to pharmaceutical sales representatives.

A case was made by Norvartis that the representatives are “outside salespersons” and should be covered by the exemptions. However, this decision made it clear that when a pharmaceutical representative goes to a doctor’s office to deliver messages about the employer’s drugs that “in no sense” is that representative making a sale to the doctor according to federal and state overtime laws. The Court decided that these representatives are promoting a product to the doctor which will be sold by another person and are not making a sale.
The Court also decided that these representatives were not “administrative” exemptions because the representatives have no say or role in planning Norvartis marketing strategy, they do not write up the pre-scripted core messages, and they are required by their employer to visit a doctor’s office a specific number of times and are required to promote a certain drug a specific number of times, and finally hold a specific number of promotional events required by Norvartis. This means they are not allowed to make their own judgments or have control over their duties on the job which means they are not “administrative” exemptions to overtime laws.

The Court after this case and its decision also stated the two main reasons for overtime laws. These are “to prevent the evil of overwork and to spread work among as many employees as possible.”

Continue reading "Pharmaceutical Sales Reps Entitled to Overtime Pay Rules Federal Appeals Court" »

Many of us across the country and even right here in Tennessee are struggling to make ends meet in these hard economic times. We all work the best we can to pay our bills and to provide for our loved ones. That is why it is unfortunate and even frustrating to hear about cases in which employees may not have been given the proper amount of pay for the time they work. However, this happens every day and workers at Bank of America are no exception.

The lawsuit against Bank of America was filed on June 4, 2010 and resulted in one class action lawsuit. Current and former bank tellers and other hourly employees for the last three years have claimed that Bank of America violated the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and state laws in California, Florida, Texas, Washington, and Kansas for not paying overtime for the employees that worked more than forty hours a week.

Instead of overtime pay, the bank was giving the employees paid time off or instructed them not to record more than forty hours on their time cards. Employees also claim that in some cases, the bank modified the tellers recorded hours to eliminate overtime. The workers in the class action lawsuit want back pay, attorney fees, and other damages for a total of more than $100 million, which would affect more than 180,000 employees at the bank’s branches.

When we go to work every day and put in the extra enough and time, it is our right to get properly paid for that time. If you or someone you love has been improperly paid for the hours they have worked or if you suspect other employment problems and issues, we encourage you to contact one of our overtime payment and employment attorneys right away. We will listen to your case and help make sure you get the pay you deserve for the work you have done.

Continue reading "Workers of Bank of America sue for Overtime Pay" »

Anytime a worker is required or volunteers to work any overtime whether it be 5 minutes or an hour, the company they work for are required to give them extra pay for the time they work. Unfortunately, there are many times where companies will find ways around this requirement or simply will not pay their workers for the time. If this happens, anywhere in the country, even here in Tennessee, then you may be able to file a lawsuit in order to receive the pay that you deserve.

In Las Vegas, Harrah’s Entertainment which owns properties such as Planet Hollywood, Paris, Bally's, Bill's, Flamingo, O'Sheas, Imperial Palace, Caesars Palace, Rio and Harrah's, is facing another class action lawsuit filed by Nevada workers. The lawsuit alleges that Harrah’s Entertainment required workers to arrive ten to fifteen minutes before their shifts were supposed to start but did not pay them for this extra time. This may not seem like much, but if it’s added up can amount to thousands of dollars a year and in some cases millions.

The Nevada workers were required to arrive early because of pre-shift meetings which may include pep talks from managers, and reminders about job standards and expectations. Station Casinos is facing an overtime lawsuit that involves this pre shift meeting issue. That case was filed last year in state court, but is being put on hold while the company deals with bankruptcy issues.

The lawsuit against Harrah’s says that “the employee clocked in early to attend daily management meetings where she received instructions from previous shift supervisors.” The Harrah’s spokeswomen, Jacqueline Peterson, said that “we will vigorously defend ourselves against any accusation that alleges we are in violation of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.”
This case is a little unusual because Daprizio filed the lawsuit while still working for Harrah’s and not while being laid off.

This seems to show that people are not willing to let these wage and overtime violations go, especially not during a recession when every bit of pay counts.

Continue reading "Pre-Shift Meetings without Extra Pay Leads to Class Action Lawsuit against Harrah’s Entertainment" »

Tennessee Employment Law Blog explores recent wage and hour lawsuits in this entry to inform Tennessee hourly wage workers about common means employers use to underpay employees.

Times are tough. Tennessee businesses and employers across the nation are meeting tough times with layoffs and cutting costs. But when employees’ pay is illegally cut, some employees have chosen to get tough back and are able to recover unpaid wages or unpaid overtime by working with employment lawyers on wage and hour lawsuits.

Wage employees in Pennsylvania are taking on Aramark Corp., the Philadelphia-based food-service giant, that allegedly cheated its workers out of overtime pay and the lunches and breaks required by federal workplace law under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). This week several Aramark wage workers filed a summons in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court in what may become a class-action lawsuit. Their attorney estimates damages of up to $2M for the 3,000 workers employed to provide service Aramarak’s stadiums

Previously in April of last year, Aramark settled, without admitting wrongdoing, a similar case involving 419 workers. The present filing entered as evidence a sample pay stub that demonstrates, according the plaintiff’s attorney, the company’s deliberate design to make it difficult for workers to determine their amount of hours worked.

Some allegations center on the unpaid overtime for when an employee worked in two separate locations for Aramark. Additionally, 30 minutes was automatically deducted from hours worked, even though half-hour lunches were not always available to employees. For some workers, not receiving payment for these automatically deducted 30-minute lunches meant they were being paid less than minimum wage.

Continue reading "Illegal Wage & Hour Pay Practices Cause of Numerous Lawsuits" »

In recent news, a Landscape company in middle TN that the U.S. Department of Labor believes to have “failed to ensure that their employees received the minimum federal wages and overtime payments as required by the Fair Labor Standards Act”, has agreed to pay $450,000 in back wages to eighty-one employees. According to the news release and other reports, the company, Peach Tree Maintenance Inc. employed both local and foreign workers. Twenty-four of the employees were hired based on the Federal H-2B program that permits employers to hire foreign workers to meet a temporary need for non-professional, and nonagricultural workers”. Also, according to the Department of Labor eighty-one of these employees “were due a total of $433,995 in back wages because they were either paid a flat rate daily without overtime or paid straight time for all hours worked over forty per week”. Twenty-four of these employees were also required to pay their own transportation costs from Guatemala which leads to a reduction in their pay below the federal minimum wage.

During the investigation, it was realized that these employees were an additional $15, 481 in back wages. Employers are required under FLSA to pay minimum wage, overtime payment, and to keep all accurate records of all hours worked for a two-year period. The FLSA requirements to pay minimum wage and overtime are not discritionary. According to their website, Peach Tree Maintenance Inc is located in Lascassas, Tenn., and provides services to the Middle Tennessee area.

Continue reading "Tennessee Landscape Company gets a $450,000 back wages bill" »

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.

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" »

Over the past year our office has pursued more overtime cases than ever before. I am not sure if people are just becoming more aware of their rights or if more employers are trying to increase profits by denying employees the overtime they have earned.

As most people know, if you are eligible for overtime you are entitled to be paid one and 1/2 times your normal pay rate for all time worked over 40 hours in one week. There are some common scams that we are seeing the employers use to avoid paying overtime. Here is one we see often:

Giving the employee an empty management title and paying a salary. Sometimes an employer will give an employee a bogus title such as manager or supervisor. This is done so the employer can pay a specific salary each week no matter how many hours are worked. To determine if this is a scam or legitimate it is important to look not at the title but what the work duties. In other words, if you are called a manager but do not have any management type powers you may be entitled to overtime pay. Common questions to ask are: Do you have the right to set schedules? Do you have the power to hire and fire? Do you supervise employees beneath you? If the answer is no then you may be entitled to back pay and overtime.

Continue reading "Tennessee Overtime Cases on the Rise" »

A $2.6-million lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Tuesday alleging a California car wash paid its employees less than minimum wage and denied overtime. The lawsuit was filed by the state’s attorney general against the Auto Spa Express, its owner, and its present incorporation as Sunset Car Wash.

This CA lawsuit is reminiscent of our reportage earlier this year in Unpaid Wages and Unrecorded Hours Subject of Local Nashville, TN Car Wash Workers… blog.

Continue reading "Car Wash Overtime Lawsuit Seeks $630K in Back Wages" »

Current and former Massachusetts Wal-Mart employees will receive $40 million in unpaid wages from the world’s largest retailer, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. This class-action wage and hour lawsuit is the largest in the history of the Bay State.

The cause of the wage lawsuit, which appears pervasive in the company by the numerous wage and hour lawsuits settled last year in December (read the Tennessee Law Blog’s coverage of last year’s Wal-Mart wage settlement) was the company’s denial of rest and meal breaks, refusal to pay overtime, and the manipulation of time cards to lower employees’ pay.

As many as 87,500 employees will receive a payment of between $400 and $2,500, the average check being for $734. Any Wal-Mart or Sam’s Club employee paid wages between working in the period between August 1995 and December 2009 is entitled to payment.

Continue reading " $40M Returned to Hourly-Paid Wal-Mart Employees
in State’s Largest Wage and Hour Settlement" »

With the widespread availability of cell phones, blackberries, e-mail, fax machines and other modern day tools; we are tied closer to the workplace than ever before. We can be called into work at a moment’s notice and many companies required employees to be available for what they call “on call” time. So when should an employee be compensated for time they have spent “on call”? The answer will depend on each specific case, however the Department of Labor and the United States Supreme Court in interpreting the FLSA (Fair Labor Standards Act) have given us some guideposts to help in this determination.

The key question in determining whether or not an employee should be compensated for time spent “on call” is whether the employee is “waiting to engage” or “engaged to wait”. In other words, how much freedom does an employee have while “on call”. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act and the corresponding rulings by the Department of Labor and the United States Supreme Court, “An employee who's required to stay so close to the workplace in time and distance that they have very little freedom to use the time as her own has been "engaged to wait," and the on-call time constitutes "hours worked" for purposes of the FLSA.”

Some other questions that should be considered when determining if an employee should be compensated include:
• What's the geographic or response-time limitation placed on an on-call employee? A narrow geographic or time restriction, such as staying within two miles of the home or workplace or being required to respond within 10 minutes, is indicative of a person “engaged to wait” and therefore entitled to compensation.
• How often is the employee actually required to respond to calls while on call? If it's virtually certain that the employee will be required to respond to a call every time he's on call, the on-call duty is more disruptive to his nonworking time and is more indicative of a person “engaged to wait” and therefore entitled to compensation
• Are employees on call 24/7, or only certain hours per week or month, and can they switch their on-call time with colleagues if necessary for their personal purposes? If there is a set schedule for times when you are on call and you are allowed less freedom to change these times, this may be indicative of a person “engaged to wait” and therefore entitled to compensation.
• Does the “on-call” obligation significantly limit the employee’s use of the time for personal purposes? The less freedom an employee has while “on call” increases the likelihood that a person is “engaged to wait” and therefore entitled to compensation, however if the employee is able to use the on-call time for substantial personal projects and affairs, then court may find this time to be non-compensable under the FLSA.

Also, remember, if your “on call” time is compensable and increases the hours you spend at work beyond 40 hours, you may also be entitled to overtime pay as well. However each case is different and there are very few “bright line” rules as to when an employee is owed money or overtime pay for time spent on call.

Continue reading "Should I be paid for “on-call” time?" »

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) sets the workweek at 40 hours before overtime wages must be paid for most wage-based employment. It also requires that, at minimum, a minimum wage be paid. Recently, various employers have faced complaints that full wages due have not been paid, which may be a symptom of companies tightening their belts--illegally--at their employees’ expense. Fortunately, FLSA provides the legal framework by which to recover unpaid wages.

One such recent unpaid wages lawsuit is against the pizza chain Papa John's. Filed in Missouri, employees claim the pizza giant violated federal law by failing to reimburse employees for expenses they incurred while delivering pizzas. The result was that delivery drivers would make less than minimum wage. (see previous Tennessee Law Blog article on Hooters workers lawsuit for more on how work-required costs can lead to being paid less than the legally required minimum wage.)

In California, a worker has sued United Parcel Service., the Atlanta-based shipping giant, claiming some $100 million in overtime wages have been withheld from its account managers across the country. According to this lawsuit, UPS required its account managers to work up to 60 hours a week but claimed that these managers were not eligible for overtime pay. The overtime lawsuit also alleges UPS does not keep accurate track of hours its employees work and fails to provide mandated meal and break periods.

Also recently filed class action lawsuits include those against AutoZone and Wells Fargo Bank for allegedly fraudulently categorizing employees as exempt from overtime. They did so, according to the unpaid overtime lawsuit, by the unfortunately common practice of creating titles that do not fit employees' work duties to avoid paying overtime wages for work performed in excess of 40 hours a week or 8 hours a day. Allegations were also made that certain Wells Fargo employees were required to work off-the-clock.

The Fair Labor Standards Act allows for recovery of unpaid wages, plus any related legal fees. Recovered wages could cover a two- or three-year period, depending on whether a violation is deemed willful. You do not need to be a current employee of a company breaking wage law to pursue a wage recovery lawsuit.

Find out more on Tennessee wage lawsuits by visiting our Employment Law pages or by completing our unpaid overtime/underpaid wage inquiry form.

The number of overtime cases my office has received has greatly increased over the past year. I am not sure why but I can only assume it is a product of the slow economy. Whatever the reason it is important for workers to remember that they are entitled to at least one and one-half their regular pay rate after 40 hours of work in a workweek. Of course, most employees know this so to get around the law we see employers avoid overtime pay by creative means. We have seen employers make workers clock out early or not clock in until a certain time, clock out for meetings and other work events, but most common is to classify an employee as a supervisor and pay them a salary.

When an employee is an actual supervisor or manager they can be paid a salary and do not receive overtime pay. However, to be a manager the person must really have supervisor duties. In other words, the work duties will include decision making duties such as setting schedules, telling other employees their job duties, hiring, firing, etc. A manager generally does not expect to routinely perform the same Jobs that the workers they supposedly manage do. If a person has been classified as a manager but is really just doing the same job as every other hourly worker they may be entitled to unpaid overtime pay.

As an example, recently we had a Tennessee case involving a fast food restaurant. Almost every employee in the manager was given the title of assistant manager. There were more "managers" than hourly workers. There was even one young man who did nothing but fry cook duties but he was also called "assistant manager". This was an obvious attempt by the employer to increase their profits by cutting there labor costs. However, it was illegal and the workers were being exploited.

The wage and hour laws can be complicated. Often people just want to know if they have a claim or not before confronting the situation. If you just are not sure please feel free to contact our law firm.