We just ran across a wage and hour case out of Texas with a unique twist on the usual overtime claim. Bustamente, an undocumented immigrant, alleged that the El Palenque Mexican Restaurant and Cantina forced him to work under another identity to avoid overtime.
Continue Reading A Double Identity Doesn’t Entitle You To Overtime!
employment outtakes
Why You Should Do A Reality Check When Reviewing Timesheets
By Porter Wright on
A good illustration of why managers should regularly review their employees’ timesheets comes courtesy of The Day.com.
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What Do Reality Television Shows and Employment Law Have In Common?
By Porter Wright on
California courts have preliminarily approved class-action settlements in two wage-and-hour lawsuits against the television networks and production companies responsible for such entertainment gems as “The Bachelor,” “The Bachelorette,” “Trading Spouses,” “Joe Millionaire,” and “My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiancee.”…
Continue Reading What Do Reality Television Shows and Employment Law Have In Common?
Equal Opportunity Spanking Nets New Trial
By Brian Hall on
This case exemplifies our reason for creating the Employment Outtakes category.
A California (where else?)appellate court (see Orlando v. Alarm One) has overturned a jury award of $500,000 in compensatory and $1 million in punitive damages to a 52 year old female on sexual battery and sex harassment claims that arose out of spankings …
Recent Case Could Make Ohio Employers More Vulnerable To Defamation Claims
By Porter Wright on
A recent Ohio court of appeals decision suggests that Ohio employers may want to be even more careful regarding what they say about alleged employee misconduct.
Continue Reading Recent Case Could Make Ohio Employers More Vulnerable To Defamation Claims
Crack-Cocaine Enterprise is Sustained Remunerative Employment
By Porter Wright on
Even in the chaotic world of Ohio workers’ compensation, crime still doesn’t pay – at least not for one enterprising Ohio claimant. Finding that the sale of crack cocaine over a three-year timeframe amounted to an exchange of labor for pay over a sustained period, the Ohio Supreme Court upheld the Industrial Commission’s determination that an…
Return to Sleep Deprivation?
By Brian Hall on
As the Writers Guild of America’s strike against the Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers moves into its seventh week, cracks are beginning to appear in the union’s armor. Until this week, late night television staples such as Leno, O’Brien, Letterman, Stewart and Colbert were mired in “classic” episodes (read: reruns) without any end in sight. Now…
Secretary May Pursue Sexual Harassment Suit for Hostile Work Environment Based on Boss’s Video Habit
By Porter Wright on
The importance of leaving your personal life at home-particularly if it involves a penchant for pornography-is amply highlighted by the Second Circuit’s decision in Patane v. Clark, No. 06-3446 (2nd Cir. Nov. 28, 2007). In Patane, the court upheld a female college secretary’s right to pursue a hostile work environment claim under Title VII and state discrimination laws based on her male supervisor’s pornographic video and website viewing habits. The supervisor allegedly viewed sexually-explicit videotapes for one to two hours every day on his office television, which was visible to his secretary through a glass partition. He also left pornographic videos scattered across his office floor, viewed pornographic websites on his secretary’s work computer, and required her, as a part of her secretarial duties, to open his mail, which included pornographic videotapes that the supervisor had delivered to his office.
Continue Reading Secretary May Pursue Sexual Harassment Suit for Hostile Work Environment Based on Boss’s Video Habit