The Equal Pay Act requires that men and women receive equal pay for substantially equal work. The Equal Pay Act of 1963 provides that employers may not pay unequal wages to men and women if the they bring similar skills to bear on their similar duties; they put in roughly equal amounts of effort to… Read More »
Paid Leave Dispute Following the Birth of a Child
JP Morgan Chase announced Thursday that it had reached a tentative settlement in a class action case involving a father denied 16 weeks of paid leave offered by the company after the birth of his son. The father was only offered two weeks because he was not the primary caregiver – a role traditionally reserved… Read More »
Fired From Job After Drug Testing
The trend toward legalizing the use of recreational pot across the nation shows no sign of stopping. Despite the fact that marijuana remains illegal at the federal level, and recreational use is still prohibited in many states including Iowa, rapid legalization by several states along with a more relaxed attitude toward marijuana use in general… Read More »
Tech Giant Ends Arbitration Requirement in Employment Disputes
Setting the bar for employers across the nation, tech giant Google will end mandatory arbitration of employment disputes beginning in March of this year – an expansion of a previous decision to do away with forced arbitration in cases of alleged sexual harassment and assault. Following the #me-too movement, big tech companies such as Google,… Read More »
FMLA Pay Reduction Violation Lawsuit
Of interest to employees who earn additional income by working weekend or graveyard shifts, earlier this month, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas ruled in favor of an employer who discontinued an employee’s shift differential following FMLA leave.The case involves a nurse who was paid a shift differential of 30 percent… Read More »
Family Medical Leave Act Violations: What To look For
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides employees with job-protected and unpaid leave for qualified medical and family reasons with a continuation of group health insurance coverage. FMLA enables workers to balance the demands of work and family without having to choose between keeping their job and caring for themselves or loved ones. An… Read More »
Workplace Age Discrimination
Recently, an appeals court ruled that job applicants are protected against workplace discrimination based on age – not just current employees. The decision signals a victory to older job seekers who have are often overlooked as candidates simply because of their age. The ruling stems from a case, Kieber V. CareFusion, involving an attorney, Kieber,… Read More »
Independent Contractor or Employee in a Gig Economy?
With so many people finding work opportunities in the gig economy, there may be some questions regarding their classification – employee or independent contractor? The distinction boils down to an employer’s obligation to provide workers’ compensation, unemployment, overtime and other work benefits to an ’employee’ which are not extended to an independent contractor. Already there… Read More »
Fear of Retaliation – Unreported Work Injuries
A complaint about employer retaliation posted on the Des Moines Register’s Readers Watchdog in November has shaken things up at Des Moines Public Works. The tip posted by an unnamed employee said workers were not reporting on-the-job injuries for fear of being ‘written up’ prompting an investigation by Iowa OSHA. Research reveals that work place… Read More »
Employer Retaliation & Wrongful Termination
The Waukee Community School District and its chief operating officer have come under fire for wrongful termination and violating the state’s whistle blower statute. In a lawsuit filed earlier this week, a former administrative assistant alleges that she was forced from her job after reporting her supervisor’s misconduct. More specifically, she alleges that her boss… Read More »
