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Pom-poms and Circumstances: Professional Baseball Players’ and Cheerleaders’ March to the Courthouse – Provide Good Wage and Hour Reminder

Posted on May 15, 2014 by

Recently, the professional sports world has experienced a slew of wage and hour lawsuits, through which the stars on and off the field (well, maybe not off the field completely, but definitely on the sidelines) have claimed their larger-than-life employers failed to pay them the applicable minimum wages and overtime, as required under federal and […]

The Ultimate Bait and Switch? Female Job Applicant Who Claims She Was Forced to Perform Sexual Favors as Part of “Application Process” has no Title VII Claim Because the Job she was “Applying for” Did Not Exist.

Posted on May 15, 2014 by

The story begins when Phil Vanaria, an employee of Cook County’s Oak Forest Hospital learns from a friend that Krystal Wilson, an out-of-work massage therapist, was offering to perform massages at her home studio. Vanaria contacted Wilson regarding her services, and suggested there may be some positions open at the Hospital for which she would […]

Is a Policy of 12 Months and You’re Out, Out?

Posted on May 15, 2014 by

The United Parcel Service, Inc.’s (UPS) motion to dismiss a claim filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) challenging the company’s leave policy was denied last week by the U.S. District Court in Illinois. EEOC v. United Parcel Service, Inc., N.D. Ill, No. 09C5291, February 11, 2014. For over a decade UPS has maintained […]

“Quickie Election” has First Hearing

Posted on May 15, 2014 by

We have written about the proposed NLRB rules that would allow for a “quickie election” process. The first hearing on these rules was held by a House committee even though this is an NLRB rule and not proposed legislation. The committee wanted to air some of the concerns that employers have expressed about this proposed […]

A New Game – Who is Exempt and Who Receives Overtime Pay?

Posted on May 15, 2014 by

As you may have seen in several news reports, President Obama is today directing the Department of Labor to re-write the regulations that identify who is exempt from overtime pay requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The Fair Labor Standards Act does not apply to executive, administrative and professional employees. There are certain minimum […]

Obesity is a Disability?

Posted on May 15, 2014 by

A number of activities over the past several months have suggested that obesity is on its way to being considered a disability and therefore protected under federal discrimination laws and possibly the Wisconsin Fair Employment Act. No decision has been made holding that obesity is a disability under Wisconsin law, but several things at the […]

First Quarter Touchdown for Student Athletes

Posted on May 15, 2014 by

Football players under scholarship at Northwestern University can unionize based upon a decision from the Regional Director of the National Labor Relations Board. This is a touchdown in the first quarter for the student athletes as this is the first stage in a litigation that will likely run for several years. The Regional Director held […]

“Quickie Election” Rule Under Attack

Posted on May 15, 2014 by

The National Labor Relations Board will be holding public hearings on April 10 and April 11 regarding the proposed “quickie election” rule that would expedite the election process and reduce the ability of an employer to campaign against a union representation election. Several prior blogs have addressed some of the elements of the proposed rule, […]

Age Discrimination Cases Can be Easy to Prove

Posted on May 15, 2014 by

Several recent stories have talked about huge layoffs because of a loss of federal contracts and a decline in available work. Companies are looking at large layoffs to reduce costs and survive the cutbacks in revenue from the loss of contracts. A reduction in the workforce can open the door for age discrimination claims if […]

No More Record Keeping for Professionals

Posted on May 14, 2014 by

Wisconsin has always been a little different because it required employers to keep a record of the hours worked by a professional employee who was exempt from the overtime pay requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act. This requirement also applied to other exempt employees such as administrative or executive employees that were considered exempt […]