Are customers who use self-checkout entitled to be paid for it? NOTE FROM ROBIN: At least one California lawyer thinks so. He recently filed a lawsuit contending that his client, a supermarket customer, and other California customers of the same supermarket chain, are...
On March 18, 2022, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair (CROWN) Act. The CROWN Act would prohibit workplace discrimination based on a person’s hair texture or hairstyle if that style or texture is commonly...
Hard Eight BBQ says it misunderstood its obligations under the Fair Labor Standards Act by paying managers a share of tips earned by servers across the restaurant’s five locations. As a result, following a Department of Labor investigation it reached a...
There was this disability discrimination issue . . . An employer who shall remain nameless had a tradition of throwing a little birthday party for each of its employees on their special day. The birthday of one employee — we’ll call him “Elmo”...
A new series. NOTE FROM ROBIN: For months, I’ve been thinking about doing a series of posts with very basic explanations of the federal laws that govern the workplace. I think the series would be helpful to people who are new in Human Resources (or lawyers or...
A federal judge has ordered American Made Bags to pay $189,756 to a group of 48 employees, half as unpaid wages and half as liquidated damages. The allegations that came to light in two separate Department of Labor investigations that date back to 2014 include the...
The questions that people send to advice columns! “I sent $10,000 worth of birthday presents to my grandchildren, and not one of them wrote me a thank you note. Can I stiff them next year?” “My boyfriend cheats on me with my best friend, steals all...
They’re baaaaaack! Earlier this month, the Department of Labor announced that it would ramp up FMLA audits (as well as wage and hour audits generally) on employers, particularly those in the warehouse and logistics industries. Noting the increased demand and the...
“AITA for turning my work phone off on vacation?” That’s the question that someone recently posted on the eponymous subreddit. The recently promoted employee disconnected during his vacation. During a moment of downtime, he powered up his work phone,...
Now that OSHA has withdrawn its vaccine or test rule, many employers are considering the use of mandatory vaccination policies in their workplaces. Employers have met this development with varied responses – some employers have rescinded vaccination requirements that...
