Showing 4 posts from March 2016.

Whistle while you work… on getting dressed: Wisconsin Supreme Court rules Hormel employees to be paid for time putting on clothing and safety gear

Like most employers, Hormel Foods paid its employees from the time they punched-in to the time they punched-out. Prior to punching the clock, manufacturing employees were required to dress in a clean white jumpsuit, boots, hard hat, eye protection, hearing protection, and hair net. The reverse process was repeated after the employees punched out at the end of their shift. Each employee spent almost six minutes per day off the clock "donning" [putting on] and "doffing" [taking off] required clothing and equipment. More ›

Is Labor Law Putting the Franchise Business Model at Risk?

Over the course of the last year, we have kept you abreast of National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) case law and Department of Labor (DOL) interpretive/enforcement guidance, how these agencies are changing their view of the responsibility of parent corporations for the employment relationship between employees of temporary agencies and franchises, and how these changes have the potential to drastically alter the benefits and risks of utilizing these relationships.

In what could become one of the most enlightening applications yet of this emerging shift, an NLRB hearing before an administrative law judge began last week in involving allegations by workers that McDonald's is responsible as a joint employer for the alleged labor law violations of its franchisees. The franchisors are alleged to have threatened, disciplined, or fired franchise employees who participated in widely-publicized campaigns for collective bargaining and a $15 minimum wage. More ›

New York District Court Holds Sexual Orientation not Protected by Title VII

Last week, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC") announced filing its first federal lawsuits against private-sector businesses, challenging sexual orientation discrimination as sex discrimination. Coincidentally, a week later, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York held in Christiansen v. Omnicom Group, Inc. that, although sexual orientation discrimination is "reprehensible," it does not violate Title VII. These cases demonstrate the legal community's struggle in defining and interpreting the law as currently written while, at the same time, attempting to ensure equal protections for gay and lesbian individuals. More ›

Ninth Circuit Holds that DOL may Expand Regulation of Employers’ Tip Pooling Practices

The restaurant and gaming industry lost a battle in the Ninth Circuit over whether employers that pay their workers at least the minimum wage are subject to Department of Labor regulations restricting tip pooling arrangements. More ›