They might share a name, hours, and overarching rules, but according to the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, 7-Eleven franchisees are not direct employees of 7-Eleven. In the original employment lawsuit complaint, filed by a group of four franchisees, plaintiffs pointed to 7-Eleven’s restrictive rules, alleging…
Fair pay has been a long and hard fought battle, and it’s not over yet. For instance, the U.S. Department of Labor Women’s Bureau reported in 2015, the gender earnings ratio (women’s earnings as a percentage of men’s) for full-time, year-round workers was 79.6 percent (up from 60.2 percent in…
A class-action lawsuit 10 years in the making has finally come to a close with the recent decision by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ordering the U.S. Postal Service to pay up to 130,000 former and current employees. At the heart of the lawsuit are allegations that USPS was using…
Internships can be one of the most beneficial learning experiences of a young person’s life, providing skills and experience unattainable in any classroom. However, some are trying to argue that these benefits mean more interns should go without payment for their work. The U.S. Labor Department recently released a new…
Californians have some of the best employee protections in the country. Our state has worked hard to establish fair wages, decent hours, and laws that are in the best interest of workers. Rules are put in place to discourage employers from overworking employees, and in situations where that is necessary,…
The story of Harvey Weinstein and the mass accusations against him of sexual misconduct has been in the news for almost six months, and in that time it has set the tone for the #metoo movement and a wave of new sexual harassment policies bursting forth around the country. And…
With the ever-expanding reach of technology, it feels to many like privacy is dwindling. This can be especially distressing when an employer tries to use private information about you to take employment action. There are more ways than ever for an employer to access information about you, but as our…
Any good employment lawyer will tell you that employee rights laws and wage disputes aren’t just about holding corporations accountable. At the core, these actions are about protecting people, defending their humanity, and ensuring vulnerable workers aren’t taken advantage of. We have come a long way over the decades to…
Gender equality in the workplace has been a long and hard-fought struggle, and it’s not over yet. Recently, a pay equity bill passed in Washington state that will make it more clear what constitutes wage and gender discrimination, ultimately fortifying employee rights. HB 1506 updates a 75-year-old wage law making…
It’s hard to imagine in 2018 that women would still be facing discrimination at work for something as basic as pregnancy. The last thing a woman who is about to bring a child into the world should have to worry about is whether or not she will be able to…