Orange County Employment Lawyers Blog

Wage Theft by Wahlburgers Chain Alleged in Employment Lawsuit

September 11, 2016 | by Nassiri Law

A wage theft lawsuit filed by former employees of Wahlburgers, a restaurant chain opened by actor Mark Wahlberg and two of his brothers, alleges the chain illegally withheld wages and tips.

The restaurant chain was founded by the actor and his brothers, Donnie and Paul, five years ago and is at the center of an A&E reality television series. Paul, who is a chef, oversees day-to-day operations at the restaurant.

A class action lawsuit asserts that management at the New York Coney Island branch, which opened its doors last fall, was the site of “rampant wage theft and violations of federal and state employment laws.” Specifically, it is alleged the restaurant paid workers for fewer hours than they worked. Also, when they worked overtime, they were not paid time-and-a-half, as required by federal law. Finally, the restaurant is accused of unlawfully forcing servers to pool their tips to share with non-tipped staffers in the kitchen. The “back of the house” staff were paid regular wages, while “front of the house” servers received the minimum wages allowable for tipped workers (considerably less), without meeting the strict criteria that would enable an employer to apply that tip credit. The workers also assert that following a private event held for the cast of Blue Bloods, starring Donnie Wahlberg, the restaurant wrongly withheld the $3,000 tip left by the cast. Continue Reading ›

Sex Discrimination Lawsuit Filed by Mayoral Assistant Fired After Ending Relations With Boss

September 9, 2016 | by Nassiri Law

A former executive assistant to the mayor of Jackson, Mississippi has filed a gender discrimination and sexual harassment lawsuit against her former boss, accusing the married father of having simultaneous affairs with her and the city attorney and others. The gender discrimination lawsuit alleges plaintiff was fired after ending the relationship, and accused the mayor of firing at least two other city employees who refused the mayor’s sexual advances.

The mayor has vehemently denied the allegations, calling the allegations both “vicious” and “scandalous,” citing this as “egregious character assassination” that was politically motivated.

Although it was no secret the mayor had previously been unfaithful to his wife (he wrote about it in a book and conceded it during a newspaper interview), the issue here is whether alleged relationships with subordinates created a hostile work environment for those employees. Specifically, plaintiff alleges that while the relationship with her supervisor was consensual, she suffered career setbacks after ending it when she reconciled with her husband. First, he began doling out benefits to other workers over here. Then, she alleges, he forced her to continue the relationship by “making it clear” that he intended to terminate her if she refused to further engage in a sexual relationship. Continue Reading ›

Federal Lawsuit: Airline Violated Pilot’s Rights in Denying Sick Leave for Active Military Duty

September 6, 2016 | by Nassiri Law

The federal government has filed a lawsuit alleging a major airline company breached a pilot’s employment rights by refusing to provide sick leave when he was called to serve on active duty for the U.S. Air Force.

The Air Force Reservist, a lieutenant colonel, reportedly sought to use some of his sick leave to compensate for the time he had to take off work during his deployment from December 2012 to March 2013. According to the U.S. Justice Department, United Airlines Inc., based in Chicago, refused to credit the pilot for his leave, even as it extended this benefit and leave time to other workers. This was in direct violation of the USERRA (Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act.

The measure was passed specifically with the goal of making sure members of the military aren’t returning from active duty to civilian life to find they have been deprived of certain employment benefits. Continue Reading ›

Ortiz v. Werner Enters: 7th Circuit Discards Long-Held Employment Discrimination Standard

September 4, 2016 | by Nassiri Law

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has a reputation for leaning pro-employer in work-related disputes. So the recent decision in Ortiz v. Werner Enterprises came as a bit of a surprise – and its effects could be far-reaching.

The case upends the standard that the circuit has followed the last 20 years for determining discrimination in the workplace. Prior to this case, the court had held an employee plaintiff could prove discrimination in just one of two ways:

Direct. That means providing the court with some type of direct evidence of discrimination.
Indirect. This is providing the court with circumstantial evidence of discrimination, such as a pattern of actions (or as it sometimes called, a “convincing mosaic”).

Each method requires a series of tests, and the Seventh Circuit noted frustration with the legal wrangling that had to be done just to properly navigate these tests. This “convincing mosaic” as a legal standard was so confusing, the court wrote, that justices vowed any ruling based on that phrase is going to be subject to summary reversal. Continue Reading ›

Uber Employment Lawsuit Can’t be Settled for $100M, Judge Rules

September 2, 2016 | by Nassiri Law

A federal judge in California has refused to accept a proposed $100 million settlement in a class action lawsuit against ride-sharing service Uber, which is accused of misclassifying its drivers as independent contractors when they are, in fact, employees.

The U.S. District judge in his order stated that the settlement was just 10 percent of what the drivers’ lawyers estimate the company would have to pay in legal fees. Plus, it only accounted $1 million for state penalties that could easily pile up to more than $1 billion. In light of these facts, the judge wrote, the settlement proposal was not fair to the workers, and neither was it reasonable or adequate.

It’s unclear what this and other cases are going to mean for the future of the company. The company’s fast-paced growth and low prices are contingent on the fact that it doesn’t have to pay its drivers fuel reimbursements or offer health insurance. But the company’s profitability is not the concern of the courts. The issue is whether more than 385,000 workers in California and Massachusetts (the parties to the lawsuit) were cheated out of these employee benefits by being wrongly classified. They argue the company had enough control over their day-to-day activities to be deemed employees – not independent contractors. Continue Reading ›

Study: California Offers Most Workplace Protections for New Families

August 30, 2016 | by Nassiri Law

A new study conducted by the National Partnership for Women and Families revealed that California is No. 1 in the country for workplace protections for new parents.

Parents and those who are expecting can generally expect a better work-life balance in California than anywhere else in the country, according to researchers in the study, “Expecting Better: A State-by-State Analysis of Laws That Help Expecting and New Parents.” The study looked at the measures states have taken – or not taken – to add to the protections of the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), specifically with regard to protections for new parents. Those provisions of the act were added in 1993.

California had the best initiatives in terms of:

Paid sick days
Paid family medical leave
Accommodations for pregnancy
Protections at work that went above and beyond FMLA for expecting and nursing moms

New Berkeley Wage Theft Ordinance Promising for Construction Workers

August 28, 2016 | by Nassiri Law

Last year, after 21 construction workers on site for five months at a new 79-unit apartment complex in downtown Berkeley were denied payments for five full months of work, local trade unions filed complaints with the state and local joint task forces. An investigation prompted the state labor commissioner to impose a contractor lien for $60,000, which was the outstanding balance of what workers were owed months later, long after the job ended.

That turned out to mean those workers were actually paid – albeit late – for the work they did. However, as Next City reports, that is pretty minuscule compared to the scope of the bigger issue, which is unscrupulous contractors committing California wage theft.

Construction workers in particular are the second-most vulnerable labor pool when it comes to wage theft violations in California, just behind restaurant workers. The problem is vastly under-reported. Only a fraction of wage theft violations result in claims and judgments and a smaller number of those judgments are actually paid. It’s important that attorneys taking on these cases first help victimized workers explore the viability of the claim before pursuing it. Continue Reading ›

Hugging and Sexual Harassment: What You Need to Know

August 25, 2016 | by Nassiri Law

A public transportation worker in Washington D.C. is suing the agency for damages in excess of $200,000 after she claims her supervisor repeatedly asked her for, demanded or forced hugs. Eventually, she said, when she reported the sexual harassment, her boss retaliated against her.

The federal employment lawsuit alleges her supervisors ignored repeated reports of this treatment, even as another assistant superintendent in the bus division where plaintiff worked revealed he had a history of sexual harassment at the firm.

This case presents a good opportunity to talk about the H-word: Hugs. For some, hugs are viewed as a way to “spread the love.” But our sexual harassment lawyers know they can also be a liability to workplaces that allow them to go unchecked. Continue Reading ›

Disability Discrimination Settlement $90K Against Wal-Mart

August 23, 2016 | by Nassiri Law

Disability discrimination against a Wal-Mart employee could have been avoided had management simply agreed to continue to accommodate the worker with a written list of daily tasks. Instead, court records show, managers chose to fire the intellectually disabled worker – even though he’d been employed by the company for 18 years.

Now, the store has agreed to settle the case by paying $90,000 to its former employee. The settlement was reached with the assistance of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which helped the worker filed the case.

According to the lawsuit, EEOC v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., it was alleged the worker had previously been able to meet the expectations of the company with the help of the store’s long-standing practice of writing out his daily assignments for him. It had been key to allowing him to successfully perform his duties. Continue Reading ›

Hollywood Age Discrimination Target of Bill

August 21, 2016 | by Nassiri Law

California age discrimination is the target of a new bill passed by the state Senate that would allow actors and actresses to keep secrete their ages from certain websites. In particular, the Internet Movie Database, which is frequently used by casting directors in both the television and film industry, has been cited by actresses and actors who have been turned down for roles on the basis of what they suspect is their age.

Sent. Bob Hertzberg (D-Van Nuys) is supporting the measure, AB 1687, by saying that older actors are often subject to age discrimination when they are seeking their next role. The bill is referred to as the Customer Records: Age Information: Commercial Online Entertainment Employment Service Providers. The bill was first introduced to the Assembly in April before being amended in May and then sent to the Senate, which has amended it twice, most recently Aug. 2, 2016. Now that the latest version has been passed by both the Assembly and the Senate, it now goes to the governor’s office for final approval – or veto.

Hertzberg cited the example of former “90210” actress Gabrielle Carteris, who was 29-years-old when she auditioned for the role of a 17-year-old girl. She landed the part, but the casting director said at the time, he didn’t know her age. If he had, he later said, he would never have given her the role. Hertzberg says this is a perfect example of how the easy accessibility of an actor’s age online can work against someone who is talented and otherwise qualified for the role. Continue Reading ›