Category Small Business
On December 16, 2016, in Vaughn v. Anderson Regional Medical Center, the Fifth Circuit (Covering Louisiana) confirmed that a person complaining of being discriminated against because of their age cannot recover pain and suffering damages. Interestingly though, the Court seemed to indicate that it wanted to find otherwise, but it was forced to adhere to
The FLSA is the Federal law that requires employers to pay minimum wage and overtime to employees. It also prohibits employers from retaliating against employees who complain about not being paid properly. In Pineda v. JTCH Apartments, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals (Covering Louisiana) ruled that plaintiffs who claim their employer retaliated against them
The Louisiana Workforce Commission is on a mission to identify every worker who was misclassified in Louisiana. It is a huge revenue stream for a state that is struggling, and it could be devastating to small businesses who utilize independent contractors. In 2015, LWC audited over 860 companies and determined that over 12,000 workers
A Louisiana employer is prohibited from assessing fines against employees or making a deduction from wages for such fines unless the employee has willfully damaged goods, works, or property of the employer, or when the employee is convicted of or pleads guilty to the crime of theft of employer funds, in which case a fine may be assessed equal
Employers often have questions about what is owed to an employee who is terminated. At a minimum, employers must pay the employee for the work performed prior to the termination and any vacation or commissions that accrued prior to the termination. Depending on the employment relationship, the employer may also have to pay to the
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, employers cannot discriminate against qualified individuals with a disability. For decades, employers successfully argued that injuries were not disabilities, but in 2009, the ADA was amended to broaden the definition of a “disability” to include any physical or mental impairment that substantially limits major life activities. In Cannon v.
Many courts have held that an employee cannot sue for employment discrimination unless they sustain an actual adverse employment action like a demotion, termination or reduction in pay. In Brandon v. Sage Corp., the Fifth Circuit (covering Louisiana) ruled that a co-worker’s threat to reduce the pay of a high-ranking employee is not an adverse
In Louisiana, employers must provide one day of paid leave to employees who have been called to jury duty. Further, the day cannot be counted against the employee’s sick leave, vacation or paid time off. The employer may be fined between $100 and $500 for each violation of this requirement. In cases where an employee
The Louisiana Earned Income Credit poster has been updated to reflect the 2015 income limits for earned income tax credit. This is a mandatory change affecting all employers in Louisiana. Statutory language regarding Earned Income: Based on the recent IRS ruling, if an individual makes $47,000 or less, an employer should notify you at the time
On October 14, 2015, the Louisiana Supreme Court ruled (Nunez v. Pinnacle Homes, LLC) that professional builders are not “professionals” under Louisiana’s LLC law, and therefore they cannot be held personally liable for “breaches of professional duty.” In so doing, the Court limited the term “professionals” under the LLC law to be only those identified under
Employers, be careful disciplining employees for their Facebook activity. On October 21, 2015, a Federal court of Appeals determined that an employee who “liked” another employee’s post participated in protected activity, and terminating the employee was a violation of the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”). What Happened: The employer was a sports bar. One employee
Employers need to be very careful with how they pay their employees because overtime lawsuits continue to be one of the hottest trends in employment litigation, and they can be very expensive. In November 2015, Urban Outfitters agreed to pay $5 million to current and former employees who were not paid overtime. The payments include
On four separate occasions, the EEOC has sued Autozone for violating the ADA. Most recently, the EEOC claims that Autozone’s attendance policy violates the ADA because it fails to take into account potential absences due to disabilities. Autozone’s Seemingly Innocent Policy: Autozone’s attendance policy appears to be neutral on its face. Autozone applies points to
The DOL recently investigated J&J Snack Foods Corp., a New Jersey based food manufacturer, and determined it failed to pay overtime properly to approximately 465 of its employees. According to the investigation, J&J had paid the employees their regular rate of pay for their overtime hours. Nonetheless, J&J agreed to pay $1.2 Million in back
Beginning on November 12, 2015, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) will begin enforcing a new rule that employers must pay minimum wage and overtime to certain home care workers. Historically, home care workers were exempt from overtime rules and were traditionally paid on a salary or per patient basis regardless of the amount of