Growing Number of States Enact Pregnancy Accommodation Employment Protections Into Law
Arizona joins the majority of states to require employers to provide pregnancy accommodations to employees. Employees affected by pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions must be provided reasonable accommodations so they can continue working.
DOL Secures $107K in Overtime Back Wages From Employers
The Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has announced that a Florida-based HVAC contractor has paid $20,547 to 18 employees after an investigation found that the employer failed to pay overtime wages in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The Ft. Lauderdale employer also paid two of its workers flat weekly salaries, regardless of the number of hours they actually worked, and failed to maintain payroll records as required by the FLSA. In a separate case, the WHD announced that a Michigan resort operator paid its workers only for the hours they were scheduled, not for the hours they actually worked, resulting in violations of the overtime provisions of the FLSA. The employer will pay $87,529 in overtime back wages to 256 workers. The WHD also determined that the employer violated the FLSA by failing to pay employees for work performed before or after their scheduled shifts; paying servers overtime based on their direct wages as tipped workers, rather than on the full minimum wage; paying one employee a flat salary regardless of the number of hours worked; and failing to maintain accurate payroll records. The WHD also found that the resort operator scheduled 14- and 15-year old workers to work after 7 p.m., more than three hours on a school day, and more than 18 hours in a workweek while school was in session. The employer has paid a civil money penalty of $7,513 for these child labor violations.
Employer Must Offer Paid Leave to Military Reservist to Extent It Pays for Other Types of Leave
A federal appellate court has held that the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) requires that military leave be accorded the same "rights and benefits" as comparable, nonmilitary leave: paid military leave must be provided to the same extent that an employer provides paid leave for other absences, such as jury duty and sick leave. Concluding that the case was ended prematurely, the appeals court reversed the judgment of the lower court and remanded the matter for further proceedings. On remand, the employee must show that any leave of absence for which his employer provides paid leave is comparable to any given stretch of military leave.
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