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New Healthcare Laws May Increase Florida Employee Lawsuits

On behalf of Feldman Morgado, P.A. posted in Employment Law on Friday, October 5, 2012.

Since the recession hit, lawsuits by mistreated employees increased substantially. Now that the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld the Affordable Healthcare Act which mandates health insurance for employees of qualifying companies, there is an expectation that some employers will not provide health care as required and claims against employers are expected to rise again.

Florida labor and employment law lawyers are seeing many lawsuits by employees regarding wage disagreements, discrimination in the workplace, retaliation against whistleblowers and wage and hour disputes.

Federal Government Sues Employers of Florida Migrant Farm Workers

On behalf of Feldman Morgado, P.A. posted in Employment Discrimination on Wednesday, October 3, 2012.

The federal government has filed lawsuits against a number of South Florida employers, accusing them of failing to follow laws regarding treatment of migrant farm workers. U.S. Department of Labor believes that these employers are violating the rights of their employees, rights which are required by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (MSPA).

The first lawsuit accuses several individual employers of failing to provide farm workers with information regarding the terms and conditions of their employment in their native language, not providing workers with itemized written pay stubs and failing to maintain accurate payroll accounts. One of the employers in the first suit is also accused of permit violations since she had been denied a labor contractor permit, but continued to recruit and employee workers anyway.

Becoming a Parent? Know Your Rights Regarding Parental Leave

On behalf of Feldman Morgado, P.A. posted in Employment Law on Monday, September 3, 2012.

While it has been fairly common for new mothers to take time off from work after the birth of a child, increasingly, new fathers are doing so as well. If you are considering taking a paternity or maternity leave, it is important to know if you qualify and what exactly you are entitled to.

Except for residents of a few states, workers in the United States do not have a right to paid parental leave. However, many new mothers and fathers do qualify for unpaid parental leave under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).

OSHA ISSUES INTERIM FINAL RULE EXPANDING EMPLOYEE PROTECTIONS FOR WHISTLEBLOWERS

On behalf of Feldman Morgado, P.A. posted in Whistleblower on Tuesday, August 28, 2012.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration ("OSHA") has issued an interim final rule amending its regulations concerning employee protection for retaliation or "whistleblower" claims for providing information to persons regarding fraud against shareholders. 76 Fed. Reg. 68084 (Nov. 3, 2011). The most significant change made in the interim final rule extends the time that employees have to file a complaint under Section 806 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 ("Sarbanes-Oxley") whistleblower provisions. Employees will now have 180 days ‑ instead of 90 days ‑ after the date on which a Sarbanes-Oxley violation occurs, or when the employee became aware of the violation, to file a retaliation or "whistleblower" complaint.

FELDMAN FOX & MORGADO ANNOUNCES THE FILING OF THE NATIONAL COLLECTIVE ACTION OVERTIME WAGE SUIT AGAINST LOWE'S FOR the CLASS OF ALL PRESENT AND FORMER HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGERS WHO WORKED OVER 40 HOURS WITHOUT OVERTIME PAY WITHIN THE PRIOR 3 YEARS

By Mitchell Feldman of Feldman Morgado, P.A. on Thursday, August 16, 2012.

FLSA OVERTIME LAWSUIT for ALL HR MANAGERS OF LOWE'S. U.S. District Court. Middle District of Florida: Lytle v. Lowe's Home Centers, Inc., Case Number: 8:12-cv-01848-VMC-TBM, FILED August, 2012.

Florida Employee Claims Wrongful Termination After $23 Mistake

On behalf of Feldman Morgado, P.A. posted in Employment Discrimination on Tuesday, July 31, 2012.

A $23 mistake by an employee at Roche Laboratories, Inc., was used as an excuse to terminate a Florida man's employment. The company claims that the termination was due to a falsified expense report, while the employee alleges wrongful termination, arguing that he was fired because of his sexual orientation.

The employee made an error on an expense report and contended that other employees were routinely given opportunities to correct expense report mistakes. He claimed he was terminated because he is homosexual whereas the other employees were all in heterosexual relationships. Although the man was unable to prove he was wrongfully fired, the case highlights Florida laws regarding anti-discrimination.

PRODUCTS LIABILITY URGENT RECALL MESSAGE ABOUT TRANSVAGINAL MESH DEVICES

By Feldman Fox & Morgado of Feldman Morgado, P.A. posted in Defective Products on Thursday, June 7, 2012.

National Transvaginal Mesh Law Firm Reports that Ethicon Inc. will Withdraw Four Transvaginal Mesh Devices, Including the Gynecare Prolift Product, From the U.S. Market

Tue, Jun 5, 2012

Ethicon Inc., a Division of Johnson & Johnson, Announced its Decision to Seek Regulatory Approval to Stop "Commercializing" the Gynecare Prolift Device and Three Other Transvaginal Mesh Products in a Letter Filed with the U.S. District Court, Southern District of West Virginia, Where Ethicon and Johnson & Johnson are Named as Defendants in Hundreds of Transvaginal Mesh Lawsuits.

Wal-Mart Settles in Unpaid Overtime Pay Case

On behalf of Feldman Morgado, P.A. posted in Wage and Hour Violations on Wednesday, June 6, 2012.

Wal-Mart's string of legal troubles continues after the recent announcement of a bribery and corruption scandal made headlines. The U.S. Department of Labor announced that the company would pay nearly five million dollars to employees who alleged a failure to pay for overtime.

Under federal law, workers are entitled to overtime pay for any work done over 40 hours per week. Some workers - generally managers - are exempted from this rule by the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Wal-Mart used the exemption to avoid paying overtime to vision center managers and asset protection coordinators. Wal-Mart classified these employees as "managers" not entitled to overtime pay. Then, in 2007, the Department of Labor investigated the practice and called it a "misclassification."

Elderly Believe Age Discrimination is the Culprit for Unemployment

On behalf of Feldman Morgado, P.A. posted in Employment Discrimination on Thursday, May 31, 2012.

When the store she managed closed, a Philadelphia woman figured it may be hard to find employment. But she never dreamed it would be as hard as it has been. After several interviews resulted in few callbacks, Sheila Whitelaw began to wonder what was happening. Then it hit her, with a Linked In profile, Facebook page and other online information, any potential employer can easily look up her age on the internet and learn that she is 73-years-old. And although Ms. Whitelaw is in excellent health and completely able to work, she feels she is being discriminated against because of her age.

Sheila Whitelaw is not alone. Studies done by the Government Accountability Office show that unemployment among the elderly is not only on the rise, but it is continuing longer than their younger counterparts. In December 2011, the unemployment rate for older workers was up from 3.1 percent to six percent. The most noticeable increase came in the category of long-term unemployment where 55 percent of older workers had actively been seeking employment for more than six months. Statistics show a nearly 17 percent increase in older aged unemployment since the recession began.

Congress Proposes New Bill to Reverse Age Discrimination Decision

On behalf of Feldman Morgado, P.A. posted in Employment Discrimination on Monday, April 2, 2012.

In June 2009, the U.S. Supreme Court decided an age discrimination case that had a big impact on the burden faced by the employees bringing lawsuits against employers. The case Gross v. FBL Financial Services, Inc., required employees to show that age was the only reason for termination in age discrimination suits. Prior to the SC decision, employees needed to show that age was one of the reasons for the unlawful termination, not the only factor.

Three years later, a bill has been proposed that would undo the strict requirements imposed by the Gross ruling. The bill, proposed by Senators Tom Harkin, Chuck Grassley and Patrick Leahy, seeks to reverse the high burden of proof required of employees under the Gross decision. The proposed bill would again allow an employee to seek compensation from an employer who relies on age as one of the reasons for an adverse employment action, such as termination or demotion.

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