Author Archives: Jay Butchko
July 2017 Employment & Labor Law Update
There are a number of critical employment law issues on the horizon that are important to be aware of. Below, we discuss them in more detail: White House Nominations for National Labor Relations Board In June, the President nominated two individuals to fill the vacancies on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB): William Emanuel,… Read More »
Case May Provide Transgender Employees with Legal Protections under the ADA
A federal judge in Pennsylvania recently ruled that a transgender employee may have rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). While whether or not transgender employees are entitled to legal protections under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (“Title VII) still remains undecided in the courts, this case may prove to be… Read More »
Labor & Employment Law Update: Changes May Lead To More Litigation
June has been a busy month for employment law, as the U.S. Department of Labor (under new Labor Secretary Alex Acosta) has taken several actions to dismantle a series of the Obama Administration’s rules put in place to protect employees. Specifically, in just the first week of June, the Department of Labor withdrew two… Read More »
Recent Pay & Labor Law Violations by Major Companies Gain Traction
It’s been an eventful week for big businesses such as Uber and Walmart, both of which have been accused of some serious labor law and pay violations of late. On June 1, the New York Times published stories highlighting Uber’s “accounting error” that deprived many, many drivers of tens of millions of dollars, as… Read More »
Will Overtime Pay Disappear Soon?
In May, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that could result in employees feeling pressured to give up their right to overtime in exchange for “comp time,” or compensatory time off. The legislation—titled the “Working Families Flexibility Act of 2017”—still may not pass the Senate, as Democrats have gone on record stating… Read More »
Important Florida Case Involving the H-2A Visa Program Decided
Earlier this month (in May), an important case was decided by a Florida federal district judge. The judge found that a citrus company sued by a class of workers who claimed that they were not paid the proper wages under the H–2A visa program was in fact a (liable) joint employer (along with the… Read More »
The Gender Pay Gap & Stigma of Motherhood
For years we’ve been hearing about the gender pay gap and how wrong it is, but the more difficult question to answer is: when does it show up, and why? One recent New York Times article purports to answer that question, and the answer may not be what you think. According to the research… Read More »
Sterling Settles Some Employment Discrimination Claims, While Others Move Forward
The employment discrimination case against Sterling Jewelers (aka Kay Jewelers and Jared the Galleria of Jewelry) has received widespread attention in the news, particularly in early May, when it settled some of those charges. Specifically, Sterling settled federal civil charges brought by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) linked to being accused of discriminating… Read More »
National Labor Relations Board Sides with Employees on Email Use
Recently, the National Labor Relations Board (Board) established a new standard with regards to employee use of email in its consideration of the Purple Communications, Inc. case. Specifically, the Board affirmed that if employers provide employees with access to their email, the employee’s use of that email for statutorily protected communications (on nonworking time)… Read More »
Judge Finds That One of Largest Agricultural Employers Violated Labor Law in Bargaining Dispute
In April, the Agricultural Labor Relations Board’s administrative law judge ruled that Gerawan—one of the largest fruit tree growers in the United States—violated labor laws by excluding workers from a collective bargaining agreement and refusing to bargain in good faith. Specifically, the company was found to have engaged in collective bargaining with the United… Read More »
Robert S. Norell, Esq. became a member of the Florida Bar in 1994 and has represented hundreds of clients in all types of employment law cases for the past 20+ years.