On September 11, 2015, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals reversed summary judgment in Billy Schumann, et al v. Collier Anesthesia, P.A., et al, where Kwall, Showers, Barack & Chilson, P.A. represents a class of Student Registered Nurse Anesthetists (“SRNAs”). The entire order can be found here. The SRNAs were students at Wolford College, a for-profit […]
Category: Fair Labor Standards Act
U.S. Supreme Court Limits Employee Rights Under Title VII.
Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court issued two opinons limiting an employee’s rights under Title VII. Title VII retaliation claims must be proved according to traditional principles of but-for causation, not the lessened causation test stated in §2000e–2(m). In University Of Texas Southwestern Medical Center v. Nassar, the Court held that in retaliation cases – as […]
Class Certified in Collective Action Seeking Pay for Student-Interns at Collier Anesthesia
On February 21, 2013, a federal court in Ft. Myers conditionally certified a class of student-interns from Wolford College in a collective action seeking pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) for work performed at Collier Anesthesia, P.A. The plaintiffs allege that they were in fact employees of Collier Anesthesia, but were provided no […]
Liquidated Damages No Longer Mandatory in FLSA Retaliation Cases
The Eleventh Circuit issued an opinion this week which could potentially have a profound effect on employees suing under the anti-retalitation provision of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). In Moore, et al v. Appliance Direct, Inc., et al, the Court faced the issue of whether an award of liquidated damages are mandatory under the […]
An Employer’s Duty to Keep Accurate Time Records
The Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), the federal law that requires the payment of minimum wage and overtime, also requires employers to keep detailed records of employee wages, hours, and other employment information. See 29 U.S.C. § 211(c). Employers must keep accurate time records for both exempt and non-exempt employees. Where an employer fails to […]
Obama Proposes Changes to FLSA for Home Care Workers
The Fair Labor Standards Act, the federal law that governs minimum wage and overtime, has long exempted home health care workers for its requirements. Thus, the people who take care of the elderly and the sick are often not compensated at minimum wage or given overtime. On Friday, President Obama took the first steps in […]
Summary Judgment Denied in FLSA Case and Fluctuating Work Week Rejected Under the Circumstances
In a motion denying summary judgment in a Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) case (West v. Verizon Services Corp.), the Middle District of Florida found that: there was a joint relationship between a leasing agency and the entity it contracted with; the failure to keep time records, together with Plaintiff’s testimony that she did work […]
Want to go after the state under FLSA? You can’t do it, but Feds can.
A story in today’s St. Petersburg Times about a Department of Labor investigating the failure of a state agency to pay proper overtime, mentions lawsuits against the Department of Children and Families under the Fair Labor Standards Act. While the federal government can sue states for violation of the FLSA, the Supreme Court has held […]
Which Federal Employment Laws Apply to My Employer?
Different companies are subject to different federal employment laws based on their size. Below is an overview of the federal employment laws that affect companies with certain numbers of employees. There may be additional state laws that apply which are not discussed here. 1+ EMPLOYEES Although smaller companies are exempt from certain requirements, […]
New York Nanny Protection Law
A recent New York Times article on a proposed law in New York state to provide basic employment protection to domestic employees like nannies, raises a very interesting issue. In Florida, domestic employees have very little protection from abusive employers. While it is relatively well established that the minimum wage provisions of the Fair Labor […]