Atlanta Employment Lawyer Blog

You got laid off or fired. You’re over the age of 50, or even 40. Younger people, some of whom you’ve trained, get to keep their jobs. Is it good business or age discrimination?

ABC News is tracking this issue, and reports a great increase in age discrimination filings with the EEOC. It may be that companies are using the economy as an excuse to get rid of workers that they couldn’t fire under more normal economic circumstances.

Continue reading "Layoffs and Age Discrimination" »

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Posted In: Age Discrimination

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Very few states have as close a relationship to the military as Georgia does. In a struggling economy, where every job is precious, veterans have a great many rights that they may not be aware of under federal employment law. There are enough of these rights that returning veterans and reservists may think about consulting with an employment law attorney before setting off on a job search.

The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Act (called USERRA and passed in 1994) gives veterans certain job rights that are not enjoyed by non- veterans. Among those are protections for disabled veterans, federal employees, vets seeking to go back to their old jobs, and rights into the continuation of military health care.

A few details:

Continue reading "Veterans Employment Rights" »

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Most seasonal agricultural workers in Georgia and the rest of the country are covered under two separate labor laws—the Fair Labor Standards Act, and the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (MSPA). This post will cover the latter; and this post covers the former.

The two laws always need to be read together, as well as in conjunction with state laws, by a qualified employment lawyer, to determine the rights of any agricultural workers.

Even though agricultural workers are covered under the FLSA, the MSPA, which was passed in 1983, is considered to be the primary federal labor law covering migrant workers. Like the FLSA, this law is administered by the Wage and Hour division of the U.S. Department of Labor.

Continue reading "Agricultural Workers Under the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act" »

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Posted In: Agricultutral Workers

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Two bills were recently introduced into the United States Congress that, if passed, would have an important effect on the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Taken together, they would both expand the current effect of the bill and roll back some of the restrictions that the previous administration’s had imposed on that law.

Under the FMLA, which passed into law in 1993, employers must grant a leave (unpaid) of up to twelve weeks every twelve months for certain family emergencies and other medical conditions.

The Bush administration had imposed some restrictions on the FMLA which Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (D-N.H.) has proposed to eliminate in H.R. 2161, which she has called the Family and Medical Leave Restoration Act. The restrictions were posted in a November 2008 DOL final regulation.

Continue reading "Additions to FMLA Proposed in Congress" »

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Posted In: FMLA

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In the 1997 sci-fi thriller Gattaca, virtually every job on earth was determined by a person’s genetic makeup. With the map of the human genome now available for download, science fiction may rapidly become science fact. But U.S. employment laws, to be phased in this month and next September, have stepped in to attempt to eliminate this kind of discrimination before it even gets started.

At least, under most circumstances

Welcome to the Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act of 2008, known as GINA. Short version: no genetic information obtained by any company can be used to discriminate against any person in employment or in providing health insurance.

Continue reading " Genetic Testing in the Workplace? Meet GINA" »

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Posted In: Genetic Discrimination

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With the summer job search in full swing, many young people living outside Atlanta may be looking to work on a farm for the season. There are a number of regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act that apply to young farm workers that parents and children need to be aware of. Consulting an employment lawyer about these very complex regs before starting a farm job would be a very good idea.

First things first, though—if you’re over 16, these special rules don’t apply to you. Also, they don’t apply if the farm is owned by the children’s parents. Other exemptions include students enrolled in certain vocational agricultural programs or who are specially trained through 4-H (etc.) on some hazardous farm equipment.

Believe it or not, you are allowed to work on a farm at an age as low as 10....

Continue reading "Summer Jobs Part II" »

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Posted In: Summer Youth Jobs

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Last month, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Administrative Review Board (ARB) rendered a decision upholding an Administrative Law Judge’s pro- whistleblower decision under the Sabanes- Oxley Act (often referred to as SOX these days).

The ALJ in Kalkunte v. DVI Financial Services, Inc., a case decided in 2005, held that a privately-held company acting as a contractor, subcontractor, or agent of a publicly traded company can be held liable for violation of the whistleblower provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The private company, AP Services, was acting as a “turnaround specialist” for Kalkunte’s employer DVI, a publicly traded company, which declared bankruptcy while all of this was going on.

Continue reading "Whistleblower Case Upheld by ALJ" »

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Posted In: Whistleblowers

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Summer vacation is around the corner, and many young people are lining up summer jobs this month. As you would think, the US Department of Labor has very specific rules concerning youth employment. Parents need to be very careful that their kids aren't being exploited out there in the workforce, and may want to check with an employment lawyer to make sure that all of the rules concerning youth employment are being obeyed by the employers.

First-- watch out for jobs that are more dangerous than you may think.

Continue reading "Summer Jobs-- Don't be Exploited" »

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Posted In: Summer Youth Jobs

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What if what looks like a standard layoff is really hiding an illegal act, such as retaliation, against an employee? Retaliation may be hard to pin down, but it may be actionable if all of the facts line up. Basically, a retaliatory firing is one that occurs because the employee has complained of discrimination or certain other illegal actions by the employer, or because the employee has supported a fellow worker who has made such a complaint.

The complaint can be with a federal or state agency or within the company itself.
Most retaliatory acts fall short of actual firing, but, with the current economy, there may be more pressure on employers to lay people off, which usually means that the perceived weakest links will be cut first. So someone who is being retaliated against in subtle ways in the work place can suddenly be on the cutting room floor, a victim of a retaliatory act that can made to look like a bona fide business decision.

Continue reading "Is Your Layoff Really Retaliation?" »

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It may be hard to believe, but the buzz among attorneys in these days of so much financial difficulty has as much to do with lawyers being laid off as with their clients having hard times.

More and more lawyers, it seems, are now looking for legal advice from employment attorneys.

Lawyer layoffs have been growing considerably over the last year or two, and particularly in the last few months. The blawg Law Shucks, which tracks lawyer layoffs (and is a source recently used by CNN), has the number of announced lawyer layoffs at nearly 3500 around the country, with another almost 5000 staff getting the boot as well.

Continue reading "Lawyer Layoffs" »

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The U.S. Department of Labor recently updated its basic informational poster to reflect changes in the Fair Labor Standards Act, including the new military family leave entitlements enacted under the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008, as well as changes in the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), all of which took effect on January 16th.

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides certain employees with up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave per year. It also requires that their group health benefits be maintained during the leave.

You can view the new poster here:

Continue reading "Family and Medical Leave Updated Poster" »

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Posted In: FMLA , General

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Whether you are a college student, or you have one, you know that only full- time college students generally continue to receive health insurance benefits after the age of 19, with no coverage for any student who has gaps in that full- time status. But that is about to change for students undergoing health problems.

Starting next October, college students who have to take time off from school for medical reasons will still be allowed to keep their medical insurance benefits under the parent’ health insurance under “Michelle’s Law”, an amendment to ERISA (Sec. 714, PHSA Secs. 2707 and 2753, and Code Sec. 9813).

Continue reading "Michelle's Law Makes Health Insurance Companies Cover Students on Medical Leave" »

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Posted In: Health Insurance

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