“[The investigator] testified that a portion of the hours she found Dow to have been overbilled was in the form of employees arriving late, leaving early, and taking breaks. (Id. at pp. 113—15). [The investigator] stated that the contract between Axion and Dow did not permit Axion to bill Dow for its employees’ breaks.
When Plaintiff actions are consistent with the instruction of her manager, there is a question of fact as to whether the employer’s asserted reason for termination is “false or ‘unworthy of credence’” when the employer alleges those actions as the basis for termination.
By Kalandra N. Wheeler on
Posted in FMLA violations, Leave
“[Plaintiff] testified that [manager] Young instructed her to refuse [the customer’s] attempted return, and that she was disciplined for doing just that. [Plaintiff] explained that [customer] requested her termination, and that [manager] Young responded “don’t you worry sir. I’m fixing to take care of her right now.” And according to [customer], his complaint to co-manager…
Plaintiffs need only allege facts that are within the reasonable scope of their EEOC investigation may later add more detailed facts in a lawsuit so long as they are within the reasonable scope of the investigation.
By Jairo N. Castellanos on
Posted in FMLA violations, Leave
“Plaintiff merely provides additional facts in her complaint that were not in her EEOC charge. In particular, she identifies the individuals mentioned in her charge who were allegedly promoted over her and who received higher wages for the same work. This is not an issue in which the Plaintiff is attempting to assert wholly new…
A Plaintiff need not allege each separate and distinct discriminatory act in an EEOC charge of discrimination in order to exhaust administrative remedies, but instead must only plead sufficient facts to inform the defendant of the possible claims that are intended to be pursued.
By Jairo N. Castellanos on
Posted in FMLA violations, Leave
“Plaintiff states during her employment she was paid less than her male counterparts with equal or less experience. She cites three examples: (1) an unidentified male employee, who worked at the vision center for a month longer than her, told her that he made two dollars more per hour; (2) an unidentified male employee made…
If an employer’s motive behind an adverse employment action is to retaliate against actions it reasonable considered to be protected by the 1st Amendment, it does not matter if the employee actually engaged in the protected activity.
By Jairo N. Castellanos on
Posted in FMLA violations, Leave
“Heffernan’s supervisors demoted Heffernan from detective to patrol officer and assigned him to a “walking post.” In this way they punished Heffernan for what they thought was his “overt involvement” in Spagnola’s campaign.” Heffernan v. City of Paterson, New Jersey, et al., 2016 WL 1627953 *3 (2016). “In a word, it was the employer’s…
: In FLSA Collective Action, potential defenses showing that plaintiffs are not similarly situated are only addressed at the decertification stage, not during the initial conditional certification inquiry.
By Colin W. Walsh on
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Defendant contends that even if there was a common illegal policy, the suit cannot proceed as a collective action because Defendant will assert defenses that require individualized analysis for each putative class member (Dkt. #22 at p. 12). Challenges in litigating the suit or a particular need to address each perspective member of the collective…
in FLSA Collective Action, Declarations from Plaintiff and other individuals detailing similar primary job duties and that they did not receive overtime pay is sufficient to conditionally certify class.
By Colin W. Walsh on
Posted in FMLA violations, Leave
Plaintiff offers testimony that he performed the duties of a mortgage loan officer working for Defendant . . . . Plaintiff provides declarations of other individuals who claim the same primary job duty. Further, Plaintiff asserts that the “same pay practice” is Defendant failing to pay loan officers compensation tied to actual hours worked, denying…
Testimony from Plaintiff that she was told the reason she was not selected for a promotion because the department’s executive was suspected of sexually harassing female employees serves as direct evidence of sex discrimination to defeat a motion for summary judgment.
By Allison Reppond on
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“The Magistrate Judge found that Plaintiff’s Title VII discrimination claim is supported by direct evidence, based upon her conversation with Mr. Nowzaradan, wherein he stated she was not promoted to the development department due to his concern that she would be sexually harassed there. While Defendants offered evidence to rebut this conclusion, it is not…
The employer’s decision not to rehire Plaintiff shortly after she complained about being paid as an independent contractor and not an employee establishes a causal connection between the decision not to rehire Plaintiff and her protected activity under the FLSA.
By Allison Reppond on
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“While Plaintiff was employed by Defendants, she complained to her supervisors that she should be paid as an employee, rather than an independent contractor, because she was treated as an employee. (Id. ¶ 26.) Subsequently, Defendants offered to extend the contracts of every other coordinating producer besides Plaintiff who had worked on the fifth season…
Inconsistent deposition testimony as to the reason Defendant did not rehire Plaintiff may be used to establish pretext.
By Allison Reppond on
Posted in FMLA violations, Leave
“The Magistrate Judge found that Plaintiff successfully made a prima facie case, and that Defendants articulated a non-discriminatory reason for their failure to extend Plaintiff’s contract by stating she was unhappy producing Shipping Wars, shifting the burden back to Plaintiff. (Dkt. # 52 at 5.) The Magistrate Judge found that Plaintiff raised a genuine issue…