NorthCarolinaLaw

SCOTUS Affirms Class Certification in Tyson Foods "Donning and Doffing" Overtime Case Originally Posted by Sean Cecil Mar 24, 2016  (0 Comments) The following materials were prepared by Edelstein Payne & Lucas firm partner   Vanessa Lucas   and will be presented in her upcoming Federal Law update CLE training seminar to educate other lawyers at the North Carolina Advocates for Justice annual convention:  Tyson Foods, Inc. v. Bouaphakeo,  577 U.S. ________(2016)                                                                                                                                           ...

https://edelsteinpayne/employment-law Employment Discrimination: Supreme Court heard Oral Arguments re Filing Deadlines for Federal Employees Originally Posted by Sean Cecil Dec 04, 2015  (0 Comments) The Supreme Court heard oral arguments Monday regarding commencement of the statute of limitations in an employment discrimination retaliation constructive discharge case involving the United States Postal Service. The Plaintiff, Marvin Green, resigned after a period of paid leave that followed an investigation after he complained of racial discrimination. Mr. Green was at one point accused of the criminal act of intentionally delaying the delivery of U.S. Mail, allegations that were debunked by the Postal Service's own investigation- this fact was not revealed to Mr. Green prior to his decision to resign rather than accepting a lower paying job hundreds of miles away.  Mr. Green alleged five different actions by his employer constituted unlawful retaliation for hi...

https://edelsteinpayne.com Liability in the Share Economy Originally Posted by Sean Cecil Nov 10, 2015  (0 Comments) Today I   read this tragic story   about a father who died from injuries incurred in an accident at a Airbnb rental. For those who don't know, Airbnb, like its peers including Uber, are part of the "Share" economy where people make some money on the side from renting out their homes, offering a lift to a stranger, etc. Unfortunately, as detailed in the story, these disruptive businesses of the internet age are often far ahead of regulators, sometimes leaving customers in compromised positions. In many cases, insurance policies exclude damages from any commercial activity, leaving the question of liability up in the air. Share economy businesses such as Uber and Airbnb are filling a market, but not without controversy. Taxi drivers, subject to a heavily regulated trade, rely upon the exclusivity of their business model to make a living- if any...

www.edelsteinpayne.com 4th Circuit: Evidence Suppressed because Police Detained Suspect Without Reasonable Suspicion of Criminal Activity Originally Posted by Sean Cecil Oct 28, 2015  (0 Comments) The exclusionary rule prevents the government from presenting in a criminal case evidence that is tainted by a violation of the suspect/defendant's constitutional rights. In some cases the rule may result in suppression of all evidence of a crime and dismissal of criminal charges; in others, a successful appeal can lead to reversal of a conviction at the appellate level and a remand to the trial court for a new trial without the tainted evidence, often referred to as the "fruit of the poisonous tree." Suppression or exclusion of evidence follows a court ruling that the evidence is tainted, usually after a defendant's motion. Probably the most common evidence to be suppressed is evidence of contraband (such as drugs or a firearm), possession of ...

www.edelsteinpayne.com/employment-law Halliburton Agrees to Pay Over $18 Million in Overtime Owed to Misclassified Workers Originally Posted by Sean Cecil Sep 28, 2015  (0 Comments) Acknowledging that employees in 28 different job positions were misclassified as exempt from overtime payments, oil and gas services giant Halliburton recently agreed to pay one of the largest overtime recoveries in Department of Labor history. The jobs, such as field service reps, pipe recovery specialists, drilling technology advisors, and others, were paid a salary and treated as exempt from the overtime requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The company also did not bother to keep records of the time put in by misclassified workers. Every worker should know that they are not exempt and ineligible for overtime based solely on their receipt of a salary, as opposed to hourly employment. The FLSA has exemptions for salaried workers in bona fide executive, administrative, profession...

www.edelsteinpayne.com/employment-law Anniversary of the Imperial Foods Fire Originally Posted by Sean Cecil Sep 03, 201 Today marks the 24th anniversary of the notorious Imperial Food Products fire in Hamlet, North Carolina. In the fire, 25 workers died and 49 were injured because of unsafe conditions, including a locked exit door; according to the NC Dept. of Labor, the investigation found "numerous violations of various laws designed to protect workers." The plant had never received a safety inspection during its eleven years of operation. The fire was North Carolina's worst non-mining industrial disaster. It is simply amazing that an incident like this could occur 80 years after the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire in New York City, which killed 146 workers and led to many workplace safety laws.  The Imperial Foods Factory- Imperial's operators usually kept the doors of the chicken plant padlocked and the windows boarded, to prevent theft, vandal...

www.edelsteinpayne.com/employment-law EEOC Targets Denver Law School for Disparate Pay Originally Posted by Sean Cecil Sep 02, 2015  (0 Comments) Women should be paid the same amount for the same work. Citing Title VII of the Civil Rights act, the Equal Pay Act, and the Fair Labor Standards Act, the EEOC   dropped a bombshell  on Denver University's Sturm School of Law this week, finding that their pay system resulted in widespread disparate pay negatively affecting female professors. The law school now has the opportunity to participate in mediation through the EEOC "conciliation" process, and faces potential liability for back pay and future wage increases, as well as the potential for other monetary and injunctive relief (including the potential for attorney fees). According to a Denver Post  article  about the matter, the school has defended its pay policy as being merit-based, and said that gender plays no role in determining how much...