Author Archives: Employment and Commerce Law Group
Our COVID-19 Update
You Don’t Need to Leave the House to Meet with Our Lawyers. Concerned About Coronavirus? We all have a duty to keep ourselves, our families, our neighbors, and our communities safe right now. This means temporarily reshaping the way we…
Breastfeeding Discrimination Cases Led Nursing Moms to Lose Their Jobs
Federal laws protect breastfeeding mothers in the workplace. But according to a recent study, nursing mothers often face reprisals for seeing to their breastfeeding needs at work — including losing their jobs. A full two-thirds of cases of alleged breastfeeding…
How an Oxford Comma Won $5 Million for Truck Drivers
Small technicalities can sometimes transform the outcome of legal cases. That just happened to a group of truck drivers in Maine. A group of delivery drivers recently won $5 million for unpaid overtime after a judge ruled that a small…
Court Rules Punitive Damages Are Available Against Insurance Companies For Bad Faith Denials of Coverage
Recently the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals held an insurance company may be liable for punitive damages for denying a valid claim. The court also held the statutory caps on punitive damages in Tennessee were unconstitutional. In Lindenberg v. Jackson…
Local Veteran Hero Award Winner
The Employment and Commerce Law Group are proud to announce the winner of their Local Veteran Hero award: Sgt. Emil John Hirsch, III. Sgt. Hirsch served his country spending time in both Afghanistan and Iraq. While in Iraq, Sgt Hirsch…
Chattanooga TV Reporter Fired While on Leave For Cancer Treatment
Earlier this month, Sinclair Broadcast Group fired 22 year old reporter Alex George while she was on leave receiving treatment for cancer. She was a reporter for WTVC in Chattanooga. In May of this year, a teary eyed Ms. George announced…
The DOL Changes the Rules For Tipped Employees
Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, an employer can take what is known as a “tip credit” for tipped employees. This means they can pay them an hourly rate less than the Federally proscribed minimum wage. Tipped employees must be paid…
Can my Employer Take a Tip Credit to Avoid Paying Minimum Wage or Overtime?
Employees are sometimes paid less than minimum wage when they “customarily and regularly receive more than $30 per month in tips”. These jobs include servers, delivery drivers, valets, casino dealers, etc. If certain conditions are met, this may be legal….
Am I Entitled To Overtime Pay For Time Spent in Wellness Activities or Exercise Programs Sponsored By My Employer?
The Department of Labor states “meetings, training programs and similar activities” are compensable time unless all 4 of the following factors are met: Attendance is outside of the employee’s regular working hours. Attendance is voluntary. (see below) The event is…
Qui Tam Lawsuits- Recovering Money Fraudulently Taken from the Government
Four former employees of William Beaumont Hospitals in Detroit, Michigan turned whistleblower and filed separate lawsuits under the federal civil False Claims Act. These lawsuits claim their employer made false claims in billing Medicare. These false claims included: payment for…
