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The California Labor Commission recently determined that an Uber driver was an employee rather than an independent contractor, generating national headlines today. In essence, the California decision states that Uber is a taxi service, and that the drivers of a taxi service are employees under California law, because they are integral to the service the taxi service performs.

In Speed v. Wes Health System, a Pennsylvania Plaintiff survived dismissal of her suit for retaliatory discharge after she defended herself against a coworker who allegedly sexually harassed her for thirteen months. The employer Wes Health System (“WES”) fired both the harasser and Speed after she struck the harasser on the side of his face when he touched her leg ...

In Miller v. Johnson & Johnson, a Florida case, Miller successfully brought a claim under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) against his prospective employer. The Fair Credit Reporting Act is intended to provide prospective employees protection from false information found in their criminal background reports.

Lumber One hired three employees and titled them as managers of the company’s lumberyard. The company classified these employees as executives, and accordingly paid them on a salary basis without overtime compensation. During their employment with the company, the employees performed various duties including assembling shelves and stocking merchandise, and helping load trucks.

Proving yet again that an actionable harassment claim has to be based on a protected characteristic, an appeals court dismissed the claims of a male employee whose male supervisor allegedly squeezed his nipples and the nipples of several male co-workers.

On December 11, 2014 the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a ruling allowing employees use of their employer’s email system during nonworking time for statutorily protected communications under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). As a result, many employees are now eligible to complain about their work conditions to each other via e-mail with legal protection.

Support Animals can be considered a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) or the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 under certain conditions. The case of Branson teaches that a dog could be an accommodation not only for blind employees but also paraplegic employees.

A United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin recently granted a conditional class certification to Certified Nursing Assistants (“CNAs”) and housekeepers employed by Waukesha Memorial Hospital (“Waukesha”).

In 2011, Jane Harris, a resale buyer working with Ford Motor Company (“Ford”), filed a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) alleging that the companies’ denial of her request to work from home (telework)...

On June 26, the Fourteenth Court of Appeals issued a ruling enforcing a non-compete agreement between a court reporting services company and its former employee, Martha Rodriguez.