Kentucky Employment Lawyer Blog

Many injured men and women returning from military service are facing discrimination from employers as they return to civilian life.  The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has noted that there has been a rise in filings against employers that discriminate against returning injured soldiers who are either being demoted or denied work altogether.  The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) is a federal law intended to ensure that individuals who serve or have served in the military (1) are not disadvantaged in their civilian careers because of their service; (2) are promptly reemployed in their civilian jobs upon their return from duty; and (3) are not discriminated against in employment based on past, present, or future military service.  

Suits are being filed nationwide against employers -- almost on a weekly basis -- for failing to promptly re-employ returning service men and women.

Read more about the rise in filings of discrimination in violation of the USERRA and know your rights under the USERRA.  For more information on the USERRA  contact an Employment Law Attorney at Miller & Falkner.

Continue reading "Suits Alleging Discrimination of Returning Soldiers by Employers on the Rise" »

In a recent article, MSNBC discussed cost cutting measures many employers are implementing as a consequence of the current economic recession.  While much attention has been placed on the rising unemployment rate which hit 8.5 percent in March 2009 with 663,000 jobs lost, the employees who have so far survived the lay offs are not out of the woods.  A recent poll by the Society of Human Resource Management found that 15 percent of employers have implemented salary reduction and that 24 percent were likely to do the same in the next half of the year. 

The poll also listed some of the top cost cutting measures employers have made in the previous six months.  These measures include:

Health Care Coverage for employees:  Reduced 78%, Frozen 22%

Health Care Coverage for Spouses/Dependents:  Reduced 72%, Frozen 24%, Eliminated 3%

Employer Match to Retirement Savings Plans:  Reduced 47%, Frozen 32%, Eliminated 21%

Paid Time Off:  Reduced 44%

While many companies are within their legal rights to make these cutbacks, employers cannot advesrsly impact an employees job or benefits based on a illegal form of discrimination, such as their race, gender age, national origin, religiion or in some instances, a disability. 

To determine if your company is justified in making a cutback, or if they are breaking the law, you can contact the Kentucky Labor Cabinet or a Labor and Employment Law Attorney at Miller and Falkner. 

While the hotel chain Motel 6 claims that they will "keep the light on" for its customers, it might be doing so at the expense of and without properly paying its employees.  That is what three employees of the Motel 6 chain in California have claimed in their lawsuit filed April 22, 2009.  In the complaint, the three employees allege that they were discriminated against and harassed, forced to skip breaks and work overtime without pay.  Specifically, the complaint stated that the motel is "understaffed to the point that employees were and are required to work through their rest and meal periods and are required to work, but are not paid, overtime."  A similar complaint was filed against the same hotel in December 2008 by four other employees with similar allegations against the hotel.

As the economic downturn continues, more and more employers will be laying off employees and relying on the remaining employees to cover the work.  Under Kentucky law, there are many protections for employees from unlawful employer practices. 

For Example:

No employer shall require any employee to work without a rest period of at least ten (10) minutes during each four (4) hours worked (except those employees who are under the Federal Railway Labor Act).  This rest period is in addition to the regularly scheduled lunch period.  Employers are also not allowed to take a reduction in pay for these rest and lunch periods. 

Many employers also are not allowed to employ an employee for a workweek longer than forty hours unless the employee receives compensation for their employment in excess of forty hours in a workweek at a rate of not less than one and one-half times the hourly rate employer.

It is important that you understand your rights as an employee.  For more information on Kentucky Wage and Hour Laws visit the Kentucky Department of Labor or contact a Wage and Hour attorney at Miller & Falkner.     

The Americans with Disabilities Act 42 U.S.C. Sec 12102, et seq. (ADA) was first enacted in 1990 prohibiting discrimination against people with disabilities in employment (Title I), in public services (Title II), in public accommodations (Title III) and in telecommunications (Title IV). 

After its enactment however, United Stated Supreme Court cases significantly limited the ADA's effectiveness in prohibiting discrimination based on disabilities.  Based on narrow court interpretations of the ADA, the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 was signed into law on September 25, 2008 to make the ADA consistent with its original intent of "providing a clear and comprehensive national mandate for the elimination of discrimination against individuals with disabilities" and to "provide broad coverage." 

Several changes in the ADA as a result of the new Amendment are discussed below. 

One of the largest changes made by the ADA Amendments was to the definition of a "disability" under the ADA.  In Sutton v. United Air Lines Inc. (1999), the Supreme court held that in order to determine whether an impairment was a "disability" under the ADA, consideration must be given to mitigating measures available.  Mitigating measures could include a variety of items such as medication, equipment, prosthetics, mobility devices, hearing aids, and glasses.  When taking into consideration these mitigating measures, many impairments were not considered to substantially limit a major life activity and thus were not considered disabilities under the ADA. 

The ADA Amendments state that mitigating measures other than "ordinary eyeglasses or contact lenses" shall not be considered in assessing whether an employee has a disability for purposes of the ADA. 

Other changes made to the ADA include:

• expanding the definition of "major life activities"
• clarification that an impairment that is in remission or episodic still qualifies as a disability if it would substantially limit a major life activity when active
• changing the definition of "regarded as" to no longer requiring the impairment to substantially limit a major life activity
  

Continue reading "ADA Amendments Good News for Individuals with Disabilities" »