South Carolina Personal Injury Law Blog

Study Shows that Worker Background Checks Help Protect Elderly

According to research conducted by the Senate Committee on Aging, background checks prevented 5,000 applicants from receiving jobs caring for the elderly. Some legislators are pointing to these figures as justification for federally standardized procedures to prevent people with criminal records or a history of abusive behavior from preying on the elderly. Currently, each state maintains its own system and procedures for conducting background checks. 

Source:  "Background Checks Reduce Abuse of Elderly, Panel Says" by  Kevin Freking, published in the Houston Chronicle.

Pay Discrimination Ruling Expected to Have Broad Ramifications

According to experts, the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling this week in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber, limiting the ability of employees to pursue pay discrimination claims against their employers, may have broad ramifications for employment discrimination lawsuits of all kinds.

The 5-4 ruling generally excludes the right for employees to sue for pay discrimination unless they file charges within 180 days of a specific event, like a boss giving a worker a smaller raise because of her sex.  Establishing a pattern of discrimination over several years will no longer be possible.

Some legal experts said the ruling would put pressure on workers to file discrimination claims within 180 days even when they are still seeking more conclusive evidence that they were discriminated against.

Source:  "Experts Say Decision on Pay Reorders Legal Landscape" by Steven Greenhouse, published in The New York Times.

Wal-Mart Settles Case Involving Overtime Pay

After turning itself in to the U.S. Labor Department, Wal-Mart Stores has agreed to pay over $33 million in back wages to 87,000 employees nationwide who were shorted overtime pay over the past five years.  The highest award to an individual employee was reported to be about $39,000.

This is not Wal-Mart's first legal entanglement over these types of issues.  In fact, the Labor Commissioner of California currently has a suit pending against Wal-Mart for the share of overtime shortfalls in that state which has not yet been resolved.

Also, Wal-Mart workers in Pennsylvania won a $78.5 million judgment last October for working off the clock and through rest breaks. Wal-Mart denied wrongdoing and is appealing the jury award.  However, one of Wal-Mart's most vociferous critics, WakeUpWalMart.com, said the overtime settlement was a sweetheart deal that favored the retailer rather than its workers.

Source:  "Wal-Mart Settles Case Involving Overtime Pay" by Marcus Kabel, published at Yahoo Finance News.

 

New Minimum Wage Laws Likely to Spark Lawsuits

Many new state minimum wage laws conflict with federal guidelines and mandate stricter record-keeping requirements for employers, which is likely to spur more employment lawsuits. Employees labeled as independent contractors can sue for being intentionally misclassified to avoid overtime and higher wages. Assistant managers may also sue over their job title, claiming they were misclassified for the same reasons. Another common scenario in the courts involves employees who are asked to work off the clock and then sue for unpaid overtime.

Source:  "Minumum Wage Hike Likely to Spur Employment Suits" by Tresa Baldas, published in the National Law Journal (subscription required).