Workers

Burma Superstar Restaurants’ Attorney Speaks After Unfair Wages Lawsuit

The Burma Superstar restaurants attorney released a statement Wednesday about three employees suing the chain for unfair wages. The attorney for the restaurants located in Alameda, San Francisco and Oakland says they have always “The owners value their team as an extension of their family, and strive to treat everyone with the utmost respect, providing good wages and …


Sued for Wage Theft: More Headaches for Chipotle (CMG)

Just when you thought Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc (CMG) might be getting back on track, a politician calls for an investigation into allegations of wage theft by the restaurant. Rosa DeLauro, a Democratic representative from Connecticut, is trying to convince the U.S. Labor Department to investigate Chipotle after a class-action lawsuit was filed in Colorado. The lawsuit claims Chipotle …


What Makes Chipotle ‘Wage Theft’ Lawsuit Possible

The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, or FLSA, protects workers by (1) requiring a minimum wage, (2) mandating overtime pay for work exceeding 40 hours in a workweek, (3) prohibiting child labor, and (4) requiring employers to keep accurate time records. There’s a problem, though. Consider an individual worker with a solid wage claim.


Lawsuit Involving 600 Yakima Valley Farm Workers to Proceed as Class Action

A federal lawsuit affecting over 600 Yakima Valley farm workers will head to trial. A news release from Columbia Legal Services said the lawsuit originally filed in 2014 says that Mercer Canyons out of Alderdale, Washington failed to inform previous local employees about higher paying jobs. Mercer Canyons, one of the largest fruit and vegetable growers in the state applied for a …


Feds, Temp Agency Settle Bias Lawsuit

A temporary staffing agency has agreed to pay $435,000 to settle a discrimination lawsuit alleging it favored Hispanic workers over African-Americans at a FedEx SmartPost facility in Southaven. Orlando-based Resource Employment Solutions LLC denied allegations of wrongdoing made in a lawsuit …


Why 10,000 Chipotle Workers Are Suing the Company

Nearly 10,000 people who work at Chipotle are accusing the company of owing them some serious cash. CNNMoney reports that a class action lawsuit accuses the fast-food chain of wage theft, making them work extra hours without pay. The case, Turner v. Chipotle, is named after Leah Turner, a former manager in Colorado who says she was forced to work without pay and to tell her employees they had …


U.S. Appeals Court Strikes Down Ernst & Young Class Action Waiver

Ernst & Young LLP [ERNY.UL] cannot require its employees to give up their rights to pursue work-related claims together, a federal appeals court ruled on Monday, giving a major boost to the U.S. National Labor Relations Board’s campaign against so-called class action waivers. Companies have increasingly included provisions in employment contracts forcing workers to arbitrate …


Add Hewlett-Packard to the List of Tech Icons Sued for Ageism

In a complaint filed Aug. 18 in U.S. District Court in San Jose, CA., four former employees of the company allege that beginning in 2012, HP’s goal “was to make the company younger.” As such, it targeted older workers for termination and then systematically replaced them with younger employees, according to the complaint filed and reported on by the San Jose Mercury News and other outlets. The …


Union-Busting Bakery Accused of Wage Theft in Class-Action Lawsuit

Six months after the lopsided defeat of a union campaign at Portland Specialty Baking, a group of workers there have filed a lawsuit accusing the company of violating Oregon wage and hour and sick leave laws. Working with the non-profit Northwest Workers’ Justice Project, attorneys Corinna Spencer-Scheurich, Michael Dale, and Phil Goldsmith filed the suit Aug. 8 in Multnomah County …


Father Living Off $3.32 an Hour Launches Class Action Against Energy Giant

For 18 months, Haidar Omarali says he was told when and where to work by multimillion-dollar utilities retailer Just Energy. He was told what to say to customers courtesy of a pre-written script, what to wear in the form of company branded clothing, and was trained, supervised and disciplined by his company. Sound like an employee to you?