A couple of important dates are coming up relative to employer responsibilities regarding sexual harassment in New York over the next 2 months. First off in New York City, the Stop Sexual Harassment Act, a series of bills signed into law by Mayor de Blasio on May 9, requires all employers beginning on September 6,…
Read More »It can’t even be called a “drive-by” lawsuit, but metaphorically speaking, that is the perfect description. A lawsuit against Dunkin’ has been revived and remanded by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. Dennis Haynes v. Dunkin’ Donuts, LLC stems from allegations by a Haynes, a blind Florida man that he was being discriminated against in…
Read More »The US 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld an NLRB ruling that allowed QSR employees to wear pro-union pins and buttons on company uniforms during working hours. The case stems from an In-N-Out Burger policy that prohibited employees from wearing any pins or buttons on their work uniforms. Two employees of an In-N-Out store…
Read More »In a 4-2 decision, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court upheld the validity of the Philadelphia soda tax, rejecting a major challenge brought by the beverage and food merchant industries. Philadelphia passed the new tax back in 2016 assessing distributors and dealers 1.5 cents per ounce on sugary beverages. The city cleverly drafted the tax to apply…
Read More »In a surprising ruling on Wednesday, the US 11th Circuit Court of Appeals restored a discrimination challenge brought against the city of Birmingham Alabama by African-American fast-food workers. The suit, initially filed in 2016, alleged that the state’s mostly white legislature violated the civil rights of black workers by nullifying a new minimum wage in…
Read More »The lineup of top franchise attorneys that will be available to offer their expertise at the CFA Legal Symposium in Chicago on October 24 is impressive enough, but the subjects they’ll cover are all of such critical importance to the franchisee community, you won’t want to miss any of it. Registration for the symposium is…
Read More »The Trump Department of Labor, at long last, officially rescinded on Tuesday of this week, the persuader rule, which triggered certain reporting requirements on employers in the face of union organizing efforts. Under the Obama-era rule, employers were required to disclose information and advice that outside consultants and attorneys were giving relative to means by…
Read More »A Pennsylvania Appeals court on Wednesday rejected a challenge brought by the beverage industry and a couple of consumers to the Philadelphia tax on sugary beverages. The lawsuit alleged that the soda tax violated a provision in the Pennsylvania state constitution that prohibits any duplication of the state sales and use tax, but the appeals…
Read More »Shakespeare might have put it that way, but the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois stated it much more directly last week in ruling that a Dunkin’ franchisee had not violated Illinois law by collecting a higher rate of sales tax on certain items than ultimately was necessary. The issue in Bartolotta…
Read More »Two major lawsuits have been filed in federal courts in Texas challenging the new Department of Labor overtime rule set to take effect on December 1. Some 20 other states joined Texas in a challenge alleging that the new mandate violates the 10th Amendment of the US Constitution (the “State’s Rights amendment”). This particular complaint…
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