The law relating to the use of social media in litigation continues to evolve. A recent decision issued by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, Caputi v. Topper Realty Corp. (decided Feb. 25, 2015), provides additional insight into how judges deal with this increasingly important issue. In Caputi, a wage-and-hour case, defendants…
Read More Court Allows Partial Access to Plaintiff’s Facebook AccountIn Doyle v. City of New York (SDNY 14-02831, March 4, 2015), the Southern District of New York held, in a case of first impression, that persons who perform court-ordered community service as a condition of an Adjournment in Contemplation of Dismissal (ACD) are not “employees” within the meaning of the federal Fair Labor Standards…
Read More Persons Who Perform Community Service as Condition of ACD Are Not “Employees” Under the FLSAIn Michael v. Bloomberg (SDNY 2/11/15) – yes, that is the actual caption – the court rejected plaintiff’s motion for a protective order and to proceed pseudonymously. Plaintiff alleges that Bloomberg engaged in violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act and New York Labor Law by failing to pay proper overtime premiums to workers in its…
Read More Court Rejects FLSA Plaintiff’s Request to Proceed Against Bloomberg Under PseudonymIt was recently reported that actress Charlize Theron was able to negotiate a $10 million pay raise for her work in the movie “Snow White and The Huntsman”, in order to put her pay on par with that of her co-star Chris Hemsworth. This information was apparently revealed as a result of the Sony email…
Read More Equal Pay: Not Just For CelebritiesHere is the complaint, filed in the Southern District of New York on Jan. 30, 2015 and assigned index number 15-cv-00688, alleging various claims – namely, pregnancy discrimination, gender discrimination, sexual harassment, national origin discrimination, race discrimination, and retaliation – against Mergermarket.
Read More Lawsuit: Sexual Harassment (etc.) at “Boys Club” MergermarketWhat is “work”? In Gibbs v. City of New York (SDNY Jan. 23, 2015), the court held that plaintiffs’ required attendance at alcohol treatment and counseling sessions was not compensable “work” within the meaning of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), 29 U.S.C. §§ 201 et seq. Plaintiffs were identified by their employer (the NYPD) as…
Read More Employer-Mandated Alcohol Counseling is Not “Work” Under the FLSA, Court HoldsIn Gayle v. Harry’s Nurses Registry, Inc., 594 F.App’x 714 (2d Cir. 2014) (Summary Order), the court held that the plaintiffs were indeed employees, and not independent contractors. The decision is instructive as to the factors bearing on that analysis. Plaintiffs, a class of nurses, sued to recover unpaid overtime under the Fair Labor Standards…
Read More Nurses Were Employees, Not Independent Contractors, Court HoldsThe U.S. Supreme Court held, in Integrity Staffing Solutions, Inc. v. Busk (Dec. 9, 2014, Justice Thomas) that the time spent by Amazon.com warehouse workers undergoing anti-theft security screening before leaving the warehouse each day is not compensable time under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). In sum: [A]n activity is integral and indispensable to the principal activities…
Read More Amazon.com Security Checks Not Compensable Time, Supreme Court HoldsPerhaps this is the new frontier of employment law: punishing plaintiffs’ lawyers for daring to assert claims on behalf of their clients. In a recent complaint, prominent NYC plaintiffs’ lawyer Douglas Wigdor asserts that SoulCycle banned him after he sued the company (on behalf of a client) for violations of the New York Labor Law and…
Read More Plaintiffs’ Lawyers: The New Protected Class?In EEOC v. Port Authority, decided 9/29/14, the Second Circuit provided guidance on the level of specificity necessary to survive a motion to dismiss a claim under the Equal Pay Act of 1963, 29 U.S.C. 206(d). This case began with a charge of discrimination filed by a female Port Authority attorney, and led to an investigation…
Read More Failure to Allege Facts Concerning Attorneys’ Job Duties Results in Dismissal of Equal Pay Act Claim