Lamberton Law Blog
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Stealing wages from the working poor
Philadelphia sports bar and restaurant chain Chickie's & Pete's has signed a consent judgment agreeing to pay current and former employees more than $6.8 million in back wages and damages for improperly taking tips from servers and violating federal minimum wage, overtime and record-keeping...
Broadening the Bench
When it changed its rules last November, the Senate ushered in a new era of opportunity for judicial nominations. Now that only a simple majority is required to break filibusters on district and circuit court nominations, the time is ripe to fill a growing a number of judicial vacancies with...
Gender pay gap persits
When the Equal Pay Act became law in 1963, women were earning 59 cents on the dollar compared to men. Today, while women hold nearly half of all jobs, and generate a significant portion of the income that sustains their families, they still face a gap in pay compared to men's wages for similar...
Reprimand only for politically biased, racist, sexist federal judge
A judicial oversight body which found hundreds of biased, racist and sexist emails authored by a sitting United States District Court Judge would have let the judge remain on the court and continue to hear cases, despite his admitted political bias, racist and sexist views. Montana's chief...
Philadelphia protects pregnant workers from discrimination
Following a new national report revealing that pregnant women face significant barriers in the workplace, the City of Philadelphia passed new legislation that will improve workplace conditions for pregnant employees. The new amendment to the City's Fair Practices Ordinance prohibits...
OFCCP Rule Strengthens Disability Protections
On August 27, 2013, the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs announced a Final Rule that makes changes to the regulations implementing Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended (Section 503) at 41 CFR Part 60-741. Section 503 prohibits federal...
Raising minimum wage helps economy
One popular myth is that raising the minimum wage hurts the economy. Seventy-five years of empirical data has busted that myth wide open. Since 1938, the minimum wage has been raised several times yet the economy has grown and grown. Raising the minimum wage creates purchasing power for wage...
Employer preemption of protected activities
Employees have a right to oppose discrimination and unlawful wage practices in the workplace, to assist others in enforcing their rights to overtime pay, to the minimum wage and to freedom from discrimination, and to participate in any manner proceedings, hearings or investigations under the...
Senator Warren says no more employer abuse of credit reports
In posts earlier this year - Now Hiring (unless you have poor credit) and More on Employer's Use of Credit Reports - we called attention to employers who abuse credit reports to disqualify applicants and employees from employment. Senator Elizabeth Warren has now introduced legislation to...
How to negotiate for a raise
While working women have made great strides in recent decades, as evidenced by higher earnings, greater occupational diversity and a larger presence in leadership positions and entrepreneurial fields, they still face unique barriers in the U.S. workforce. Women are more likely to live in poverty...
The most overused tool in a litigator's toolbox
From Meyer v. Snyder's Lance, Inc., Case No. 4:12-CV-215 (COL) (M.D. Ga.): Defendant's Motion to Dismiss is another example of what Twombly and Iqbal have wrought-a compulsion to file a motion to dismiss in every case. The Supreme Court' s statement in Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S...
Parity for mental health benefits
The Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and the Treasury recently issued a final rule increasing parity between mental health/substance use disorder benefits and medical/surgical benefits in group and individual health plans. The final rule implements the Paul Wellstone and Pete...
FMLA supports servicemen and women
Earlier this year, the Department of Labor issued a final rule implementing recent amendments that expanded the FMLA to meet the unique challenges confronting military families and those who care for our wounded warriors. Serving your country is an honorable and rewarding career, but one that...
Motley Crue and but-for causation
Not long ago, a friend asked me why I traveled from Pittsburgh to Las Vegas to see Motley Crue perform at The Joint at the Hard Rock Cafe. My reply was simple. Because, I told him, Motley Crue writes great rock-n-roll songs. Because the band members are good musicians. Because the Crue always...
Wall Street litigation leads to important workplace reforms
Bank of America agreed on Friday to pay $39 million to women who worked in its Merrill Lynch brokerage operation, another costly settlement of a discrimination case filed by its employees. The agreement, filed Friday evening in a federal court in Brooklyn, was the second by the nation's largest...