May/June 2012
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| Exempt or owed overtime pay? — FLSA case reinforces importance of employee classification | |
 | This article discusses a case in which the plaintiffs, all former sales managers, sued in federal court claiming that they’d been misclassified as exempt “administrative” employees and were entitled to unpaid overtime pay. There follows a description of the three-part test used to determine whether a particular employee is administratively exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requirements regarding pay. The article then explains why the court found against the plaintiffs. A sidebar reveals a different outcome in a similar case. Read More |
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| Qualification before accommodation — Ninth Circuit addresses EEOC guidelines in ADA case | |
 | One cannot obtain protection under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) unless he or she clearly qualifies for it. This was the key issue in a case in which a school district’s Board of Trustees denied provisional teaching authorization to a special education teacher who’d been unable to renew her certificate during a major depressive episode. Soon afterward, they terminated her because she’d violated the terms of her contract by allowing her certification to lapse. She sued, alleging that the Board violated the ADA by discriminating against her because of her disability. This article discusses the appeals court’s ruling. Read More |
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| Supreme Court rules on the “ministerial exception” | |
 | The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod categorizes its teachers in two ways: 1) “called,” those regarded as having been called to teach by God, and 2) “lay,” everyone else. In one instance, a called teacher was replaced by a lay teacher during disability leave and refused a deal that included her resignation. When she threatened to sue, she was terminated. The school claimed a “ministerial exception” that was protected by the First Amendment. This article explains why the U.S. Supreme Court overturned an appeals court decision that sided with the teacher. Read More |
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| Absent while on FMLA leave | |
 | Terminating an employee for repeatedly failing to report his or her absences may seem understandable enough. But what if that worker believes the absences are covered under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)? An appeals court faced such a question in a case in which the plaintiff had unintentionally overstayed her medical leave. Read More |
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This publication is distributed with the understanding that the author, publisher and distributor are not rendering legal, accounting or other professional advice or opinions on specific facts or matters, and accordingly assume no liability whatsoever in connection with its use. ©2012 • ELBmj12 | |