Center for Employment Law

09/14/2020

The Center for Employment Law is preparing for trial and looking for honest feedback. Focus group on Tuesday, September 1, 2020, from 3:00 pm until 5:00 pm. For safety, the group will be conducted online via Zoom video conferencing service.

$50 payment for participants who participate in the entire session and complete questionnaire. Confidentiality is required by participants.

Please complete this survey if you would like to participate: https://forms.gle/JBVRKogfrnVjDSko8

8 jurors will be selected from the applicants submitted on or before Monday, August 24, 2020.

Do NOT send your resume through Facebook. Only applications submitted through the link above will be considered.

08/18/2020

Clara Luper Legacy

The Clara Luper Legacy Committee will host a digital celebration this evening in honor of the anniversary of Ms. Luper's sit in at Katz Drug Store here in OKC, which started similar protests across the county during the Civil Rights Movement. You can watch or get more information here
https://www.claraluperlegacy.com/

Civil rights activist, educator, and leader. Non-violence was the only path Clara Luper believed would pave the way for equality.

06/15/2020

www.supremecourt.gov

In what is sure to be a landmark decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled this morning that LGBTQIA+ employees are protected from employment discrimination by Title VII's non-discrimination requirements. Many questions will be raised for employees about their rights. If you have questions, give us a call. We can help.

06/02/2020

If you experience retaliation from your employer for participating in a protest or voicing support for the movement, call us. We can help. 405-252-1180

05/21/2020

Returning to work? An employment law expert explains your rights in getting your boss to accommodate you and your family’s safety

Some basic Q&A about employee rights returning to work. If you have questions about your rights, call us.

With states reopening – or planning to reopen – in the coming weeks and months, you may be worried about what returning to work will mean for you and your family, particularly if it means increased exposure to COVID-19.As a professor specializing in employment law, I don’t have a lot of reassu...

04/21/2020

Virus Whistleblowers Turning to OSHA Can Tap Extra Protections

Experiencing retaliation after complaining to your employer about safety concerns over Corona? We can help.

Workers who say they’ve been fired or disciplined after raising coronavirus concerns filed more than 300 whistleblower complaints to OSHA over the past month, and also can turn to additional federal and state laws for protection, attorneys told Bloomberg Law.

03/23/2020

CAIR Oklahoma Community Check-In: Employment Issues in Light of COVID-19

Had the opportunity to visit with our friends at CAIR Oklahoma about the impact of COVID-19 on employment issues today. Thanks for having me!

03/19/2020

Paid sick leave: Who gets it during the coronavirus outbreak

Here's a concise story on what rights employees have under the Family First Coronavirus Response Act.

In short, the only people that are definitely covered are employees who have worked for 30+ days, with employers who have between 50 and 499 employees total, and who are not in the healthcare field. Everyone else may or may not have coverage, depending on circumstances.

If you experience termination, wage docking, or other adverse employment actions as a result of this virus, give us a call to discuss options.

Most of America’s nearly 159 million workers will get access to some paid time off if they or their family are impacted by the coronavirus. Here’s a rundown of how it works.

03/09/2020

Questions about your rights as an employee and the Coronavirus? This article provides some helpful questions and answers for employees and employers alike.
https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/covid-19-faqs-on-federal-labor-and-83820/

02/26/2020

What’s Really Holding Women Back?

The Harvard Business Review looks into the question of why companies are missing females at the highest levels, and the answer might surprise you.

"What holds women back at work is not some unique challenge of balancing the demands of work and family but rather a general problem of overwork that prevails in contemporary corporate culture.
Women and men alike suffer as a result. But women pay higher professional costs."

02/21/2020

Judge hit with sexual harassment complaints resigns

Unfortunately, sexual harassment happens in all industries and work environments. If you experience and report harassment in your workplace, your employer is obligated to take corrective actions. Contact us if you have questions about your workplace.

The departure of the Kansas-based federal jurist came after lawmakers questioned the courts’ seeming indifference.

02/17/2020

U.S. Men’s Soccer Union Calls Women’s Pay Gap “Systematic Gender Discrimination”

The U.S. Women's Soccer team wage case is heating up, with trial only 3 months away. Often, pay issues like these are wide-ranging and apply to an entire group of people, such as the entire female team. If your male counterparts are making more than you for the same or less work, reach out to us to talk.

In a rare display of solidarity for any industry, the union representing the U.S. men’s soccer team published

02/10/2020

Federal wage law protects workers in state-licensed pot industry, 10th Circuit rules

Tenth Circuit, which is over Oklahoma, determines that minimum wage laws apply to workers in the cannabis industry. Workers in the field are protected under federal law, even though ma*****na is not federally legal.

A federal appeals court has ruled that the federal wage law protects a worker in Colorado’s state-licensed cannabis industry, even though ma*****na remains illegal at the federal level.

01/30/2020

The EEOC has released statistics on the most-filed employment complaints of 2019. Retaliation (that is, experiencing adverse acts for making a protected complaint) was #1.

Here is a breakdown of the charges by bases, in descending order:

1. Retaliation – 53%
2. Disability – 34%
3. Race – 33%
4. S*x – 32.4%
5. Age – 21.4%
6. National Origin – 9.6%
7. Color – 4.7%
8. Religion – 3.7%
9. Equal Pay – 1.5%
10. Genetic Information – 0.3%

Note: These percentages add up to more than 100% because some charges allege multiple bases.

https://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/release/1-24-20.cfm

01/24/2020

Giddy-Up, Employers! The New Overtime Rule Is Comin’ In 2020

🚨 Important info 🚨
Wage rules have changed effective January 1, 2020. You may be entitled to overtime wages if you are not paid at least $684 per week. Even if you are, your job must still meet other requirements. Read more at this link, or contact us with any questions.

Starting in 2020, overtime rules are going to get a little more complicated. Brush up on the new overtime rule and start preparing your payroll before the new year begins.

01/20/2020

More and more workplace discrimination cases are being closed before they’re even investigated

The EEOC is the first line of defense for employees experiencing workplace discrimination, but they have lacked in resources for years - leaving employees without the help they need. We're experienced in working with the EEOC and can guide you through their process, and beyond.

It’s a problem that starts with Congress.

01/16/2020

Finally, U.S. House Will Address Disastrous U.S. Supreme Court Ruling On Age Discrimination

Did you know it's legally harder to prove age discrimination than any other type of discrimination? That is, an older employee has to show that "but for" their age, they would have been treated differently, as opposed to showing their employer was motivated by age.

Lawmakers have an opportunity to correct this injustice this session, if the Senate also takes up this measure.

The U. S. House of Representatives this week will address a devastating 2009 U. S. Supreme Court decision that has left millions of older workers with scant protection from age discrimination in employment for the past decade.

01/14/2020

Age Discrimination Starts When An Employer Becomes Aware Of An Older Worker’s Age

New study finds "Age Discrimination Starts When An Employer Becomes Aware Of An Older Worker’s Age," which is alarming considering that as of 2018, 23% of the workforce is age 55+.

In a groundbreaking paper, David Neumark, an economist at the University of California, Irvine, writes that workers who apply on site for positions are “substantially” less likely to be invited for an interview compared to workers who apply on line but do not disclose their age.

01/10/2020

Why Being Your Authentic Self May Be A Lie For Most Women At Work — Take The Lead Women

The law says everyone must be treated equally in the workforce, but 55 years after the Civil Rights Act was passed, we still have a long way to go.

For anyone who has been told she is “difficult,” “tough,” “has a big personality,” and needs to tone it down, calm down, be a little less whatever, all this popular rhetoric on being your authentic self at work can be, well, inauthentic and not true. Research shows that authentic works a...