Atlanta Employment Law Blog

Although many of us consider the U.S. to be a progressive country that provides fair opportunity and support to citizens, a recent analysis of the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) indicates that the country lags in certain areas. A state-by-state analysis of laws enacted to support new parents found that Georgia and 17 other states are providing the least amount of benefits for working parents. No state is doing all that it could to help employees when a new child arrives.

The FMLA was enacted 20 years ago and provides new parents with up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave. Studies show that many new parents cannot afford to take unpaid leave, and only half of the workforce is eligible. In comparison, 178 other nations worldwide guarantee paid leave for new mothers and 54 nations guarantee paid leave for new fathers.

The Fair Labor Standards Act wage and hour laws require that covered employees are paid the federal minimum wage of $7.25 for all hours worked, at the very least. Employers are also required to pay time and a half regular hourly rates, including commissions, bonuses and incentive pay for any hours that are worked beyond a 40 hour work week.

Violations of the law are common in the residential care industry in Georgia and across the U.S. A recent investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division has found that a residential care facility in the Midwest denied minimum wage and overtime compensation, violating the FSLA.

The Cobb County school district is facing a $62 million budget deficit and is looking for ways to deal with decreased funding as local tax revenues fall. This is no different than in any other school district across the nation, including Atlanta area schools that are all trying to recover from the downturn in the economy. The results will be an increase in class sizes and fewer teachers and staff members to handle the workload.

The Cobb County Board of Education is considering the laying off 350 teachers and furloughing staffers to deal with the budget deficit. When asked if there were other ways of dealing with the shortfall, a spokesperson for the board said there really is no other way. The board is hoping many teachers will retire or move to another district so they may not have to face the lay-offs. As of this report, 100 teachers have informed the board of their intentions to either move out of the district or retire.

A bill has been introduced that seeks to reverse a 2009 ruling by the United States Supreme Court that made it easier for employers to defend themselves against age discrimination lawsuits. The 5-4 ruling in the Jack Gross vs. FBL Financial Services Inc. case required plaintiffs in age discrimination suits to prove that age was the sole factor in the employment discrimination action and not just one of many motivating factors in order to move forward with their case.

In other employment discrimination cases such as sex or race discrimination, plaintiffs only need to establish that discrimination was a motivating factor in the adverse employment decision, not solely the determinate factor in the employer's adverse action.