Recently in Wages & Benefits Category

It's no secret that the Harris County deputies union is furious with Sheriff Adrian Garcia. The Houston Chronicle reports that the union is now suing the Sheriff for forcing deputies to work mandatory overtime. In particular, union members have expressed aggravation over the hiring freeze in the Sheriff's Department, where nearly 400 jail and patrol positions are reportedly vacant. Of these positions, about 170 are deputy jobs.

It looks like Houston employment lawyers are getting involved in the case against Adrian Garcia. Union President Robert Goerlitz told the Houston Chronicle that the lawsuit comes after workers being worn out by the mandatory overtime. He says that most of the overtime needs would go away once the other positions are filled.

An employee of Goodwill Industries has filed a lawsuit against the organization, claiming that the Caucasian janitorial workers are getting paid more than the janitorial workers of racial minorities. According to the Southeast Texas Record, the suit was filed on July 28 in the Jefferson County District court by Earnest Sennet, who was making just $6 an hour as a janitor at Goodwill.

In the lawsuit, Earnest Sennet alleges that he was supposed to be paid $11 an hour, as it reportedly says in his contract. However, the defendant in this case told the plaintiff that he would only be getting paid $6 per hour. The plaintiff is a minority male, but the lawsuit does not specify what his exact ethnicity is or when he started his employment at Goodwill.

An overworked employee of Viva Railings claims that he quit working for the railing manufacturer because he wasn't being paid proper wages for working overtime, a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

The Southeast Texas Record reports that an overtime lawsuit has been filed against the company and that the plaintiff, William Rotkis, is hoping to collect lost wages. In addition to lost overtime pay, the man is seeking damages for physical pain, mental anguish, emotional distress, lost wages and benefits, plus interest, attorney's fees and court costs.

Texas De Brazil Restaurant is known for their juicy steaks and South American cuisine, but the U.S Department of Labor says that the company may start to become well-known for their violations in overtime pay among employees.

The Dallas-based restaurant chain has reportedly miscalculated hundreds of workers' overtime wages and has agreed to pay a $177,502 settlement in overtime back wages to 715 former and current waiters. Associated Press reports that the payouts will go to employees in six different states, with the company agreeing to pay $26,979 for 119 employees in the Dallas and Fort Worth areas. In addition, Texas De Brazil Corp. will be paying $22,662 for 90 employees in Virginia, $79,638 for 310 employees in Florida, $9,563 for 64 employees in Colorado, $14,574 for 42 employees in Tennessee, and $24,086 for 90 employees in Illinois.

The nation's largest bank is now facing an employment lawsuit for allegedly failing to pay overtime and other wages to several Bank of America employees in California, Florida, Kansas, Texas, and Washington. The suit, which was filed in Kansas City last Friday, consolidated 12 lawsuits against the company.

Reuters reports that the lawsuit is now seeking nationwide class-action status, which could eventually cover more than 180,000 workers across the country. If Bank of America is found guilty of Fair Labor Standards Act violations, the company may be forced to payout over $100 million.

A call center based out of Salt Lake City, Utah allegedly violated the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) by failing to pay for breaks that were less than 30 minutes in length and also for failing to pay for the time employees had to spend waiting for work areas to become accessible even though their shifts already had started. In essence, the company is alleged to have failed to adhere to FLSA standards.

Bloomberg BusinessWeek reports that the company Teleperformance USA recently agreed to pay nearly $2 million to settle the FLSA complaints. The settlement covers almost 16,000 employees in 10 different states. The settlement may have an effect on some Texas workers, as a portion of the payouts will be paid to Teleperformance USA employees in the Lone Star state.