Ashley Brightwell and Will Brumbach spoke at this Labor and Employment Breakfast on the following topics:
Fair Labor Standards Act – Nuts and Bolts of Compliance - The explosion of collective actions against employers under the Fair Labor Standards Act continues unabated. The vague nature of the requirements of the FLSA and the difficulty in applying the Act in real-world situations are some of the main reasons for the continued increase in claims. In this session, we reviewed the most common missteps by employers in connection with the FLSA, including exemptions for executive, administrative and professional employees, the outside sales and computer employees, and issues relating to off-the-clock work and bonuses.
Constitutional Claims as Torts in the Workplace - To what degree must an employer recognize and protect the constitutional rights of its employees? Employers often discover that an employee is engaged in controversial behavior (inside or outside the workplace), belongs to a controversial organization, or publicly advocates values that contradict those of the employer. When this behavior or advocacy impacts the workplace, the employer often finds that it must take action. Although an employee has no constitutional rights against a private employer, some courts have permitted employees to assert traditional constitutional claims as torts or statutory causes of action. In this session, we reviewed some recent cases involving these attempts to import constitutional rights into other areas of the law, and we examined some strategies for avoiding and defeating these claims.
Thursday, December 6, 2007
8:15am - 10:00 am
Alston & Bird LLP / 1180 West Peachtree Street / Atlanta, GA / 15th Floor