Archive for February 29, 2020

The Coronavirus outbreak is believed to have originated in a seafood market in Wuhan, China. The flu-like illness is both deadly and contagious, with thousands of cases confirmed globally and over 2,700 deaths. Symptoms include fever, cough, and shortness of breath. There are now at least 60 confirmed cases in the United States. As the virus is spreading globally, so are racist attacks against Asians. Many are comparing this discrimination to that which occurred during the SARS epidemic in 2003,

Within the next month or two, the U.S. Supreme Court is set to decide to what extent religious organizations may be exempt from discrimination lawsuits filed by employees. The court is considering two cases involving teachers at two Catholic schools in California. Both teachers filed wrongful termination and bias lawsuits. Generally, courts have ruled that the First Amendment prohibits anti-bias lawsuits against religious organizations for hiring or firing employees. However, some argue that all employers, regardless of their religious affiliation,

The Law Office of Christopher Q. Davis is proud to announce that our attorney Rachel Haskell was named as a rising star to the Super Lawyers New York Metro 2019 listing. We are also pleased to share that Christopher Q. Davis was named as a Superlawyer. Our attorneys know what it takes to win. We are committed to working on all employment legal needs, and our hard work delivers excellent results to clients.

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EMC Frontline, a crisis pregnancy center in New York, has sued to prevent the state from enforcing the “Boss Bill,” which the state legislature passed in 2019. The law prohibits employers from discriminating based on an applicant or employee’s beliefs about abortion. Specifically, the law states that employers may not refuse to hire someone based on the “reproductive health decisions” of an applicant or his or her dependents. Additionally, the law forbids employers from accessing “information regarding the employee’s or

Before starting work, DoorDash, the popular food delivery company, made its delivery workers sign away their right to sue. According to their contracts, disputes could only be resolved in privatized arbitration.  Privatized arbitration predominantly favors corporations over workers as it prohibits class actions, allows the employer to choose the arbitrator, and reduces damages.  While DoorDash’s policy was intended to protect the company against costly lawsuits, the policy has backfired. 

The Allegations Against DoorDash

Now that more than 5,800 of the company’s delivery

Chipotle, a beloved Mexican food chain, was recently fined $1.37 million for child labor and other state wage and hour violations in Massachusetts. Chipoltle violated earned sick time laws, failed to make timely payment of wages, and committed employee records violations. 13,253 child labor violations occurred at over 50 locations across the state. $500,000 of Chipotle’s payout will go towards a fund to be administered by the attorney general’s office. The purpose of the fund is to educate young people

New York City has to pay over 2,500 of the Fire Department’s medical technicians and paramedics $14.5 million in the court case Chaz Perry, et al. v. City of New York and New York Fire Department.  Not only were the medical workers not compensated for pre and post-shift work, but they did not receive time-and-one-half pay for hours worked over forty.  The EMTs said that they swiped into work early to assemble their gear and coordinate with supervisors. They said

Wage theft is commonplace in the restaurant industry from fast-food to upscale eateries.  In fact, the Department of Labor’s estimated that 84% of restaurants had violated labor standards including wage and tip laws from 2010 to 2012. In recent years, countless food service workers have sued their employers for these violations.  For example, McDonald’s paid $26 million to settle wage theft accusations from its cooks and cashiers in California this past November. In 2017, TGI Friday’s paid $19 million and Blue

Rising overtime violations are an increasing problem for workers in New York State. Wage theft occurs when an employer illegally refuses to pay an employee for all hours worked. Illegal violations can include when an employer doesn’t pay minimum wage, overtime wages, off-the-clock work, etc. Unpaid wages particularly harm minimum and low-wage workers who often struggle to make ends meet. For these workers, every paycheck is essential to cover basic expenses. Fortunately, wage laws help ensure that all workers receive