The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) makes it against the law for employers to discriminate directly or indirectly against an individual who has a disability, which is defined by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) as having a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity. …

According to statistics published by the National Safety Council, which is America’s leading nonprofit organization safety advocate, every seven seconds a worker is injured on the job; everything from strains, sprains, tears and soreness, to cuts, lacerations, punctures, and the list goes on. Not only does this result in pain and suffering — including chronic ailments that can last for years — but it contributes to enormous productivity loss.

“What makes the widespread prevalence of worker injuries even more shocking and alarming, is that the vast majority of them — if not virtually all of them — are preventable,” commented a representative from Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP, a nationwide law firm that focuses on complex civil litigation in multiple practice areas, including personal injury, consumer class action, securities, merger and transactional, shareholder derivative, and wage and hour litigation. “By law, the workplace must be free of health and safety hazards, which includes eliminating all threats that are known or that should be known. And while many employers fulfill their legal and moral obligation to protect their workers, unfortunately there are some employers that flout this requirement — and in some cases blatantly. …

In a landmark 6–3 decision on June 15, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court confirmed that the language of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that prohibits sex discrimination also applies to sexual orientation and gender identity. The landmark ruling is hailed as a massive — and unexpected, given the court’s conservative majority — win in the decades-long movement for LGBTQ equality.

“Prior to this momentous ruling, it was still legal in most of the country to terminate an employee or otherwise discriminate against an employee because he or she is gay, bisexual or transgender,” commented a spokesperson from Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP’s Employment Litigation Group. The firm focuses on complex civil litigation including securities, antitrust, wage and hour, personal injury and consumer class actions, as well as shareholder derivative and merger and transactional litigation. “To say that this ruling is long overdue is a gross understatement. …

In a tip pool, employees combine their tips and share them with a group of colleagues. Essentially, the idea is to reward all staff who, overall, contribute to the delivery of tip-worthy service.

In the state of New York, wage laws (NY Admin. 146–2.16(b)) allow employers to implement a tip pool. However, there are rules that govern tip pooling that some employers neglect to heed — some due to their ignorance, and others due to willful disregard.

According to nationwide law firm Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP, which focuses on complex civil litigation including securities, antitrust, wage and hour, personal injury and consumer class actions, as well as shareholder derivative and merger and transactional litigation, all employers in New York who wish to implement (or continue implementing) a tip pool must abide by the following four…

A growing number of people in New York state are working as freelancers; some because it is more flexible than a full-time employee role, and others because they cannot find a full-time employee role in their respective career path. However, regardless of what motivates or obliges them to work in a freelance capacity, it is essential that they understand and protect their rights.

Defining Freelance Work

“Under New York’s Freelance Isn’t Free Act, a freelance worker is defined as any individual who is retained by a hiring party as an independent contractor, in order to provide services for compensation,” commented a spokesperson from Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP’s Employment Litigation Group. The firm focuses on complex civil litigation including securities, antitrust, wage and hour, personal injury and consumer class actions, as well as shareholder derivative and merger and transactional litigation. …

During the coronavirus pandemic — and since the SARS outbreak in 2003 — people have been strongly urged, and in some settings mandated, to use hand sanitizers to help limit the community spread of viruses. Indeed, hand sanitizing stations have become basic staples throughout hospitals, shopping malls, airports, corporate buildings, and the list goes on.

However, a growing number of hand sanitizer brands are now being recalled by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), because they contain an ingredient that could be harmful and potentially even fatal: methanol.

The Dangers of Methanol

“Methanol, which is also known as wood alcohol, can be toxic when exposure is through skin contact,” commented a spokesperson from the Consumer Protection Litigation Group at nationwide law firm Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP. “If methanol is ingested — which some people are doing either because they mistakenly believe it will help them thwart COVID-19 or they believe it will have an intoxicating effect like liquor — then the symptoms can be very severe, and include eye damage or blindness, coma, permanent damage to the nervous system, and in some cases death. For example, there is the extremely tragic situation in Iran, where methanol poisoning in March and April triggered by fears of COVID-19 led to more than 700 fatalities.” …

When it comes to food flavoring, two heavyweight flavors reign supreme, and probably always will: chocolate and vanilla. However, a growing spate of lawsuits are alleging that some food manufacturers are using labels (and other marketing tools, such as websites and retail displays) which misleadingly and deceptively claim that their vanilla and chocolate ingredients derive from natural rather than artificial sources.

“While the law can be excessively complex at times, from a consumer standpoint the matter is starkly simple: food manufacturers that claim on their labels, and through other marketing, that their product is flavored by real vanilla or chocolate must honor that pledge without compromise or exception,” commented a spokesperson from the Consumer Protection Litigation Group at nationwide law firm Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP. Faruqi Law also focuses on complex civil litigation in personal injury, securities, merger and transactional, shareholder derivative, and wage and hour litigation. “But unfortunately for consumers who simply and honestly want to know what they are eating or feeding their families — or in the case of restaurants, what they are offering to their customers — some food manufacturers see things quite differently.” …

Many lawsuits brought against commercial enterprises or associations are expensive and take years (and sometimes decades) to finally resolve. Class action lawsuits allow for the possibility that a large group of injured parties will receive just and fair compensation, even if the claim size for each individual litigant is relatively small. At the same time and just as importantly, class action lawsuits can prevent a scenario in which some entitled litigants receive compensation, while others do not, because the former group launched their lawsuit first and the subsequent sizeable award pushed the defendant into bankruptcy.

“In light of the above basic tenets, it would seem fair, efficient, prudent and logical for a group of employees who are injured by the action or inaction — or both — of their employer to pool their resources, and launch a group arbitration action that seeks to justly compensate all injured employees,” commented a spokesperson from the Employment Litigation Group at nationwide law firm Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP. Faruqi Law also focuses on complex civil litigation in personal injury, consumer protection, securities, merger and transactional, and shareholder derivative litigation. “However, the Supreme Court has ruled that this does not necessarily apply in all situations — and this is something that all employees need to know.” …