Litigation & Alternative Dispute Resolution

QUESTION: I THOUGHT THAT ONLY THE COMPANY COULD BE PENALIZED FOR FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT VIOLATIONS?

ANSWER: WHEN A TEXAS ROPE COMPANY GOT TIED UP WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR, THE OWNER, PLANT MANAGER AND OFFICE MANAGER WENT TO JAIL!

Numerous federal laws include civil liability for individuals who fail to comply with the laws.  Some federal laws even provide for individual criminal liability for company owners and managers.

Don’t let the boss rope you into breaking the law!

The U.S. Attorney’s office charged that High Performance Ropes of America, Inc.

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NEGLIGENT HIRING, RETENTION AND SUPERVISION OF EMPLOYEES CAN COST YOUR COMPANY MONEY!

Employers are conditioned by discrimination lawsuits to avoid background checks and to avoid disciplining and firing workers. For example, so-called “ban the box” statutes forbidding including questions about past criminal convictions on employment applications have caused employers to be lax in hiring standards. Wrongful termination lawsuits have made employers wary of disciplining or firing underperformers.

Nevertheless, members of the public can and do sue companies whose workers commit crimes or cause other harm.

The employees stole from the customers???!!!

Employees of American District Telegraph Corporation (“ADT”) stole thousands of dollars worth of liquor from International Distributing Corporation (“liquor store”).

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Posted by Rick Mahrle

The Department of Labor (“DOL”) has proposed a new federal overtime rule that would raise the salary requirement for workers who qualify for the white-collar exemptions. The required salary would be raised from $23,660 to $35,308 per year ($679 a week).

If this feels like déjà vu, there is good reason. In 2016, the DOL approved a rule increasing the salary threshold to $47,476. That rule was blocked by a court in Texas. As a result of the Texas court’s 2016 ruling, the salary requirement remained at $23,660 per year ($455 per week).

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Firm partner Richard Mahrle was published in the most recent edition of AZ CPA magazine. In this article, Rick writes about the broad scope of protection against sexual harassment in the workplace.

Rick’s practice focuses on dispute resolution through mediation, arbitration or litigation. His experience handling employment matters includes restrictive employment covenants, defending wrongful termination and discrimination claims and advising employers on complying with employment laws.

Read Rick’s full article below or download the full article from AZ CPA Magazine.

From AZ CPA Magazine:
Protecting Your Employees
The Broad Scope of Protection Against Sexual Harassment

by Richard K.

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Gammage & Burnham partners Michael King, Cameron Artigue and Christopher Hering helped protect funding for stadiums and other sports and tourism-related ventures with a recent victory in the Arizona Supreme Court.  (Saban Rent-a-Car v. Arizona Department of Revenue).  This victory ends the long-running challenge (this litigation lasted 14 years) to the surcharges on car rentals that have funded such efforts for decades.

The challengers–a group of car-rental companies–initially persuaded the court that surcharges on car rentals violated an obscure provision in Arizona’s Constitution, which requires taxes related to the operation of motor vehicles to be expended on highways. 

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