The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals has determined that Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse employees in Alabama adequately alleged that their employers “encouraged or induced an alien to reside in the United States, and either knew or recklessly disregarded the fact that alien’s residence here was illegal,” thus stating the predicate act needed to bring a claim under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). Edwards v. Prime, Inc., No. 09-11699 (11th Cir., decided April 9, 2010). So ruling, the court reinstated the plaintiffs’ RICO claim against the parent company; its Birmingham, Alabama, franchisee; and the franchise owner and operator. The court did not reverse trial court rulings dismissing wage-related claims and claims of discrimination or retaliation. The plaintiffs alleged that the defendants knowingly hired and employed illegal aliens, allowing them to work under the names of former Ruth’s Chris employees who were U.S. citizens and providing them with the former…
Tag Archives labor
Nearly 1,000 unnamed plaintiffs, who claim to be family members of individuals purportedly killed by terrorist organizations in Colombia’s Urabá region, have sued Chiquita Brands International, Inc., alleging that throughout the 1990s and at least until 2004, the company “funded, armed, and otherwise supported” these organizations “to produce bananas in an environment free from labor opposition and social disturbances.” Does 1 Through 976 v. Chiquita Brands Int’l, Inc., No. 10-404 (D.D.C., filed March 9, 2010). The plaintiffs allege that “[t]he deaths of Plaintiffs’ relatives were a direct, foreseeable, and intended result of Chiquita’s illegal and tortuous support of terrorist organizations.” According to the complaint, the plaintiffs bring their claims anonymously for fear of “violent reprisals, intimidation and death at the hands of the paramilitaries still operating in Colombia.” Their counsel “or his employees have interviewed each of the Doe Plaintiffs and summarized the details of each incident.” The complaint indicates…
Whole Foods Market CEO John Mackey has announced to company employees that those meeting specific health-related criteria, including blood pressure, cholesterol, body mass index, and smoking status, will be eligible for an increased store discount. According to the announcement, the company spent more than $150 million in 2009 on employee health care, and the company is offering this “incentive” to lower its health care costs. Health screenings under the new program apparently began January 21, 2010, and discounts of up to 30 percent will be available to qualifying employees. The discount for those deciding not to participate in the program or those not qualifying is 20 percent. Meanwhile, Mackey, who voluntarily cut his annual salary to $1 in 2007, reportedly donated the after-tax compensation he received in 2009 from a previous incentive bonus plan to the Global Animal Partnership, a nonprofit organization developing new standards for the treatment of farm…
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has published a notice scheduling a public meeting February 10, 2010, in Washington, D.C., to consider a range of issues relating to workplace safety. According to the notice, OSHA will also establish a public docket as part of this initiative, which is “in keeping” with a presidential memorandum and Office of Management and Budget directive to give the public more opportunities to participate in regulatory decisions and developments. Among other matters, the agency seeks input on “the most important emerging or unaddressed health and safety issues in the workplace,” what the agency can do to “enhance the voice of workers in the workplace,” whether OSHA needs to take additional measures to improve its compliance assistance efforts for the benefit of small businesses, and how the agency can better “reach high risk employees and employers with training, education and outreach.” Those planning to attend…
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently announced the availability of its semiannual regulatory agenda, which includes plans to conduct a peer review of the health effects and risks associated with diacetyl in the workplace. According to DOL, “emerging hazards such as food flavorings containing diacetyl and airborne infectious diseases place American workers at risk of serious disease and death.” Although DOL opted not to grant an emergency temporary standard petition filed by two workers’ unions in 2006, the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has noted that “evidence from NIOSH [the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health] and other sources indicated that employee exposure to diacetyl and food flavorings containing diacetyl is associated with bronchilitis obliterans, a debilitating and potentially fatal disease of the small airways in the lung.” As part of its intent to develop diacetyl regulations, OSHA in July 2009 completed a panel report on a draft standard in accordance with the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement…
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has announced a series of stakeholder meetings intended to address the “views, concerns, and issues surrounding the hazards of combustible dust,” which may be formed in workplaces that include agricultural and grain-handling industries, and factories that manufacture food, animal food, pesticides, and pharmaceuticals. With the first meeting slated for December 14, 2009, and additional meetings planned for early 2010, OSHA is soliciting feedback on (i) possible regulatory approaches to handling the hazards of combustible dust; (ii) the scope of any rulemaking; (iii) the organization of a prospective standard; (iv) the role of consensus standards; and (v) consequent economic impacts. The agency recently published an advance notice of proposed rulemaking that requested comments, including data and other information, on issues related to the hazards of combustible dust in the workplace. According to OSHA, “Materials that may form combustible dust include,…
According to a news source, employers may have more reason to avoid hiring overweight employees after a workers’ compensation board in Indiana and the Oregon Supreme Court ruled that employers must pay for weight-loss surgery if their obese employees suffer weight-related injuries on the job. With no laws banning employment discrimination against the obese, beyond limited areas to which the Americans with Disabilities Act applies, human resource consultants are apparently speculating that fears about the costs of providing weight-loss treatment could increase an existing bias against hiring overweight job applicants. At the very least, some employers have begun requiring that their overweight employees either pay more for health-insurance premiums or enroll in weight-loss programs. While the obese “might call it a gross invasion of privacy and personal choice to have employers so involved in their weight . . . it’s come down to a case where this personal ‘freedom’ is…
The Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) to solicit public feedback on issues related to the hazards of “combustible dust” in workplaces, including agricultural and grain handling industries, and factories that manufacture food, animal food, pesticides, and pharmaceuticals. OSHA defines combustible dust as “all combustible particulate solids of any size, shape, or chemical composition that could present a fire or deflagration hazard when suspended in air or other oxidizing medium.” Materials that can form combustible dust include wood, coal, plastics, biosolids, candy, sugar, spice, starch, flour, feed, grain, fertilizer, tobacco, paper, soap, rubber, drugs, dried blood, dyes, and certain textiles and metals. OSHA will accept comments on the proposed rule until January 19, 2010. See Federal Register, October, 21, 2009.
The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals has determined that a district court did not abuse its discretion by deciding that the Alien Tort Claims Act and Torture Victim Protection Act claims of seven Guatemalan banana plantation workers would best be heard in a Guatemalan court. Aldana v. Del Monte Fresh Produce N.A., Inc., No 07-15471 (11th Cir., decided August 13, 2009). The litigation arose from a 1999 labor dispute in Guatemala during which a number of trade union workers were allegedly roughed up by a private security force purportedly hired by defendant’s subsidiary, which owned the large banana plantation involved in the dispute. A circuit court panel majority agreed with the district court’s forum non conveniens analysis, ruling that it did not err by giving preclusive effect to prior state court findings on these issues and in finding that Guatemala’s courts were adequate and that “the plaintiffs’ choice of forum…
South Carolina poultry production line workers have reportedly sued their employer, claiming they are not paid for the time they spend donning and removing safety gear. According to a news source, the complaint alleges that this can extend a worker’s shift by some 75 minutes each day. The employees also alleged that they are required to stand in line before clocking in to start their shifts so they can purchase the protective gear they need, such as gloves, hair nets, face masks, earplugs, and arm sleeves. Apparently, this gear is damaged regularly while in use, so the workers must buy the supplies at the worksite with a company debit card several times each week. The employer has reportedly countered that it “does not consider time spent in line for supplies and time donning and doffing the minimal gear as compensable time.” According to the company, which was recently indicted for…
