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Employment Law
Start-Up Helps Employers Stalk Your Social Media
Facebook and other social media accounts are routinely screened by human resources departments making hiring decisions or to check up on employees. Despite privacy concerns, recruiters and employers see Facebook as fair game when screening job candidates. For many employers the process of accessing social media accounts can be a slippery slope, but a new start-up called The Social Index has built a tool that helps employers streamline the search and screen process to stalk your accounts.
Rise of Religious Discrimination at Work Addressed by EEOC
Religious freedom has recently been claimed to justify acts of discrimination in both the public and private spheres—from refusing service to legislative acts in the name of religion that deny the rights of individuals. Unfortunately, unfounded fears, stereotypes, and prejudices have led to harassment and discrimination in the workplace. The EEOC has recognized the underlying tensions and the very real impact in the workplace and has issued a fact sheet to help employees understand their rights and prevent religious discrimination.
EEOC Highlights Employee Rights Regarding Employer Wellness Programs
A growing number of employers have been using employee wellness programs to track the fitness and health of employees while offering certain perks and benefits. At first glance, these employee wellness programs may seem like a positive way to motivate employees and promote healthy living. However well-intentioned, such wellness programs have also shown to discriminate and cost some employees certain benefits resulting in violations of federal privacy and anti-discrimination laws.
Class Actions
Holsum Bakery, Inc.
Coyle v. Holsum Bakery, Inc. and Flowers Foods, Inc. et al. is a collective action and putative class action lawsuit brought on behalf of a class of individuals who operate(d) as fresh bakery product distributors for defendants Flowers Foods, Inc. and Holsum Bakery, Inc. who work for Holsum in Arizona. Defendants employ “distributors” in 31 states throughout the southern and eastern United States to deliver bakery and snack food to their customers, which include grocery stores, mass retailers, and fast food chains.
Flowers Foods' Distributors in Arizona Win Conditional Class Certification
Distributors of bakery products for Flowers Foods, Inc., and its local Arizona subsidiary, Holsum Bakery Inc., scored an important victory this week when an Arizona federal court granted conditional class certification to Arizona distributors who claim the company wrongly classified them as independent contractors and denied them the benefits and privileges of employees. The lawsuit is one of over 15 related cases across the country against Flowers Foods and is the latest in a string of victories for distributors.
Flowers Baking Co. of Jamestown Class Action
Rehberg et al. v. Flowers Foods, Inc. et al. is a class action and collective action lawsuit brought on behalf of a class of individuals who operate as fresh bakery product distributors for Defendants Flowers Foods, Inc. and Flowers Baking Co. of Jamestown, LLC who work for Flowers’ Jamestown bakery. Defendants employ “distributors” in 31 states throughout the southern and eastern United States to deliver bakery and snack food to their customers, which include grocery stores, mass retailers, and fast food chains. Distributors also stock products on store shelves and assemble promotional displays designed and provided by Flowers. This Flowers class action lawsuit is scheduled to go to trial beginning October 17, 2016 in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Firm News
BTJW is Proud to Support Cancer Legal Line Gala
Baillon Thome Jozwiak & Wanta LLP is proud to be a sponsor of the 9th Annual Cancer Legal Line Fundraising Gala. This year’s Gala will take place on Thursday, September 29, 2016, at the Metropolitan Ballroom in Golden Valley, Minnesota.
Retaliation Lawsuit Against ConAgra To Proceed
Baillon Thome Jozwiak & Wanta attorneys obtained an important victory for client Chad Dufrene in his discrimination and retaliation lawsuit against his former employer ConAgra Foods, Inc. In denying ConAgra’s Motion to Dismiss, Judge Wilhelmina Wright of the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota concluded that Dufrene, who had previously filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy, had standing to pursue his claims on behalf of the bankruptcy estate, thereby allowing his lawsuit against ConAgra to proceed.
Thome Speaks at ACI Conference on Employment Discrimination Litigation
Joni Thome will speak at the American Conference Institute’s 8th Annual Forum on Employment Discrimination Litigation in Chicago, Illinois. She joins other experienced litigators from across the country in a panel discussion on new and innovative techniques used by plaintiffs’ attorneys in employment discrimination cases.