Atlanta Employment Attorneys Blog

How an Employee’s Termination May Have Constituted Illegal Interference with His FMLA Rights

November 21, 2025 | Parks, Chesin & Walbert

Employers need to be vigilant to ensure they are not overlooking employee circumstances that potentially implicate the Family and Medical Leave Act. Employers’ failure to recognize that an employee has a qualifying need for intermittent FMLA leave is a common pitfall that can entrap unwary employers. Whether you are an employer or an employee, you should consult an experienced FMLA interference lawyer if you have questions about whether a scenario implicates a need for intermittent leave.

An FMLA case that recently went before the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals puts this issue of correctly identifying FMLA-qualifying needs in the spotlight.

The employee, T.J., worked as a freight handler for a shipping and transportation company. His job duties included loading and unloading trucks. His employer demanded that freight handlers like T.J. check with a supervisor before clocking out each day to see if other trucks needed loading or unloading. If so, the employer expected the handlers to work overtime until all trucks were loaded/unloaded.

How Implementing an Improper Rounding Method May Trigger a FLSA Violation

November 14, 2025 | Parks, Chesin & Walbert

Hourly employers (and employers who use hourly employees) are well acquainted with the “time clock.” Employers have an obligation to accurately record hours worked and pay workers for all time worked; otherwise, they risk violating the Fair Labor Standards Act. Employers, however, need not pay workers down to the minute. The law allows them to engage in rounding of hours so long as the rounding method is equally likely to round up as to round down. Systems that always round down deprive workers of compensation they had earned and violate the law. For questions about rounding of hours and what methods are (or are not) compliant with the FLSA, talk to an experienced Atlanta wage and hour lawyer to get the answers you need.

An example of an improper method — and the costs it can trigger — was on display earlier this year.

The Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division announced in May that it had recovered nearly $600,000 in “back wages and damages” for more than 400 workers employed by a construction contractor in Florida.

How Pre-Trial Motions May Hold the Keys to Success in Your FLSA Lawsuit

November 7, 2025 | Parks, Chesin & Walbert

On TV, parties often win their court cases as a result of a massive revelation during trial in open court. In real life, parties often sow the seeds of their success before the trial even starts. A truck driver’s recent unpaid overtime case illustrates just how critical pre-trial motions can be in a Fair Labor Standards Act case. If you have questions about litigating your FLSA case, retain an experienced Atlanta unpaid overtime lawyer to provide the advice and advocacy you need.

The truck driver, K.S., initiated an FLSA lawsuit in 2022, alleging she worked substantial amounts of unpaid overtime. Specifically, she asserted that she worked roughly 70 hours per week but never received any overtime compensation as required by federal law.

The employer contended that federal law did not require it to pay the driver overtime compensation. Specifically, the employer argued that K.S. was an independent contractor, not an employee. The employer furthermore contended that it did not owe K.S. overtime because an exemption to the FLSA’s overtime requirement—the Motor Carrier Act Exemption—applied to its case.

‘Serious Health Conditions’ Under the FMLA and What It Takes to Prove that a Worker Does (or Does Not) Have One

October 31, 2025 | Parks, Chesin & Walbert

In FMLA matters, things that may seem self-evident are not always so. For example, as a recent federal appeals case demonstrated, even if an employer granted FMLA leave to an employee, that employee may not necessarily have been entitled to the leave. If they were not, then they cannot pursue a case of retaliation or interference. If you have questions about entitlement to FMLA leave or the required elements of a retaliation or interference case, be sure to get knowledgeable answers by talking to an experienced Atlanta FMLA lawyer.

L.H., the employee, worked as an investigator for a university in Texas, tasked with “investigating allegations of harassment, discrimination, sexual misconduct and retaliation.” Due to mental health issues, the investigator requested FMLA leave from February 17, 2023, to May 1, 2023. On the day the investigator returned to work, her supervisor and the university’s head of HR met with her to tell her that the university was terminating her employment.

The investigator subsequently sued for interference with FMLA rights and retaliation. According to the investigator, the university fired her in retaliation for taking leave. According to the university, it fired the investigator due to performance problems it discovered while she was on leave.

Deciding Who Should (and Who Should Not) Share in an Employee Tip Pool

October 24, 2025 | Parks, Chesin & Walbert

Restaurant work is often fast-paced and can be hectic. Providing quality service to customers requires a high degree of teamwork and can demand that workers wear many “hats.” This may potentially create some gray areas when it comes to tip pools. If you have questions about who should — and should not — participate in a tip pool, you should consult with a knowledgeable Atlanta wage and hour lawyer.

One example of this comes from a letter to the Wage and Hour Division (WHD) from earlier this year. In the scenario, the business was a “quick service restaurant.” At the restaurant, employees worked on a line preparing and assembling the food the customers picked out, then the customers paid for their food at the end of the line before finding a table in the dining area. (Fast-casual Mexican establishments like Chipotle and Qdoba are examples of a similar type of quick service restaurant.)

At the restaurant, all team members received a cash wage at or above the applicable minimum wage. The restaurant nevertheless allowed customers the option to leave a tip, either on their credit cards or in a tip jar. The restaurant subsequently pooled the tips and split the pool among its employees.

The Importance of Satisfying the Proper ‘Causation’ Standard in an FMLA Retaliation Case

October 17, 2025 | Parks, Chesin & Walbert

Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) retaliation litigation serves an essential purpose by providing recourse to workers who were unfairly subjected to adverse employment actions for engaging in protected activities, such as requesting or taking FMLA leave. Whether you are an employee who has encountered this type of mistreatment or you are an employer who has taken an adverse action against an employee for a perfectly valid and legitimate reason, it is crucial to understand how to proceed properly in an FMLA retaliation action. That includes retaining an experienced Atlanta FMLA retaliation lawyer who can help you navigate the procedural details and legal nuances of this area of the law.

One of the most essential parts of any FMLA retaliation case is causation—the assessment of whether an employee’s protected FMLA activities caused their employer to punish them. Proving or disproving causation can be vital to the success of your case, and the standard for causation can vary based on where you litigate, as a recent retaliation case shows.

D. D.-S., the employee, worked for a local government in Louisiana from 2008 to 2020. In November 2019, she took a week of sick leave. Immediately after that, she requested FMLA leave to care for her ailing husband. The employee’s 12 weeks of FMLA leave expired in late February, and the employer declined to offer an extension.

How to Decide Whether a Worker Should (or Should Not) Be Included in a Tip Pool

October 10, 2025 | Parks, Chesin & Walbert

One of the thorniest areas of Fair Labor Standards Act law concerns tipped employees. Disputes involving tipped workers are among the most frequent to arise. One area where difficulties may emerge is when an employer establishes a mandatory tip pool. While some workers, like servers, might obviously be included in a tip pool, other employees’ jobs might make their status less clear. If you are an employee or an employer with a tip pooling question, be sure you get the knowledgeable information you need by speaking to a knowledgeable Atlanta wage and hour lawyer.

A recent Wage and Hour Division (WHD) opinion letter is a reminder that, when it comes to mandatory tip pools, the key is not just what task an employee does, but the context in which they perform it.

The employer was a seafood restaurant that offered freshly shucked oysters from an oyster bar. At this restaurant, the employer stationed the oyster shuckers behind the eatery’s bar alongside its bartenders, where they engaged “with customers by sharing and detailing oyster offerings, making suggestions regarding the oyster offerings, and fielding other questions about the different options, while preparing the oysters for and in front of the customers.”

The Impact New Circuit Court Rulings May Have on the Process of Certifying FLSA Collective Actions

September 30, 2025 | Parks, Chesin & Walbert

The Fair Labor Standards Act does not authorize class actions brought by groups of plaintiffs. Instead, the FLSA has a unique procedure under which groups of employees may join in civil litigation — the collective action. One of the critical crossroads in a potential collective action is the juncture where the judge decides whether or not to issue notice of the suit to similarly situated employees (and thereby give them the option to join the suit). With several new federal appeals court decisions in recent months and years, the standard for when to authorize notice is evolving. If you have questions about your FLSA matter and the viability of collective status, you should get in touch with an Atlanta collective action lawyer.

One of the more recent developments in this area occurred in the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in August.

The employee in that case, M.R., was a woman in her 50s who worked in a sales capacity for an Indiana-headquartered pharmaceutical company. When the employer allegedly passed her over for a managerial role (in favor of a much younger, less experienced candidate), the woman launched an age discrimination lawsuit. Specifically, she contended that her rejection was part of the employer’s pattern of passing over older candidates in favor of promoting younger, less qualified ones.

How an Employer’s Refusal to Rehire a Former Employee May Constitute FMLA Retaliation

September 24, 2025 | Parks, Chesin & Walbert

A lumber mill worker’s recent success in federal court represents a noteworthy outcome for multiple reasons. For the worker, it recognizes that an employer may be liable for retaliation under the Family and Medical Leave Act, both by terminating the worker and by subsequently refusing to rehire them. On the employer side, it demonstrates just how crucial it is to document carefully why your business makes the decisions it does regarding hiring, firing, and rehiring, and how this is even more critical if your business is dealing with a worker who has engaged in statutorily protected activities in the past. Whether you are a worker or an employer, an experienced Atlanta FMLA retaliation lawyer can provide essential answers to questions you have about this issue.

The worker, E.B., worked for two years, from 2015 to 2017. According to the employee’s lawsuit, he “worked in every department … without complaint or discipline.” The employer allegedly fired him in December 2017 after he requested and took FMLA leave to care for his disabled wife.

E.B. sued for FMLA retaliation in 2019. K.B., a coworker at the mill, submitted a sworn statement in support of E.B. as part of that lawsuit.

Free Speech Rights in the Wake of the Charlie Kirk Assassination

September 18, 2025 | Parks, Chesin & Walbert

The killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk has triggered strong reactions from both supporters and critics alike. However, the reaction of employers has not been even-handed. Employees perceived as making negative comments about the shooting have faced intense blowback; some have even lost their jobs. Meanwhile, those celebrating Mr. Kirk’s controversial positions have faced no consequences at all. The disciplining of employees who appear not to support Kirk may lead one to wonder: Can employers legally discipline employees for their personal opinions or social media posts? While some may have that ability, others may have crossed a constitutional line and engaged in an impermissible violation of the employee’s free speech rights, especially if the employer is a public one. If you or someone you know is caught up in the controversy, an experienced Atlanta employment lawyer can provide you, as a public employee, with crucial advice and advocacy to ensure your First Amendment rights are protected.

Private employers are generally not restricted by the First Amendment. Thus, the majority of those employed by private employers have no free speech protections at work. These workers remain employed only as long as the employer wants them to be, and the employer can fire them for any reason or no reason at all, including its disapproval of their online or social media activity.

Public employees, on the other hand, enjoy First Amendment protections. These employees include public school teachers. Adam Goldstein, senior vice president of strategic initiatives at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, a free speech advocacy organization, told WRAL in Raleigh, N.C., that, in general, “a public school teacher in their own time, posting on their social media that’s their own personal account about things that aren’t related to school, is going to be protected by the First Amendment.”