Las Vegas Injury Lawyers Blog

"Ricky Martin Busts Peeping Tom Fans Hiding in Hotel Air Conditioner," Fox News Latino
"Erin Andrews files lawsuit against Peeping Tom and hotels." Los Angeles Times.

With millions of visitors, thousands of employees, and hundreds of celebrities in the Las Vegas area each year, "peeping toms" are expected and present. But does their peeping rise to the level of being criminally or civilly liable?

Under Nevada's "Peeping Tom" laws, a person is criminally liable for a misdemeanor if they knowingly "enter" onto someone else's property and secretly peep (spy) on that person. Like most states with "Peeping Tom" laws, a person is deemed a "peeping tom" if the person being peeped ...

1. ... does not know they are being watched,
2. ... is partially or fully undressed, naked, and
3. ... had a reasonable expectation they were in a place with privacy, whether they owned the property or not.

While most peeping is done for sexual pleasure, that is not a prerequisite to finding someone guilty of being a "peeping tom."

If found guilty, a Nevada "peeping tom" can be fined up to $1 thousand and/or receive a sentence of up to six months in jail. If the "peeping tom" used a camera or any type of recording device to engage in their peeping, the fine goes up to $2 thousand and/or a sentence of up to a year in jail. If a deadly weapon was involved in the peeping, a "peeping tom" can be fined up to $5 thousand and/or receive a sentence of up to six years in jail.

If the peeping occurs on a Las Vegas employee at a Las Vegas business, the Las Vegas business may also be liable for sexual harassment. According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the number of employment discrimination cases, which includes sexual harassment, rose 32 percent from 2005 to 2010. More important, the EEOC projects that up to 95% of sexual harassment occurrences are never reported.

The commentary is for educational and commentary purposes only. If you or someone you know has had your rights are violated or feel there are illegal practices occurring at your work and would like to be represented by a Nevada attorney, contact our office for a free confidential case review and receive a response within hours. Call Toll Free 866-414-0400.

By 1938, the Great Depression had wrecked a lengthy and widespread economic havoc on the country. Pressured to give the working populace some relief, President Franklin Roosevelt enacted the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). No longer could businesses financially exploit their workers to make a profit. No longer did workers have few to no rights regarding their workplace conditions. And for the first time, a minimum wage, overtime pay, and child labor standards were law, applicable to any employee (low-level, management, and executives). Businesses who violated these laws could now be penalized and sued.

Almost a century later the FLSA still stands, but while most are familiar with its basic rules, many are unaware of the nuances within the FLSA. One nuance applies to gender equality.

Regardless of whether a job is done by a man or woman the amount of pay for a job is determined by its job requirements. Under the Equal Pay Act (29 U.S.C. § 206.), a 1963 amendment to the FLSA, men and women are to receive equal pay for equal work. However, businesses can compensate men and women workers differently if the pay differences are not based on gender, but on a "bona fide seniority system, merit system or incentive "system.

A system is bona fide if the following criteria are met:

• The system is not implemented with a purpose to discriminate for gender reasons, and
• Specific criteria that are used to assess the worker's productivity, merit, or seniority are ... determined prior to the pay disparity, the reason(s) for the pay differences, properly communicated to the entire work force, and applied equitably to all workers.

Any seniority pay increases that do not meet these criteria must be justified. If it is determined the pay increase was arbitrarily applied, it can be a violation of the FLSA.

Additionally, if the business implements a merit pay system, workers should receive periodic performance evaluations that objectively asses the worker's accuracy, efficiency, and ability of preset criteria. Performance evaluations cannot be solely based on management's subjectivity.

But if a business does not have a bona fide system, it is not automatic that a worker has a punishable FLSA violation. Businesses are given the opportunity to prove that though there is no bona fide system, any difference in pay is still not based on gender, but other factors which are germane to the requirements of the job, providing specific benefits to or further the business, or enhancing an employment practice within the business. Additionally, the business is still required to show these factors are applicable to all their workers regardless of gender and that workers have knowledge these factors are used in determining pay.

Factors not based on gender that have been used to validate pay differences for men and women are:

• The workers' have different experience, education, training, and skills.
• The worker generates more revenue for the company.
• The job is performed on the 2nd or 3rd shift, is part-time, seasonal, or temporary.

Continue reading "The Equal Pay Nuances to the FLSA" »

Written By Las Vegas based Law Clerk: Robert Maxey (Las Vegas, Nevada)

Recently, Starbucks was sued over alleged violations of California's employment law. The case is a class action suit, which covers Starbucks employment practices within the state. Allegedly, Starbucks, within California, neglected to pay workers for their overtime hours worked, and for the minimum wage they should have received. The main accusation against the popular company is that they have not been paying for employees while they were being trained "off the clock." According to California law, employers are responsible for paying employees who are working regardless of whether or not they are clocked in.

Corporations and large business are viewed as economically good, because they are efficient at reducing cost via reducing redundancy. However, with big business comes increasingly more power and influence that business possesses. This private interest can interfere with the public interests of government. The last thing we want in our free nation is to have our freedoms revoked in favor of corporate dictatorship. It is here where the government best serves the people by establishing a set of laws that it enforces.

When corporations attempt to cut legal corners to create higher profits, they are jeopardizing democracy. We as a people have voted and established what was fair for corporations and what was fair for workers. A healthy society is one that is mutually beneficial to both parties involved in an agreement. When one party unjustly benefits while the other suffers we mimic the actions of a dictatorship.

The regulations we have in our country are important to keeping our economy working like a well-oiled machine. Laws act as gears while human ingenuity and passion for success act as the engine. It is this writer's belief that, when our protective laws are upheld and we are passionate for success we benefit the most from our society.

A full article can be found here: Starbucks Hit with Large Wage & Hour Class Action Lawsuit by the San Jose Employment Attorneys at Blumenthal, Nordrehaug & Bhowmik

Continue reading "Overtime Pay Is Required In Some Cases" »

Written By Las Vegas based Law Clerk: Robert Maxey (Las Vegas, Nevada)

In Nevada, having a dream and living it are two very different things. It takes courage and determination to make your dream happen. For many people, we never get to see our dreams come true or even have the chance to experience them. For others, they refuse to give up until they achieve their goals. We live a life of privilege and opportunity within the United States where most dreams are within reach if we work hard enough. Many countries around the globe do not have this support system or opportunity; if you are born destitute you may be forced to stay that way until you die.

Large quantities of people seek to immigrate to the Untied States legally every year through visas and citizenship. However, the United States, and particularly Las Vegas, offers so many opportunities that people are willing to risk their lives in order to live here. Illegal immigration has been on a steady rise for years and many individuals who come here do so at their own peril risking assault, abuse and death.

Those who immigrate to Nevada legally and illegally still face similar challenges once in the United States. Language barriers can create an inequality whereby immigrants can be taken advantage of. In neighboring Southern California, where many immigrants from Central America live, employers are attempting to unionize an industry that exploits both legal and illegal immigration. The industry in question is the car wash industry.

Recently, Tomas Rodriguez of Hidalgo, Mexico, was awarded $80,000 by the Los Angeles County Superior Court for back wages and damages. His suit described a tyrannical system whereby immigrants were taken advantage for being ignorant of their rights. In his suit, he alleged he was forced to be at work hours before he was actually allowed to clock in. He described the carwash industry as a corrupt one where immigrants are often hired below minimum wage, forced to work without full pay for hours worked and in some instances forced to work only for tips.

Rodriguez said that after workers were hired to work only for tips, his hours were cut so severely that he couldn't afford to eat or pay rent. He relied on collecting cans and bottles like many homeless do in order to make ends meet. In his suit he alleges the owners used strong-arm tactics and threats to scare employees into obedience.

People come to America because we are the land of the free. Employers that exploit and abuse people need to be held accountable. Since the industrial revolution, the United States has made giant strides in the enactment and enforcement of labor laws. The purpose is to eliminate and remove servitude and wage slavery. Many times, the only remedy is take the employer to Court. In Nevada, government agencies are backed up for years. Such a delay can basically make a claim meaningless and a waste of time. Oftentimes, an attorney can help by pushing the case to an extent that a trial happens sooner if that matter does not settle early on.

A full article can be found here: Ex-carwash worker wins $80,000 lawsuit over labor violations

Continue reading "Nobody Should Work for Free" »

Written By Las Vegas based Law Clerk: Robert Maxey (Las Vegas, Nevada)

"Equal pay for equal work" has been the mantra for woman's work since the start of the feminist movement. In our current world, women are still making less than men for the same type of work. Women are only earning 77.5 cents for every dollar a man earns. Further, women who work harder to receive higher education levels actually have even more of a disparity in wages earned compared with men. This obviously doesn't seem fair when we have such a long history in our country fighting for what is right and just in the world. What is an even more staggering statistic is that in 99% of all occupations a woman has to choose from, they will make less than men.

These kinds of statistics and facts seem to fly in the face of reason and good faith. Recently within the city of Detroit, allegations have been made against the Detroit Water and Sewage Department on sex discrimination. The former director, Pamela Turner, had earned a salary of $130,000 when she first started working there. Although this seems like a healthy salary, she was in fact making approximately $100,000 less than the previous two directors who were male.

Turner, after receiving recognition for her hard work and pushing for a pay increase, was eventually was given a raise to $155,000. Despite this raise, it still paled in comparison to the $240,000 that her predecessors made. She eventually put in her resignation allegedly due to the refusal of the city to compensate her adequately. She claims that, after her resignation, the city has posted listings for her replacement at a compensation of $230,000.

That alleged facts of this case are indeed shocking. To this writer, it seems like an obvious case of sex discrimination; former and future heads of the department will be making around the same amount of money while Turner was paid considerably less. When they attempted to give her a raise, it was a paltry amount, possibly to appease her desire for equal pay.

The government and state agencies should always be leading the way in fair employment practices. Additionally, we hold the officials of our cities to a stricter code because we expect that as keepers of the city they will follow our laws. If people perform equal work then they should be receiving equal pay. To hold similar work to different standards, solely because of the sex of the person performing the work, deteriorates our system. If people are treated fairly, they will usually be happier than if they are discriminated against and happier workers are more productive. The system works as long as we work within the system.

A full article can be found here: Former Detroit water chief sues city, alleging pay discrimination

Continue reading "Equal Pay for Equal Work" »

Written By Las Vegas based Law Clerk: Robert Maxey (Las Vegas, Nevada)

In Las Vegas, we are guaranteed the right to work. At first this may seem like a readily accepted idea but when considering many countries prevent people from working, on the basis of discrimination, the reality of our privilege sinks in. We have progressive laws that allow individuals the liberty to pursue work and happiness. In Nevada, equity is a cardinal principal and treating others with the same respect, as everyone else, is essential. We may not all be born of the same race, religion or economic background but we interact on a level playing field.

The Nevada Department of Employment and Training, along with the EEOC, is like a referee patrolling this playing field and guaranteeing the rights of workers. When Nevada and federal authorities come across illegal practices, they intervene and step in to give Las Vegans a fair chance at enforcing their rights. Recently the EEOC hit a grand slam with its largest settlement regarding the Americans with Disabilities Act against Verizon Communications. Verizon has agreed to pay $20,000,000 in order to dismiss claims made against it by the EEOC.

Verizon has been firing employees who accrued a certain number of missed days a year regardless of the cause or reason. The system Verizon implemented was structured so that employees would earn a certain number of points on each absence. Once an employee had received so many points they were eligible for disciplinary action or termination. However, the EEOC says that such a policy is too broad and does not accommodate for individuals with disabilities. Verizon replied to the suit by saying it was settling to avoid further legal costs and that it feels it went above what was expected by law in its policy. It also said it would incorporate the concerns of the EEOC into its new company policy.

This is not at all uncommon in the field of law where it is not necessary to know the law in order to be found guilty of violating it. Verizon alleged that it intended to develop a generous absentee program for its employees allowing them more flexibility. Despite this avowed intention, the company was pursued for allegedly not addressing the needs of the hundreds of disabled employees who were fired due to the policy.

Every business requires some sort of oversight and accountability. The job of the Nevada Department of Employment and Training and the EEOC has guaranteed the rights of hundreds of thousands of workers who work for Verizon Communication. This however, would not have been possible had a couple employees from Maryland not filed charges. Your rights are important and legal counsel should always be sought when justice is at stake.

A full article can be found here: Verizon to pay $20 million to settle discrimination suit

Continue reading "Verizon Communications Pays $20,000,000 for Violating the Americans with Disabilities Act" »