Louisville Employment Law Blog

Fast food workers in Kentucky and across the nation are vulnerable to a variety of workplace abuses, from wage and overtime issues to sexual harassment. Although the plight of these workers is being addressed with new laws designed to ensure they are compensated fairly and are not subjected to harassing behaviors without recourse, it is still an issue. When there is sexual harassment or other workplace illegality that may be taking place, it is imperative for the victims to understand their rights so that they can take legal action to protect themselves, if warranted.

The fast food franchise McDonald's has been inundated with allegations of harassment and how it has handled them. Now, there will be a required training program that is designed to show supervisors and lower-level employees how to behave within the confines of the law. The program is set to start in the coming months. The training is meant to prevent violence in the workplace, show workers how to intervene, stop bullying, and detail how to complain about wrongdoing. The training program began in late-2018 and was directed at franchisees and management personnel.

Kentucky workers are accorded various rights under the law. These laws protect them from wrongful termination, wage discrimination, sexual harassment, disability discrimination and more. If a worker is injured on the job or suffers from an illness or condition from the work they were doing, they may need to seek workers' compensation benefits. Employers are not allowed to retaliate against employees who need workers' compensation. Still, some will do just that to deprive the worker of those benefits and to dissuade other workers from doing the same. Having legal help is crucial to combat workers' compensation retaliation.

Workers' compensation benefits provide the injured employee with the financial help they need to be free from worry that they will suddenly be stuck with massive medical expenses and lost income that they cannot handle. Employers and their workers' compensation insurers are expected to treat the worker within the confines of the law. Trying to coerce the employee from limiting the claim or not making the claim at all is illegal. Unfortunately, the employer might use various tactics to negatively impact the workers' compensation claim.

In Kentucky, there are many reasons for workers to file wage and hour claims. It can happen in jobs where people earn salaries, make commissions or work hourly. For those who are in the service industry and rely on tips, there are certain issues that will frequently arise and negatively impact their take-home pay. In some cases, the employer is committing violations and workers are unsure of how to go about putting a stop to it. With workers for whom the bulk of their salary comes from tips, there is often a fear of the idea of "tip pooling" when it is forced by the employer. It is important to know the state law for this, so you can seek justice if illegal behavior is occurring.

When employees are working for tips (gratuities), they are not required to hand them over to the employer in full or in part, except so there can be withholding due to the law. If it is for legal withholding, it cannot go beyond the amount the law says should be withheld. A tip is a voluntary bonus given to a worker by a customer, guest or patron. If there is a pool arrangement among the workers, the employer cannot order it nor can an employee be required to take part.

Disability discrimination does not necessarily need to be an overt act on the part of an employer or a prospective employer to be considered a legal violation in Kentucky. Some of the ways in which employers will avoid hiring a person who is disabled is to require them to take part in a medical examination or to answer medical questions as part of the terms of employment. If this happens and there is a suspicion or evidence that it was done to avoid hiring a person who has a disability or to fire someone who has been hired, there could be the basis to file a disability discrimination lawsuit to be compensated. Having legal assistance is key to determining whether a case is viable.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has certain rules regarding employers, disabled individuals, medical questions and medical examinations. At the application stage, the employer cannot ask the applicant to answer questions or take a medical exam before a job is offered. The employer cannot ask the applicant if he or she has a disability or about the severity of a disability that the applicant clearly has. The employer does have the legal right to ask a prospective employee if they can do the job and if reasonable accommodations will be needed.