Showing posts with label vacation pay. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vacation pay. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Ohio Court of Appeals Rejects Retaliation Claim Based on FLSA and Ohio’s Prompt Wage Payment Act

Last week, the Ohio Court of Appeals in Cuyahoga County rejected the claim of a home health worker that she was fired for complaining about not receiving overtime pay or paid vacation. Hurd v. Blossom 24 Hour We Care Ctr., Inc., 2012-Ohio-3465. The Court found that the plaintiff was exempt under the companionship exemption from overtime pay under the FLSA and, thus, was not protected by the FLSA for complaining about a failure to pay overtime pay. Interestingly, the Court found the plaintiff’s good faith belief in making the complaint was irrelevant because the “good faith belief standard” only applied in Title VII claims. It also found that she was similarly unprotected for complaining about the failure to provide her with a paid vacation because she had a pending breach of contract action covering that very issue. Ohio law does not require employers to provide a paid vacation and without showing the existence of a prior agreement for paid vacation, she could not prevail on a wage payment claim. Therefore, a public policy claim was unnecessary in this case, according to the Court. What seemed to be a more significant motivating factor was that the employer apparently had a legitimate reason to terminate her employment based on a prior criminal record and her failure to timely submit to a background check.

NOTICE: This summary is designed merely to inform and alert you of recent legal developments. It does not constitute legal advice and does not apply to any particular situation because different facts could lead to different results. Information here can change or be amended without notice. Readers should not act upon this information without legal advice. If you have any questions about anything you have read, you should consult with or retain an employment attorney.

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Ohio Appeals Court: Use of Illegal Drugs Was Not Sufficiently Gross Misconduct to Disqualify Employee from Payment for Unused Vacation Pay.

Last month, the Ohio Court of Appeals for Summit County affirmed judgment in favor of a manager who was terminated for failing a drug test (for cocaine and marijuana) on his claim for payment of unused vacation pay under the employer’s policy. Lang v. Quality Mold, Inc., 2008-Ohio 4560. Under the employer’s policy, an employee could be paid for unused vacation pay when the employee was guilty of one instance of serious misconduct or incompetence, but was not entitled to be paid for unused vacation pay when terminated for gross misconduct. Neither the employee handbook nor any other written policies specified whether a positive drug test constituted gross misconduct or was merely serious misconduct. Accordingly, the trial court decided to construe the handbook against the employer (who drafted it) and considered court decisions construing the statutory standard under COBRA (which denies continued medical coverage when an employee is terminated for gross misconduct).

The Court ultimately determined that testing positive for illegal drugs was merely serious misconduct and not gross misconduct. In reaching this conclusion, the court disregarded the undisputed testimony of the Human Resources Director that the employer’s past practice was to deny payment for vacation pay to employees who were terminated for illegal drug use. It is also worth noting that COBRA does not define “gross misconduct,” but that some courts required the behavior to be extreme and outrageous, while other courts have found that it merely needed to be intentional. The court was influenced by the fact that there was no evidence that the terminated manager had been dealing drugs or that his job performance or attendance had been affected by use of illegal drugs.

Insomniacs can read the full decision at http://www.sconet.state.oh.us/rod/docs/pdf/9/2008/2008-ohio-4560.pdf.

NOTICE: This summary is designed merely to inform and alert you of recent legal developments. It does not constitute legal advice and does not apply to any particular situation because different facts could lead to different results. Information here can change or be amended without notice. Readers should not act upon this information without legal advice. If you have any questions about anything you have read, you should consult with or retain an employment attorney.