Ideally, an employee is paid for work rendered in excess of his/her working hours.
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires an employer to pay its non-exempt employees 1 ½ times their regular hourly pay for work in excess of 40 hours in any workweek.
In a Miami Case, two undocumented employees of Mr. Clean Laundry Shop sued the company for unpaid overtime and liquidated damages. Plaintiffs Jacqueline Galdames and Guillermo Osorio work included washing, drying, pressing, and folding linens and clothing.
United States District Judge Marcia G. Cooke denied the laundry company’s request for summary judgment.
The laundry company pushed the principle adopted by the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Hoffman Plastic Compounds, Inc. v. N.L.R.B., 535 U.S. 137 (2002) that illegal aliens could not sue under FLSA.
Judge Cooke ruled that although plaintiffs were not US citizens, FLSA protects them as well. Undocumented employees have the right to file court claims for overtime compensation same with documented ones.
A driver should observe the highest standards of diligence and care when driving as the lives of his/her passengers lie in his/her hands.
Highest standards of diligence mean that a driver should check on the vehicle’s condition, see to it that it has enough fuel and good breaks, avoid any distractions and have enough sleep and rest.
However, Robert Sanchez, driver of the Metrolink, may have been remised on his obligations. The September 2008 crash marked as one of the worst train crashes in the history of Southern California. Twenty-five were killed and 135 were injured when it collided with a Union Pacific freight train.
The preliminary investigation on the case revealed that Sanchez was text messaging seconds before the flight. In fact, Sanchez sent and received 57 text messages while on duty that day.
The investigation also revealed that Sanchez failed to stop at the red light thereby ending on the same track as the oncoming freight train.
These discoveries may have put Metrolink and Connex Railroad to threat of payout totaling to $200 million compensation awards for the victims and their families. The two companies are now in disagreement as to which of them would be liable for the costs.
Employees have the right to work in a safe environment, free from any threat or danger that might harm them. And the responsibility of ensuring the safety of these employees falls on employers. Failure to fulfill such duty can result into terrible accidents.
This is the case of the death of Sheri Sangji, a research assistant who worked on an organic chemistry experiment in the Molecular Sciences Building of UCLA. According to the report, Sangji was working with a chemical compound that instantly ignites when exposed to air. The syringe that she used to transfer that substance came apart in her hands, spewing out flaming chemicals. She sustained second and third degree burns on more than 43% of her body as a result. She died in a hospital burn unit 18 days later.
This horrible workplace accident raised issues regarding the attention of the university to laboratory safety. In fact, two months before the accident, the safety inspectors of the UCLA found over a dozen deficiencies in the lab where the accident occurred and records show that the required corrective action was not promptly taken. Because of this, many believe that the incident could have been prevented, if only the proper safety measures were taken.
Employers should do everything they can in their power to make sure that the workplace is safe. Not only will it benefit the employees, but the employers as well. And most importantly, this can prevent unnecessary workplace accidents and save lives.
Last week, I “blogged” about a plane crash that happened in San Diego. It involved 71 year old Stone Froberg.
Investigators now believed that Froberg was already dead.
Well, it could be possible that Froberg was killed in the plane crash considering his old age and the fact that survival is minimal in the vast sea.
Not to recover or find the victim’s body is one of the dangers of any plane crash.
Although the Golden Wings Flying Club, lessor of the plane, attested to the safety of the Cessna, we could not also remove the possibility that the plane was defective. I mean even great machines do fail sometimes.
However, the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board would continue to dig deeper into the crash.
When the coast guard suspended its search, it had given the sign that there was a little chance to recover Froberg’s remains. To this day, the chance of finding Froberg’s body had slipped away.
Plane crashes is more dangerous than any other crash. Unlike a car crash, a plane crash happens on waters, at the forest, in the mountains, over populated areas, etc. In short, it crashes wherever its engine stops or hits.
The sad part is that there is a tendency that the remains of those victims in a plane crash could no longer be retrieved.
Case in point was the plane crash that happened last Friday 50 miles at the Oceanside.
The U.S. Coast Guard identified the missing pilot as Stone Froberg, 71, of San Diego. Froberg rented the plane from Golden Wings' Flying Club at Montgomery Field.
The incident was reported by boaters in the area seeing a plane hit the water. A rescue team was immediately dispatched to the crash site. The team discovered oil slick and debris on what to be the crash site.
Authorities believed that Froberg was the only one on board although further investigations were conducted as to the presence of other people aboard the plane. Froberg never filed a flight plan or made mayday calls.
However, the coast guard suspended its search for unknown reason.
There are various medical institutions that offer care and treatment to the elders whose families cannot provide the supervision they need.
Families pay these institutions great deal of money as they are complacent that their loved ones are well-taken care of in these places. But, there are a few relatives who were proven wrong.
There have been many incidents caused by the negligence of these institutions. One of the most recent deaths involved a choking incident that has caused a patient’s life in Anaheim Crest Nursing Center.
The accident happened when one of the nursing assistants left a sandwich within his reach and as he ate it, he choked on it.
The patient has history of dementia and choking problems so his diet should only consist of pureed foods. But, according to records, he was fed with solid foods the night he died.
The nursing center was fined with only $ 75,000, an amount that could never replace the loss of a loved one.
These nursing facilities should be well aware of the many accidents that patients might suffer from. They have the responsibility in caring for these patients and will be held liable for injuries and deaths resulted from these accidents.
