In 2006 the minimum wage in Missouri was set at $6.50 an hour, but the law provided that Missouri would match the federal standard if Missouri's wage was lower. With the federal rate now at $7.25, that is the current state standard. The new proposal contains the same matching provision but would initially set Missouri's minimum wage at $8.25 an hour.
Like the law now in effect, the proposed wage increase also provides annual cost-of-living adjustments in following years. The cost-of-living adjustments will apply to the most current hourly rate.
Unpaid Missouri Overtime
Hourly workers should be aware that the increased hourly wage, while it ought to benefit them, may lead to a reduction in paid overtime. In these difficult economic times, many Missouri hourly workers find themselves working extra hours and overtime in order to survive. But, as workers become more expensive, some employers may cut back on overtime.
]]> Unfortunately, situations also occur in which some employers attempt to get around requirements to pay overtime wages - leaving employees holding the bag for overtime they are legally entitled to. Some businesses could resort to unfair practices to illegally avoid paying workers overtime when the new law is enacted.An increase in the state's minimum wage may have a profound positive effect for so many people, but that effect could be offset if businesses don't pay workers their fair share for overtime - which is why employees need to be ever-watchful in making sure they get the compensation they are legally entitled to.
Source: CBS News, "Mo. Judge upholds minimum wage ballot summary," April 26, 2012
]]>Missouri workers who believe their employers are not in compliance with the provisions of this law can sue, as individuals or collectively with other workers, to compel employers to pay proper wages and overtime. Employers can take a significant hit from collective cases, which make up the majority of these lawsuits. A major pharmaceutical company, for example, recently had to settle an overtime case with over 7,000 of its workers for $99 million.
Law firms specializing in wage and hour cases have taken note of a sharp rise in the number of lawsuits filed in federal court under the FLSA. According to U.S. Federal Court statistics, American workers filed 7,008 FLSA claims in the reporting year ending in March 31, 2011 - an increase of 15 percent over the previous reporting year. Throughout the past ten years, the annual number of FLSA claims has more than tripled.
]]> The increase may be because of problems interpreting the definitions of a work day and a work week as workers increasingly provide service to their employers from locations other than the conventional workplace. Under the FLSA, a work week is a span of 168 hours covering seven 24-hour days in a row. Overtime begins after 40 hours on the job during a work week, not after eight hours in a work day.Unfortunately, the FLSA does not make it clear when a work day starts and ends, which can create recordkeeping difficulties. A worker might check company e-mail after commuting home from work, and would want that time to count towards the work week; but if the work day ended when the worker left the office, there may be a question about whether this time will actually count.
In Missouri there is no upper or lower limit on the number of hours an employer can ask an employee to work. This standard is compatible with the FLSA. Missouri law clarifies that a worker's travel time to and from work is generally not to be considered work time, though travel during the work day in fulfillment of job duties is work time. No employer in Missouri can ask an employee to voluntarily waive the right to receive overtime pay, and an employee who is asked to do this has grounds for filing a complaint.
Source: US DOL, "Handy Reference Guide to the Fair Labor Standards Act"
]]>Misclassification of employees is a growing problem. For example, if a Missouri employer misclassifies an employee as an independent contractor instead of an hourly employee, they may not be paying the correct overtime, workers' comp premiums or Unemployment Insurance and FICA taxes.
Last year alone, the DOL Wage and Hour Division collected more than $5 million for FLSA overtime and minimum wage requirement violations when employees were incorrectly classified.
]]> While speaking of a recent MOU signing, Nancy J. Leppink, deputy administrator of the U.S. DOL, stated in a DOL news release, "This memorandum of understanding helps us send a message: We're standing united to end the practice of misclassifying employees." She continued, "This is an important step toward making sure that the American dream is still available for employees and responsible employers alike."Even though states continue to enter into MOUs with the DOL, Missouri was one of the first states join in this initiative in 2011. Hopefully this initiative will help employees be classified properly and be paid the compensation and overtime they deserve.
Source: U.S. DOL, "Employee Misclassification as Independent Contractors"
]]>The Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety reported that there were 773 deaths in 2011 due to automobile related accidents - compared to 821 in 2010. This is the lowest amount of deaths in more than 70 years, but, this number still means that two or more people died each day on Missouri roads.
Deaths have been on the decline for the last six years. This is also a positive note when comparing the numbers to others states in the area. The death toll on the roadways in Illinois for 2011, for example, was 927, according to their state police.
MoDot is quick to praise those drivers who take the time to make sure that they are traveling safely, as well as the law enforcement and emergency services personnel who work so hard to ensure safety on the roadways.
However, even though deaths have been on the decline, vigilance and caution are always important on the roadways. Safety measures have been ramped up in recent years to make the roadways safer, but it all begins with the most important piece: the driver. This is especially important in the winter, as even the smallest amount of snow can cause dangerous conditions and major headaches on the roadways.
]]> In early January, a little snow was to blame for 225 calls to police for accidents in just a 12-hour span, where just a day earlier only 16 accidents were reported on the roadways. Those accidents ranged from a police officer hitting an ice patch and slamming into a retaining wall to a nine-car pileup which included two snow plows and a tractor trailer.That pileup caused a major interstate to be closed. Thankfully, most of the calls were for non-injury wrecks. The police officer walked away unhurt and there were only minor injuries in the pile-up.
In any event, caution should always be taken on the roadways, particularly when tricky weather conditions are involved.
]]>The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the Pipeline and Hazardous Safety Administration enacted the new rule, in response to studies showing the danger caused by commercial vehicle drivers being distracted when using cellphones. Drivers who use cellphones while driving are 23 percent more likely to be in an accident. In Missouri alone, drivers using cellphones caused 21 fatal accidents in 2010.
The new rule applies to commercial trucks and buses operating in Missouri as well as nationwide. The ban also applies to school buses and other vehicles designed to transport 9 to 15 passengers.
]]> The new rule prohibits commercial vehicle drivers from handling, reaching for or using a hand-held cellphone while driving. Commercial drivers are prohibited from using a hand-held cellphone when operating a vehicle on a highway - whether the vehicle is moving or stopped because of traffic - and also when the vehicle is stopped at a stop sign or stoplight.The rule does not ban all cellphone use. Commercial vehicle drivers are permitted to use hands-free cellphones and may use hand-held cellphones when parked in an area that is safe for parking a commercial vehicle. In addition, drivers can use their cellphones to report emergencies to law enforcement and other emergency services.
The new rule is a primary offense, meaning that police can pull over and ticket any commercial driver that they observe using a hand-held cellphone. Drivers who are caught using a hand-held cellphone face a $2,750 fine per offense. The ban also punishes trucking companies who allow their drivers to use these types of cellphones while driving with fines of up to $11,000.
Source: "Cellphone ban for commercial drivers starts Jan. 3"
]]>Head-on collisions and rollover automobile accidents are the crashes most likely to cause serious head injuries. In these instances, a person's head suffers a violent collision with part of a vehicle. With head-on collisions, passengers are more likely to hit their heads on dashboards or headrests. In rollover (or roof crush) accidents, tremendous pressure is put on passengers' heads. Invariably passengers will be ejected from the car (especially if no seatbelts are worn).
]]> TBI PreventionDespite the debilitating effects of traumatic brain injuries, they are preventable. First, and foremost, drivers can best protect themselves by wearing seatbelts. Lap and shoulder restraints can help prevent drivers from coming into contact with other parts of the vehicle during a crash, and they can prevent ejections. Vehicles equipped with "side head curtain airbags" also help to prevent head injuries, for they protect occupants in side impact collisions. Further, vehicles with reinforced roofs are safer because they reduce the likelihood of roof crush injuries in rollover accidents.
If you have suffered a traumatic brain injury due to someone else's negligence, you can recover money damages to compensate for lost wages, pain and suffering, medical expenses, as well as rehabilitation expenses. An experienced personal injury attorney can advise you of the value of your case and the likelihood of receiving compensation.
Ultimately, safe driving practices are the best way to prevent head injuries. Driving at safe speeds for the conditions, putting cell phones away and limiting other distractions help in reducing the risk of accidents.
]]>Among the specific recommendations, the task force recommends building an overpass over I-35 and making improvements to an existing bridge and an existing highway interchange. Many of the task force's other recommendations can be universally applied to reduce accidents on highways throughout Missouri, including:
MoDOT statistics also show that drinking and driving accounted for 25.3 percent of traffic fatalities even though it only caused 4.1 percent of all accidents. Car accidents can leave drivers and passengers with expensive medical bills, broken bones and other injuries, and lost wages from time spent recovering.
Source: http://www.kccommunitynews.com/liberty-tribune-news/29595012/detail.html
]]>A recent Missouri lawsuit filed by Kansas City based Carter Law Offices illustrates the difficulties workers may encounter when dealing with under-compensating employers. According to the complaint (complaint.pdf) filed in the Western District of Missouri, a cable television satellite installation company grossly under-paid the Missouri workers that actually completed the installations.
]]> As alleged in the complaint, one employee was initially told upon employment that he would be paid $9.00 per hour or by number of installations he performed, whichever was greater. This particular employee worked long hours - beginning his day at 6:00 am, and working on average 60-72 hours per week - but he alleges he was not compensated as required under the law.Ultimately, the worker alleges that he was not paid for all the hours he worked and that he was only paid on a "per-task" basis - which resulted in wages far lower than if he had been paid the $9.00 per hour rate initially promised. Because the worker was paid on a per-task basis as opposed to an hourly rate, he alleges that his employer not only failed to meet the minimum wage requirements of the Missouri Minimum Wage Law, but also that of the Fair Labor Standards Act - in addition to unpaid overtime under the FLSA.
While attempting the maximize profits, companies may make every effort to minimize costs - namely, wages to employees. Thus, in this troubled economy workers need to be especially vigilant in protecting their rights under the law.
]]>Based on statistics, the new study conducted by CarInsuranceComparison.com, concluded that Missouri is home to the second worst drivers in the country. The study compared drivers from all of the states in a number of categories, including motor vehicle accident fatalities, number of traffic tickets issued and drunk driving statistics - Missouri ranked poorly in all the categories, especially drunk driving. And, based on the study's rankings, the only drivers worse than Missouri's drivers are from Louisiana.
The study was conducted using available information from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and the American Motorists Association.
]]> Missouri Driving StatisticsAccording to Missouri Department of Transportation (MODOT) statistics, in 2009 (the most recent statistics available), there were 577 fatal vehicle accidents resulting in 652 deaths in the state. In the same year, there were nearly 30,000 injuries sustained in just over 20,000 injury accidents. Further, MODOT statistics show that, in 2009, alcohol contributed to or was a factor in 154 fatal accidents and another 1,571 injury accidents.
Motor vehicle accidents can result in devastating injuries such as broken bones, injuries to the head, back and neck, and brain injuries. These injuries can result in massive medical bills and lost wages.
Source: Missouri drivers second-worst in nation according to report
]]>To make this analysis, researchers looked at data from 1986 to 2007, which accounted for 132,000 car accidents involving teenagers from 16 to 19-years-old. The study found that the number of fatal car accidents involving 16 and 17-year-olds has decreased 26 percent in states that have graduated licensing programs. On the other hand, these same states saw an increase in fatal car accidents involving 18 and 19-year-olds: For drivers in this age group, the amount of car accidents jumped 12 percent in states with driving restrictions for teenagers.
Experts say that the reasons for the increased accident fatalities for 18 and 19-year-olds are not entirely clear and the topic needs further study, although some surmise that teens are bypassing the restrictions by waiting to get their driver's license - ultimately still putting inexperienced drivers on the road, but just two years later.
]]> Alternative ResearchAlthough the American Medical Association study raises concerns about the safety of older teens on America's roads, another study may have the opposite effect. According to research published in the Traffic Injury Prevention journal, fatalities from accidents involving teenagers 15 to 17-years-old decreased 30 percent in states with graduated licensing programs. However, unlike the American Medical Association study, this study found that for 18 and 19-year-olds, the accident rate remained the same whether a state had a graduated licensing program or not.
No matter what the national research shows, on a state level, law enforcement officers - who see the damage that inexperienced drivers can cause on Missouri's roads every day - believe that graduated licensing programs are clearly beneficial.
In an interview with KRCG-TV, Sergeant Paul Reinch of the State Highway Patrol explained, "In the state of Missouri teenagers are about ten percent of drivers but account for one third of all crashes, with that low number of drivers out there but high number of crashes we're just asking teenagers to take their time and obey all traffic signals and rules and just learn as you go and get behind the wheel."
]]>"Distracted driving is becoming increasingly prevalent, exacerbating the danger we encounter daily on our roadways," said NTSB Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman in a release posted on NTSB.gov. "It can be especially lethal when the distracted driver is at the wheel of a vehicle that weighs 40 tons and travels at highway speeds."
Thirty-five states, including Missouri, ban texting by commercial truck drivers, but talking is not prohibited. The new recommendation would institute major, and some say, welcome changes in an effort to reduce truck accidents.
"This is really not a truck; this is an 80,000-pound missile," said commercial driver licensing instructor John Fobes on KSPR.com. Fobes, with more than 20 years of accident-free truck driving experience, said that even conversation distracts drivers, who some say, make up to 100 decisions per mile. "I have read a report that stated the only industry that makes more decisions in a day than a truck driver was an air traffic controller," said Fobes.
]]> Said Fobes, a semi-truck traveling 55 to 60 miles per hour takes at least 400 feet to stop - further than the length of a football field - and that happens only after analyzing the situation for a second and a half and hitting the brakes. "Common sense should tell you when you're dealing with people's lives you need to pay a little bit more attention," he said.A Missouri truck-stop survey by a KSPR reporter found general support for a ban on hand-held phones among a dozen truck drivers selected at random. Roughly half told the reporter they never use cell phones while driving and half said they use only hands-free phones.
For Prime, Inc., a Springfield-based trucking company, government-regulated cell phone restrictions would be acceptable. Prime instructs drivers to keep talking to a minimum. "Of course everybody has cell phones but they're using headsets," said Prime Inc.'s Director of Safety Don Lacy.
A trucking accident can be devastating for all parties involved. If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident with a distracted commercial driver, an experienced personal injury attorney can advise you of your rights and options.
]]>At the end of September, a 72-year-old woman was fatally injured when her car was hit by another driver in a distracted driving accident. The driver of the other car was a 16-year-old female. KMBC 9 news reports that the teen driver told law enforcement officials she had been looking at her cell phone and lost control of her SUV. The teenager tried to bring her car back under control, but unfortunately could not before crashing into the other car, resulting in the other woman's death.
]]> Texting while driving and other forms of distracted driving are serious public health concerns. According to KMBC, in just the first six months of 2010, 791 crashes involving cell-phone use while driving occurred in Missouri. In these crashes, 239 people suffered injuries and eight people died. In addition, more than 17,000 car accidents were attributed to other forms of distracted driving in the first half of 2010.Missouri law prohibits people younger than 21 years old from using texting devices while driving. But, the Missouri Highway Patrol (MHP) urges all drivers to refrain from the dangerous practice, as inattentive driving is the primary cause of all car accidents in the state, a representative said. To reduce the number of these tragic crashes, the MHP has launched an anti-texting while driving campaign that includes a 10-minute documentary made by AT&T to show the real-life impact of crashes caused by texting while driving.
]]>The two-vehicle crash occurred just before 1 p.m. when Jordan and two other soldiers were driving back to the Kansas City area after fighting floods in nearby Carrollton, according to an article in Armytimes.com. On southbound Interstate 435, their car veered off the road and hit a construction trailer parked on the shoulder. The driver and other passenger were hospitalized with injuries but Jordan was killed at the scene. Police believe the car left the road when the driver fell asleep.
This latest accident highlights an ongoing traffic safety problem - the close proximity of high-speed traffic to stationary objects just off the road, including light and telephone poles and stopped vehicles. In a study of off-the-road accidents, Civil Engineer Todd Mattox cited driver inattention, fatigue, car breakdown and bad weather among the reasons a vehicle may leave the road. However, he noted that traditional highway design fails to address the problem of inattentive, tired or errant drivers. As a result, one third of the roughly 40,000 annual traffic fatalities are off-the-road crashes, according to Maddox, who cited statistics from the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Roadside Design Guide.
]]> Tips to Avoid an Off-the-Road CrashKeep in mind that vehicles on the roadside occupy a small space that leaves drivers no room for error. To avoid an off-the-road accident:
St. Louis Today reports that on February 28, 2008, the man set out by skateboard to visit his girlfriend, only to have his journey interrupted by a train. While it is not particularly clear how the accident occurred, what did happen was the man somehow became caught up in the train. Tragically, the train's conductor failed to realize that someone was entangled with the train and never slowed down or stopped. The man was drug several hundred feet before being freed.
The result of the railroad accident was a severed leg four inches above the knee and multiple surgeries, including skin grafts.
]]> Now, over three years since the injury, the victim of that horrific accident has filed a negligence lawsuit against the railroad company. The lawsuit claims that Burlington Northern negligently handled the intersection where the injury occurred. It is alleged that Burlington Northern's negligence allowed the victim to be injured through one of the following scenarios: the victim was struck by the train, struck by an object protruding from the train or struck by falling cargo from the train - which caused the loss of the victim's leg.Burlington Northern claims the victim was trespassing at the time the accident occurred.
Negligence lawsuits allow injured victims, like the victim of the train accident, to hold those that fail to act in a manner (standard of care) that a prudent person would under the circumstances, according to Black's Law Dictionary. Meaning in the train accident case, the victim is alleging that Burlington Northern failed to keep the intersection where the injury occurred as safe as a prudent railroad company would.
A negligence lawsuit allows injured victims to seek compensation for medical bills, long-term care, lost wages and pain and suffering.
If you or a loved one has been injured due to the negligent actions of another, speak to an experienced personal injury attorney.
]]>Car and truck drivers in Kansas City and the rest of Missouri need to be reminded to see the motorcyclists who have every right to share the road. They need to be reminded of the severe injuries that motorcycle riders sustain when they are in accidents with larger vehicles. They need to be reminded to keep their eyes on the road and their minds on the task of driving.
Motorcycle accidents that happen with cars, SUVs and trucks most often occur because the driver did not notice the rider. This is partly due to the prevalence of distracted driving, but it is also because drivers simply need to be more aware of the people with whom they share the road.
]]> Motorcyclists who are hit by negligent drivers can suffer a number of severe injuries, including broken bones, brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, road rash and, in too many cases, wrongful death.According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol's Statistical Analysis Center, only 1.6 percent of Missouri traffic accidents involved motorcycles - but 10.7 percent of fatal crashes involved motorcycles.
While the stereotype of the motorcyclist involved in a traffic crash is typically a young man, the average age of a Missouri motorcyclist in a crash was just over 40 years. The vast majority, however, were indeed men.
The good news is that motorcycle accidents, both fatal and nonfatal, have decreased in Missouri. The bad news is that some drivers of cars, SUVs and trucks continue to fail to see motorcycle riders.
With rising gas prices making motorcycle riding more attractive, motorcycle ownership and ridership are likely to increase. Missouri drivers should start seeing motorcycles, or the statistics will look even worse.
Source: mshp.dps.mo.gov
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